Sales catalogue 641: Maggs Bros

Date:
1937
Reference:
WA/HMM/CM/Sal/13/171
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sales catalogue 641: Maggs Bros. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    50/88 page 48
    SURRENDER OF BONAPARTE. 137 MELVILLE (ROBERT, SAUNDERS, Second Viscount, 1771-1851). Statesman. Lord of the Admiralty. EIGHT DRAFT LETTERS (THREE SIGNED) TO ADMIRAL KEITH. 21 pp., 4to. Admiralty, 18th July, 1815—10th February, 1817. ALSO COPIES OF NINE LETTERS TO LORD KEITH, on thin paper, the writing rather faint. | 25 pp., 4to and folio. 1815. £21 An extremely important correspondence entirely relating to the surrender of Bonaparte, the treatment accorded to him on board the Bellerophon, the possibility ot his escape from St. Helena, etc. Dundas gives instructions that in the event of Bonaparte being taken, the ship having him on board is not to proceed immediately to Kngland, nor to remain in any French port where she will be under the guns of their batteries. Three days later he refers to the surrender of Bonaparte and states, should the Belierophon come to Plymouth, no unauthorized person will be allowed on board, and also advises Keith not to go on board. Dundas refers to the knowledge he has received that too much deference is being shown to Napoleon, and gives orders that he is not to be allowed so much authority. He returns to Keith a copy of a letter sent to Keith by the Emperor and states that the original has been deposited in the Admiralty Office. A very interesting letter refers to Keith’s account of his interviews with Bonaparte, and the arrangements made from the time of his arrival until his departure in the Northumberland; stating that if Generals Bertrand and Montholon accompany Napoleon, their wives and families will receive permission to do like- wise; also dealing with the advisability of taking possession of the Island of Tristan d’Acunha to prevent any possibility of Bonaparte escaping from St. Helena. 138 MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (FELIX, 1809-1847). Famous Composer. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO TAUBERT, THE GERMAN COMPOSER. 2? pp., 4to. Lucerne, 27th August, 1831. £31 10s An extremely interesting letter entirely on musical matters; refers to his wish to compose an opera; and also mentions Goethe, Shakespeare, Schiller, etc. (‘Irans.):—‘‘. . . What pleasure and how comforting it is to know that there is one more musician in this world who has the same ideals and intentions as oneself you can hardly feel as I do at this moment, when I come from a country where music does not exist any more among the people. Up till now I have found it impossible to imagine any country to be like this, least of all Italy, with her rich flourishing nature and her inspiring history. But the last events which I witnessed there have unfortunately shown me that other things besides music have died out in that country. : “I, on my part, have now an unconquerable fancy for an opera; if I had the words to-day I think the opera would be finished by to-morrow; so irresistibly am I impelled towards it. ‘’ Where I am to find the words seems to me to be an even greater puzzle since last night when I saw the German ‘ Aesthetik-Blatt’ for the first time again for over a year. Really and truly the German Parnassus seems to be as crazy as Kuropean politics. Good gracious! I had to digest the affected Menzel, who tried to belittle Goethe and the stilted Grabbe, who modestly abused Shakespeare, and the philosophers, who after all think Schiller too trivial—really I should like to go for them! Please excuse my strong language, but I have not read such stuff for a long time, and it made me furious to see that the philosophers who pretend that art has come to an end will persist in their foolish statement, as if art could ever cease.”’ His Oratorio “ St. Pav.” 139 MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (FELIX). A VERY FINE AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO HIS FRIEND, J. ROSENHAIM OF PARIS. 4 full pages., 8vo. Berlin, 13th January, 1842. £7 10s Concerning his friend’s work and his own; then as to his Oratorio ‘‘ St. Paul,”’ and his wish to write an opera in Paris.
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