Item 35a: “Bangs and Brothers” Handwritten Note [by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington] [Addressed] about Mr. [Thaddeus] Duckett, [1847 July 24]
Item — Box: 2, Folder: 35a
Dates
- Created: [1847 July 24]
Creator
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
letter
Condition Note:
Good. No vinegar smell.
Measurements:
4 ¼ in. x 3 ¾ in.
Description:
This item, along with Item 24b, are a letter sent from an unknown third party to someone living at No. 1 Flowers’ Building, in Holloway, London regarding Duckett, Thaddeus William, 1776-1851, a newspaper editor and writer, and the Duke of Wellington Wellesley, Arthur, 1769-1852 possibly on July 24, 1847. The letter contains a brief note, a translation in pencil from a previous archivist, and a description of the note in pencil, also written by a previous archivist. The note is a brief comment about how Mr Duckett had been asking for something repeatedly, and that the “D. of W.”, possibly the Duke of Wellington, has not and will not oblige Duckett. The previous archivist wrote a date on the bottom of the right side, which is likely the date it was created. This date may have come from a stamp or a seal that has been removed. This date fits the timeframe constrained by when Wellington and Duckett were alive in London and before the Holloway address was renumbered. The archivist also identified the “D. of W.” as “The Duke of Wellington”, specifically one that fought and won at the Battle of Waterloo, which resulted in the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The only Duke of Wellington fitting this requirement is Wellesley, Arthur, 1769-1852. The archivist’s brief description of the note suggests that an autograph was kept with the note and Item 24b, the envelope containing the letter. During the suggested time period, Wellington had just stepped down from leading the Conservative Party (Tories) in the House of Lords when it dissolved and he retired from politics but still held the title of Commander-in-Chief until 1848. Letters in the University of Southampton’s archives show a relationship between the two, where Duckett, Thaddeus William, 1776-1851 frequently asks Wellington for financial assistance regarding some political pamphlets he was writing. The address on Item 24b suggests that this letter was intended for someone living at No. 1 Flower’s Building, Holloway, London, which may have been relabeled to 134-138 Holloway Rd in 1866, according to the Islington Heritage Service. The building is currently a retail/housing property. This note was written in the third person, and contains no autograph from Wellington, however when the note was in possession of Bangs and Brothers’ and was identified as having an autograph. Duckett’s plea for financial assistance was presumably not granted and in August of 1848, he writes again to Wellington for financial assistance, having failed to find a job in the press. In December of 1848, he writes once more, asking for monetary aid because his place of employment, Thorp Arch College in Yorkshire, had financially collapsed.
Location:
[No. 1 Flower’s Building, Holloway, London, possibly 134-138 Holloway Rd]
Transcription:
[left side]
[fine brown ink]
Autograph note of The Duke of Wellington the Hero of Waterloo.
[thick brown ink] Mr Duckett has held out the same prospects and made the same promises twenty times over! The D. of W. has not undertaken and will not undertake to support him.
[right side] [pencil] Translation.
Mr Duckett has held over the same prospects and made the same promises twenty times over! The D. of W. has not undertaken and will not undertake to (compel?) him.
July 24. 1847.
[thick brown ink] Mr Duckett has held out the same prospects and made the same promises twenty times over! The D. of W. has not undertaken and will not undertake to support him.
[right side] [pencil] Translation.
Mr Duckett has held over the same prospects and made the same promises twenty times over! The D. of W. has not undertaken and will not undertake to (compel?) him.
July 24. 1847.
Creator
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu