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Two Autograph Letters Signed from James Halliwell to Sir William Tite, giving his professional advice on books relating to Shakespeare, 20 May 1865; 1 January 1866

 File — Box: CLX-A-1591
Identifier: Coll-1848/20-0029

Scope and Contents

Two Autograph Letters Signed from James Halliwell (later Halliwell-Phillipps) to Sir William Tite (1798-1873, architect). Both sent from 6 St Mary's Place, West Brampton, London, 20th May 1865 and 1st January 1866.

In the first letter dated 20 May 1865, Halliwell gives his professional advice on a copy of a book with an "interesting connexion to Shakespeare" that Tite is interested in for his collection. He also advises on how much the book would fetch at a sale, and how much to spend on it. He assures him that "every early edition of Shakespeare & work connected with him can hardly but rise in value. You have fancied sometimes that you have given too much for some of your Shakespeare quartos, but there is not one of them that would not sell for more than you have given...". He ends with "First editions of Shakespeare are more valuable and ought to fetch more than pictures by Reynolds, Titian & Turner..."

In the second letter dated 1 January 1866, Halliwell gives his advice on the sum to offer for a copy of Shakespeare's Pericles from 1607 or 1609. He starts the letter by saying that Tite "will do a national service by getting the Pericles of 1607, if such an edition exists". He suggests to offer £150, although warns that "it would be well, however, not to make a positive offer without seeing the volume, for if the best plays are defective, it might not be worth a third..."

Dates

  • Creation: 20 May 1865; 1 January 1866

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Physical Description

3 sides 8vo., and 2 sides 8vo., good condition.

Conditions Governing Access

Open. Please contact the repository in advance.

Extent

2 letters

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased in November 2019. Accession no SC-Acc-2020-0029.

Related Materials

Special Collections also holds the Collection of James O. Halliwell-Phillipps (Coll-103).

Physical Description

3 sides 8vo., and 2 sides 8vo., good condition.

Processing Information

Catalogued by Aline Brodin in August 2020.

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379