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Add MS 89437
- Record Id:
- 032-003673364
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-003673364
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100103747558.0x000001
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Add MS 89437
- Title:
- Jane Austen, Letter to James Edward Austen, 16 December 1816
- Scope & Content:
-
Letter from novelist Jane Austen at Chawton, to her nephew James Edward Austen (Leigh) at Steventon, in which Austen discusses family matters, in particular relating to ‘Uncle Charles’ and ‘Uncle Henry’. The letter contains the well-known line in which Austen compares the act of writing to that of painting a miniature: “What should I do with your strong, manly, spirited Sketches, full of Variety & Glow? — How could I possibly join them on to the little bit (two Inches wide) of Ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush, as produces little effect after much labour?”. The letter was written on Jane Austen’s 41st birthday, which was her last, however there is no mention of this within the letter.
Formerly on loan to the British Library as part of Loan 19. Purchased in July 2017 directly from descendant. The British library thanks The Collections Trust for the grant which enabled the purchase of this item.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Additional Manuscripts
- Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "032-003673364", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Add MS 89437: Jane Austen, Letter to James Edward Austen, 16 December 1816" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-003673364
- Is part of:
- not applicable
- Hierarchy:
- 032-003673364
- Container:
- not applicable
- Record Type (Level):
- Fonds
- Extent:
- 1 item
- Digitised Content:
- Languages:
- English
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1816
- End Date:
- 1816
- Date Range:
- 1816
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- User Conditions:
- A letter of introduction is required to view this manuscript.
- Custodial History:
- The letter was one of seven Jane Austen letters placed on loan at the Library in 1936 by Mrs Joan Mason Hurley and her daughters.
- Former Internal References:
- Loan MS 19
- Source of Acquisition:
- Purchased directly from descendants of the Author by the British Library in July 2017 with the aid of a grant from The Collections Trust.
- Publications:
- Published as letter 146 in D Le Faye’s Letters of Jane Austen (OUP, 1995); and letter 134 by R W Chapman in the first edition of Jane Austen’s LETTERS: to her sister Cassandra and others. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1932).
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)
- Names:
- Austen, Jane, novelist, 1775-1817,
see also http://isni.org/isni/000000012283635X
Leigh, James Edward Austen, Vicar of Bray - Related Material:
-
- Add MS 70625 : 30 Nov 1800. JANE AUSTEN: letter to her sister Cassandra; 30 Nov. 1800. Published in R. W. Chapman (ed.), Collected Letters of Jane Austen (1952), no. 28. For further letters of Jane Austen to Cassandra,.... Also formerly of Loan MS 19, purchased by the British Library in 1990.
- Loan MS 19 : 19th century. Letters of Jane Austen. 19 the century Lender: Mrs Joan Mason Hurley and her daughters.
- Add MS 41253 A-B. LETTERS AND PAPERS of and relating to Jane Austen. The collection forms part of a larger one previou... (1801-1842). Includes additional letters to family members.