£700 - £900
POTTER, Helen Beatrix. Autograph letter, signed (H. B. Heelis) to Elizabeth Tyson. Castle Cottage, Sawrey, January 7, 1935. Unpublished and unrecorded.
17.5 x 11cm, 2 pages, creased and weak where folded; lightly soiled, with autograph envelope addressed Miss Tyson, Busk House, Ambleside (2)
To the local antique dealer discussing auction sales, a portrait of a dog at Dove Cottage and referring to her first cousin Edith Gaddum, nee Potter who lived at Brockhole
"...I could not make out anything with Mrs Rawnsley* - there is a duplicate of the dog's portrait at Dove Cottage. I should think the artist made two copies for various members of the family; yours and the Grasmere picture both look to be old paintings in original frames. Yours ought to fetch a good price to America and I see no harm in its going abroad since there is one in safe keeping as Grasmere, that is to say if you don't find a local purchaser. ... I wonder if there are any curiosities amongst Dr Leeming's* things. The oak sounds rather overcarved. There might be curious old articles in a Kendal house that has been so long in one family. The advt. mentions a horn snuff box amongst the pewter. ...Mrs Gaddum* was delighted with the jug and I have been finding great pleasure in the china. I think the Delph [Delft] dishes are very fine. I positively won't come again til I have seen (and paid) the bill!" [with postscript] "Are Dr Leeming's goods only on view the morning of sale? That's alright but I could not sit out the sale if I saw anything I fancied"
*Eleanor, "Nellie" Foster Rawnsley, nee Simpson (1873-1959) of Allan Bank, Grasmere, second wife of Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley (1851-1920), one of the founders of the National Trust
*Dr Robert Whineray Leeming MD (1859-1934) of Kendal where he practiced for 52 years succeeding his father who practiced for over 40 years. Father and son lived in the same house for nearly a century (source: BMJ Jan 12, 1935, p88)
*Edith Gaddum nee Potter (1863-1937) Beatrix Potter's double cousin who lived at Brockhole, Windermere
Provenance: Elizabeth Tyson (1878-1970) thence by descent in her extended family to the present vendor
Fees apply to the hammer price:
Room and Absentee Bids:
28.8% inc VAT*
Online and Autobids:
30.6% inc VAT*
