ALS to 'My Dear Sir', from the British Museum, Oct. 6th 1837. 'I'm afraid I shall not come up to the expectation of the public.'

PANIZZI, Sir Anthony.

Verlag: n.p. 1837, 1837

Beschreibung

56 lines in black ink across all four sides of 4pp 8vo; lightly folded for posting with sl. dusting on p.4, but overall clean & readable. A very nice letter from Anthony Panizzi, recently appointed Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum, concerning his new position, and the merits of the library and its reading room. It is not clear who this letter is addressed to, although a previous owner has suggested the MP Benjamin Hawes, who was involved in overseeing the running of the British Museum. Panizzi starts the letter by thanking his correspondent for returning to him a work on the Bibliothèque de Lyon, 'which I had not the least recollection of having left in your hands', before thanking him 'still more for your congratulations on my appointment'. He wonders whether the public might not be disappointed by him, 'partly because I am not the master of doing what I think right, partly because the public may expect what is either impossible or unreasonable, and still more because I am afraid the very good opinion kindly entertained of my poor qualifications may cause disappointment'. Panizzi is keen to extol the virtues of the library, noting improvements in readership and efficiency, and proudly pointing out, 'Readers are supplied with books in less than half the time than heretofore'. He continues, 'we now are infinitely above all other reading rooms in the world; and, if listened to, in a few weeks I shall have put the R.R. in such a state as was hitherto considered a dream rather than a reality to be hoped for.' Panizzi, 1797-1879, was born in Brescello in the Duchy of Modena (now in Northern Italy), but was forced into exile for his political beliefs. He arrived in Britain in 1823, and became a British citizen in 1832. Well connected in literary circles, he enjoyed a long and influential career at the British Museum, and was elevated to principal librarian in 1856, a position he held for ten years. PLEASE NOTE: For customers within the UK this item is subject to VAT. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 98667

Bibliografische Details

Titel: ALS to 'My Dear Sir', from the British ...

Verlag: n.p. 1837

Erscheinungsdatum: 1837