William Wordsworth (1770-1850) - photo 1
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) - photo 2

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Sold
£ 8 190
Auction dateClassic
15.12.2023 11:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1108992
Lot 192 | William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
Autograph manuscript signed ('William Wordsworth'), transcribing extracts from four poems, Rydal Mount, 22 December 1847
23 lines on two pages, 251 x 202mm, bifolium, signed and dated at the end. Provenance: Property of a California Collector; Sotheby's New York, 10 & 11 December 1993, lot 625.

Lines from four well-known poems, including lines on the 'blessing' conferred by nature. The extracts comprise two lines from the ode 'To Duty' ('Nor know we anything so fair / As is the smile upon thy face'), 2½ lines from book 2 of The Excursion ('Rich in love / And sweet humanity He was himself / To the degree that he desired, beloved'), the first two stanzas of 'To my Sister' (beginning 'It is the first mild day of March') and ten lines (the first and last half-lines) from 'Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey', beginning 'She can so inform / The mind that is within us'.

The links between the four poems are not immediately evident: they were perhaps favourites of a visitor to Rydal Mount, and copied out for their benefit. It is possible that visitor was Henry Crabb Robinson (1775-1867), who endured a difficult stay at Rydal Mount over Christmas 1847, from where he wrote of his host’s prolonged grief after the death of his daughter Dora in July: ‘Mr W. keeps very much alone And whichever room I may happen to be in, he goes into the other' (letter to Thomas Robinson, 23 December 1847). Both 'To my Sister' and 'Tintern Abbey' date from 1798, and the two extracts each use the word 'blessing' to reflect nature's beneficent influence.
Place of origin:England, United Kingdom
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
10.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
11.12.2023 09:00 – 20:00
12.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
13.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
£100

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.