ROLFE, Frederick William, styled Baron Corvo (1860–1913) - photo 1
ROLFE, Frederick William, styled Baron Corvo (1860–1913) - photo 2
ROLFE, Frederick William, styled Baron Corvo (1860–1913) - photo 3
ROLFE, Frederick William, styled Baron Corvo (1860–1913) - photo 4

ROLFE, Frederick William, styled Baron Corvo (1860–1913)

Lot 133
13.02.2025 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 9 450
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1362814
Lot 133 | ROLFE, Frederick William, styled Baron Corvo (1860–1913)
Estimate value
£ 4 000 – 6 000
ROLFE, Frederick William, styled Baron Corvo (1860–1913)
Autograph manuscript, 'Cascading into the Canal / by / Frederick of Venice', Venice, [1 October 1909]
Four pages (of original 8), 306 x 208mm, rectos only, annotated by Rolfe with his return address at Palazzo Mocenigo; with a preliminary leaf titled by A.J.A. Symons and annotated in pencil 'Sheets 1, 3, 6 & 8 only', mounted on stubs, linen-backed decorative paper covers. Provenance: J. Maundy-Gregory (1877-1941); Bonhams, 22 November 2011, lot 151 – Barry Humphries (1934-2023; bookplate).

A fragment of a Venetian tale by Baron Corvo. The writer, eccentric and Catholic priest manqué Frederick Rolfe had moved to Venice in August 1908, where he lived out 'a kind of degenerate and vituperative envoi to his earlier years' (ODNB) until his death in 1913. The present story, one of several fantastical self-depictions in a Venetian context, was published in Blackwood's Magazine, July 1913, and reprinted in Three Tales of Venice (1950).

The provenance links A.J.A. Symonds, whose 1934 biography The Quest for Corvo was to a great degree responsible for reviving its subject's reputation, and the notorious political fixer J. Maundy-Gregory (best known for selling peerages for Lloyd George), who sponsored Symons' work and appears in it.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.02.2025 – 13.02.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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[ROLFE, Frederick William (1860-1913)]
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