Description:

Dickens Handwritten Inscription Line for Reverend & Address Sheet for Anne B. Procter

A handwritten line by Charles Dickens from an inscription he wrote for a gift presented to Reverend Edward Tagart. The small slip measures 4.75" x 0.875", N.p., n.d. [ca. 1844]. The autograph manuscript, written in blue ink reads in full "and shall not be forgotten in their practices." The slip has been mounted to a small cardstock, which has in turn been mounted to a small sheet of paper. Accompanying the autograph manuscript is a handwritten address by Dickens, measuring 4.25" x 4.5", N.p., N.d. Again in blue ink, Dickens has written the address of "Mrs. Procter/10 West Cliff Terrace/Folkestone." It is probable that he was writing to fellow writer Anne Benson Procter, with whom he was friends as well as her husband and daughter. Both pieces have light soiling, with some mounting residue to the edges of the inscription line. The address page has flattened folds and a few small tears at the edges. Both have bold, clear handwriting.

Charles Dickens attended Reverend Tagart's Unitarian Chapel in Little Portland Street from 1843 to 1844. During the latter year, he was commissioned to write an inscription for a silver salver plate which was to be presented to the reverend as a gift from the congregation. The full inscription reads: "It is not presumptuous to hope that the precepts and example of a Christian Minister, wise in the spirit of his sacred trust, will awaken better testimonies to the fidelity of his stewardship, in the daily lives of those whom he instructs, than any that can be wrought in silver or gold. The Congregation of the Little Portland-Street Chapel, with sentiments of warm affection and respect, gratefully present this slight memorial to the Reverend Edward Tagart, not as an acquittance of the debt they own him for his labours in the cause of that religion which has sympathy for men of every creed and ventures to pass judgment on none, but merely as an assurance that his learning, eloquence, and lessons of divine truth have sunk into their hearts and shall not be forgotten in their practice."

Anne Benson Procter [née Skepper] (1799-1888), was a British writer who married poet Bryan Procter. The family had strong literary ties, including novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, poet Leigh Hunt, essayist Charles Lamb, and novelist Charles Dickens. Anne became well-known as a London hostess, and the couple's parties became an institution of literary London. Anne's daughter, Adelaide Anne Procter, also became a successful poet with close ties to Dickens.

As a young child, Adelaide Anne Procter (1825-1864) had a quick intellect and a gift for literature and language and began her literary career while still a teenager. In 1853, she submitted some of her work to Dickens' "Household Words" under the pen name "Mary Berwick", hoping that her work would be judged fairly and not simply because of her friendship with Dickens. Her poem's publication in Dickens' periodical began a long partnership between the two, with Procter publishing 73 poems in "Household Words" and 7 poems in "All the Year Round." She also worked with Dickens, as well as Dickens’s friend Wilkie Collins, on several Christmas ghost stories, "A House To Let" and "The Haunted House". In 1862, Procter fell ill and on February 3, 1864, she passed away from tuberculosis after being bedridden for nearly a year. Her death was described by the press as "a national calamity".

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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