Description:

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Concord, MA, May 30, 1872
R.W. Emerson 3x Signed ALS Re: Sale of Wife's Family Home
ALS
A 3pp autograph letter signed three times by writer Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), the first time when referring to his wife within the text as "Mrs Emerson"; the second time at the conclusion as "R.W. Emerson"; and the third time when referring to his wife in the postscript as "Mrs Emerson." May 30, 1872. Concord, Massachusetts. On bifold stationery. The outer leaf is blank and was presumably pencil-inscribed by the letter recipient. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, three horizontal folds with minor splits. A small closed tear near the top of page 1/page 2 affects one word. Else near fine. 5" x 8."

Emerson wrote this letter to Dr. Le Baron Russell (1814-1889), one of his oldest and closest friends. The two men had been in communication about the sale of Emerson's wife's childhood home in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Russell's younger sister Lucia Russell Briggs (1821-1881) was the buyer. Emerson shared some information about the current tenant of Winslow House, one Mr. Seavey, which might inform when Lucia would officially move in. A few of Emerson's wife's Jackson relatives are also mentioned.

Emerson wrote in part:

"I did not write to Mr Seavey as soon as you suggested it to me, being in great arrears to many correspondents, as well as to other duties. When I wrote, he replied with bitterness, saying that he had been promised by our agent the refusal of the house, if he should wish it, + previous notice, +c. +c.

Of which facts, if they be facts, we had never heard, - but only from Mr George Jackson, that Seavey would probably leave it in our hands soon.

But Mrs Emerson thinks that Seavey's statement of its value to him may be of some importance to you, if your sister should not wish to occupy it this summer, since he seems to be ready to pay an increased rent. We have found that George Jackson was really our responsible agent, though I have uniformly seen only Abraham J. in my dealings.

With constant regard,
R.W. Emerson

I quote from Seavey's letter to Mrs Emerson these lines -

'You say, report came to you that it wanted $1000 worth of repairs. Now 75 or 100 dollars would have covered the whole: merely one coat of paint upon the outside would have been all that was necessary for this season. As to my feeling that $350 rent was an exorbitant price, I should not have considered $500 an unreasonable sum, it you had keep the house in decent repair.'"

The Russell Family had been the Plymouth, Massachusetts neighbors of Emerson's second wife Lydia (Lidian) Jackson (1802-1892). Lidian's family home was the Edward Winslow House, a sizable Georgian style mansion overlooking Plymouth Harbor built in 1754 (the site was purchased by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants in 1941 and is now known as the Mayflower House Museum.)

The Winslow house had considerable sentimental value for Emerson and his wife. In January 1835, on the staircase of Winslow House, Lidian claimed to have had a precognitive vision showing her marrying Emerson (he proposed to her later that month!) The Emersons were married in the downstairs parlor of the Winslow House on September 14, 1835. Although the couple moved permanently to Concord after the wedding, Lidian retained ownership of the house, collecting rent from the property, and visiting friends there regularly.

The correspondence of Ralph Waldo Emerson shows that he and Dr. Russell had been discussing the sale of the Winslow House since as early as October 1870. Lucia Russell Briggs is believed to have taken ownership of the residence sometime in the Spring of 1872.

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: 5" x 8"
  • Medium: ALS

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