Description:

George Gordon, Lord Byron
Ravenna, Italy, June 24, 1820
Lord Byron Purchases Lottery Tickets…for Seats in the Theatre!
ALS
Classically "Byron-esque" content autograph letter signed "Byron", one page, 7.75" x 11.5", Ravenna [Italy], June 24, 1820, on integral address leaf letterhead to Richard Belgrave Hoppner, the English Consul at Venice and Byron's friend. Floated on a cream mat and set into a simple wood frame to overall dimensions of 10" x 13". Exhibits seal tear from opening and some show-through from address panel, else very good. Worthy of re-framing archivally.

Byron writes, in part: "…You will think it a strange request, but I will feel obliged by your compliance with the whim -- although it will be a further trouble -- It is to procure for me two chances (it will cost 60 francs the two) in the enclosed lottery at Vienna for the second lottery (the theatre) to be drawn August 1st. I will send the money by Vincenzo who is now here & will go to Venice in a few days. I apply to you as being one near that spot & as an outstanding man & as being a crony of mine… I can't do it through [?] because I can't trust them. Put my name or any name you like to the tickets…". He adds in a postscript: "You have sent me no answer to the letter about the deficit [?]. I am rushed to replace it…".

In addition to being the progenitor of the Romantic movement in literature, George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) was also known to be a lavish spender with a "reckless disregard for money," according to his mother. Pampered as a child, undisciplined at school, extravagant in his habits and with a healthy dose of "épater les bourgeois," Byron was ill-equipped to handle money responsibly and thus spent a goodly amount of time dodging his creditors. In fact, the Lord was a bonafide spendthrift whose passion for horses and other animals, sports, gambling and theatre, combined with other expenses culled from his love affairs, left him chronically cash-poor. The 1812 publication of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" brought Byron the proverbial instant fame, but his debtors cared not a whit of that which did not refill their coffers, and he was forced to leave England in 1816 to escape them. Before leaving, Byron attempted to settle up by selling his considerable library, and then never returned. He financially slashed and burned his way through the Continent before settling in Ravenna for two years, from 1819-1821, during which he penned our letter. In it, he reveals that he continues to occupy himself with the pursuit of pleasures, in this case the acquiring of tickets to a theatrical performance in Vienna.

To be sure, Byron's life itself provided enough drama to obviate the need for theatre. For example, the same month as our letter, Byron would have a theatrical run-in with the Italian police who objected to the uniform worn by his private messengers. In a letter dated June 9, 1820, he writes: "I have incurred a quarrel with the Pope's carabiniers, or gens d'armerie, who have petitioned the Cardinal against my liveries, as resembling too nearly their own lousy uniform. They particularly object to the epaulettes, which all the world with us have on upon gala days. My liveries are of the colours conforming to my arms, and have been the family hue since the year 1066. I have sent a tranchant reply, as you may suppose; and have given to understand that, if any soldados of that respectable corps insult my servants, I will do likewise by their gallant commanders; and I have directed my ragamuffins, six in number, who are tolerably savage, to defend themselves, in case of aggression…". Incidents like these punctuate almost every period of Byron's colorful life.

While in Ravenna between 1819-1821 and in between drama with the police, the Church, politicians, his mistress Contessa Teresa Guiccioli, and in caring for a menagerie of exotic pets, Byron would still manage to write three works: "Between Two Worlds," "The Prophecy of Dante," and "Marino Faliero" -- the last of which would provide the basis of Gaetano Donizetti's tragic opera of the same name, first performed in 1835. He also continued to work on his masterwork "Don Juan," completing Canto V in 1820.

The outcome of Byron's request for lottery tickets is not known and research in Byron's other correspondence during the summer of 1820 reveals nothing, so perhaps this "whim" was overshadowed by so many others in the life of the most notorious of nineteenth-century poets.

Richard Belgrave Hoppner (1786-1872) was an artist, translator and friend of Byron, with whom he corresponded frequently.

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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  • Dimensions: 7.75" x 11.7"
  • Medium: ALS

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