Catalogue Entry: THEM00123
Correspondence (late 1727) between John Conduitt and Alexander Pope concerning the (posthumous) dedication to Queen Caroline of Newton's The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended, with drafts and proofs of the dedication.
Custodial History
Bought at the Sotheby sale for £90 by Gabriel Wells, and offered to Keynes for the sale price plus 10% on 4 September 1936. This was evidently turned down by Keynes, since a week later Wells offered it to Yahuda (presumably for the same amount). It is not clear why the opportunity to buy this was not taken up.
Sotheby Lot
SL224aContents
(1) Conduitt to Pope, a draft letter in Conduitt's hand submitting the dedication to Pope for criticism.
(2) The dedication, in Conduitt's hand, 8 pp.
(3) Pope to Conduitt, a letter, 5 pp., Twickenham, 10 Nov. 1727, with criticisms and revisions of the dedication.
(4) French translation of the dedication (not in Conduitt's hand), 6 pp.
(5) The 'Chronology': printers rough proof of sheets 'A' and 'a,' containing the title, dedication (corrected in Conduitt's hand), etc.
Related Material
Section 3 printed in Brewster (1855), 2: 521-2.
