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Auction: 323 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1429

Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777). Scottish poet and author known for his picaresque novels. Brief ALS, one page, 8vo. Chelsea, November 12, 1757. To an anonymous correspondent, reading:

"Be so good as to let the Bearer Mr. Colquhoun have twelve pounds & this shall be in lieu of a Receipt. I should be glad that the rest of the £50·could be had by Tuesday in the afternoon, or Evening about six o' clock when I shall come to Forrest's. I am sorry you should have the Trouble of going thither in person: but should that be Inconvenient you may send to Dear Sir your most obliged serv't, T. Smollett."

"Roderick Random", "Peregrine Pickle", and "Ferdinand Count Fathom" (the first Gothic' novel) had all been published in the previous ten years, and each was a great success. But Smollett seems to have consistently lived beyond his income, and this letter appears to indicate that he was once again short of cash. This letter is unpublished, though it is listed in The Letters of Tobias Smollett (edited by Lewis Knapp, Oxford, 1970), under "Documents Signed by Smollett," and it is referred to in Knapp's Tobias Smollett: Doctor of Men and Manners (Princeton, 1949, p. 336). Frayed and browned at the edges; small hole in center (affecting no text) neatly repaired (where the seal was broken), otherwise in good condition. Autograph material by Smollett is quite rare.

From the collection of Diana Herzog.

Sold for
$1,600