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Letters of Walter Scott, to Walter Dickson, and to Rev. Anthony Dow, which make reference to Helen Walker

 Fonds — Box: CLX-D-29, Folder: Coll-1703 / SC-Acc-2016-0006
Identifier: Coll-1703

Content Description

Autograph letter signed, Abbotsford, 27 October 1827. Black wax seal. Addressed to Walter Dickson Esq.

Transcript of the above letter.

Autograph letter signed, Edinburgh, 5 March 1830. Red wax seal, degraded. Three postal handstamps, with one 'Dumfries'. Addressed to Rev. Dr. Dow, Kirkpatrick-Irongray, Dumfriesshire.

Dates

  • Creation: 1827-1830

Creator

Condition Description

Items had been contained within frames, and red sealing wax from one letter had collected inside one of these. The wax fragments have been retained.

Biographical / Historical

The pair of letters from Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) make reference to Helen Walker (d. 1791) who had become the fictional Jeanie Deans, a character in his novel The Heart of Midlothian. In a letter to Walter Dickson, 27 October 1827, Scott refers to Dickson's mother-in-law, Mrs Goldie - Helen Goldie (nee Lawson) (1752-1829) - and the 'anonymous favour' provided by the content of a letter. This enabled him 'to produce to the public the efficient and interesting character of Jeanie Deans' as he had 'christened her most respectable friend Helen Walker'.

Scott erected a monument at Helen Walker's grave in the parish of Irongray, about six miles from Dumfries, and his letter to the Rev. Dr. Anthony Dow, 5 March 1830, indicates his intention to erect this 'simple monument'.

Extent

1 folder : Items had been contained within glazed frames, and red sealing wax from one letter had collected inside one of these. The wax fragments have been retained.

Condition Description

Items had been contained within frames, and red sealing wax from one letter had collected inside one of these. The wax fragments have been retained.

Processing Information

Catalogued by Graeme D. Eddie, 26 January 2016.

Title
Letters of Walter Scott, to Walter Dickson, and to Rev. Anthony Dow, which make reference to Helen Walker
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
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Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
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