Description:

James Russell Lowell 3 Excellent Autograph Letters Signed, 1877-1878

A collection of three letters from American Romantic poet, James Russell Lowell, circa 1877-1878. The letters are all likely addressed to then-president of Harvard, Charles William Eliot, during Lowell's professorship. Lowell had begun teaching at the college in 1856 and, despite having no natural desire to teach, he remained at the position for nearly twenty years. He finally resigned in 1874 but was persuaded to continue teaching through the end of 1877. By that time, Lowell had gained a strong interest in Spanish literature and was granted the position of Minister to the court of Spain by Rutherford B. Hayes (Lowell had previously spoken on Hayes' behalf at the 1876 RNC). Lowell would not return to the U.S. until 1885. Below you will find highlights from the three letters:

1. 2pp of a bifolium, measuring 4.25" x 6.5", Elmwood [Cambridge, Massachusetts], n.d. Signed "J.R." and addressed to an unnamed recipient - likely President Eliot. Reading in part: "I have written to Mr. Whitney. It has been my hope for years that we might some day continue to get him here. Would not this be a good opportunity to divide my somewhat incongruous Professorship, making Mr. W professor of Philology & Modern Languages & me simply professor of Belles Letters or Poetry? The suggestion seems to me a good one & in the direction of scientific classification…"

2. 1p, measuring 5" x 7.75", Elmwood, dated June 9, 1877. Signed "J.R. Lowell" and addressed to "Mr. President". With an early draft of his poem proposed for the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Boston. Reading in part: "I wrote this out of a wreath of smoke from my after-dinner pipe:
To men (us) who died for her on land & sea,
That she might have a country great and free,
Boston rears this: build you their (our) monument
In lives like theirs (ours), at duty's summons spent…"

3. 4pp of a bifolium, measuring 5" x 7.75", Spain, dated August 15, 1878. Signed "J.R. Lowell" and addressed to "Eliot". Lowell petitions Eliot on behalf of Spanish educators at the Institucion Libre de Enseñanza who need financial aid. Reading in part: "…The professors are many of these men who have sacrificed an established position from principle & have accepted what, if not a daily martyrdom, is here at least the large (social) excommunication in its place….They are very poor. The largest sum one of them can earn in a year (teaching three hours a day) is three hundred & fifty dollars, & that is perhaps the dearest capital in Europe. Now you (forgive me) are the best beggar since we lost Agassiz, & couldn’t you raise a little money for them? They get nothing from France & only £10 from England…The professors have the enthusiasm of men who are devoting themselves for a cause. Most of them are, I believe, republicans, though not all…If you can raise a few hundred dollars it will be a help. But I must not appear in the matter…"

The letters all have flattened mail folds and light toning. Two have a few ink spots and minor amounts of soiling. Bold signatures on all. The back blank page of the second letter has been removed. Overall very fine.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) graduated from Harvard College in 1838 and later earned a law degree at Harvard Law School. In 1841, he published his first collection of poetry, and in the following years, used his poetry as a platform to express his anti-slavery beliefs. Lowell became known as one of the fireside poets, a group of writers from New England in the 1840s that included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and John Greenleaf Whittier.

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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