Letter by Dr. Samuel Johnson was discovered after 250 years. (Chorley Auctions via SWNS)
A letter written by ‘man of letters’ Dr. Samuel Johnson, rediscovered after being lost for nearly 250 years, has fetched nearly four times its estimate at auction.
The find was a complete surprise to the owner and auctioneers brought in to value books and rugs at an ancestral home in Gloucestershire.
Literary giant Dr. Johnson compiled the first English dictionary and wrote countless essays and letters in his lifetime.
He penned the three-page letter to the 12-year-old daughter of a renowned British author and friend in 1783.
It was known about and had been reproduced but the whereabouts of the original were unknown.
It was valued at between £8,000 and £12,000 pounds but was bought by an unnamed museum for a hammer price of £30,000 at Chorley Auctioneers.
Samuel Johnson (1709-84), often referred to simply as Dr. Johnson, was a renowned poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer.
His 1755 book A Dictionary of the English Language is considered one of the single greatest achievements of scholarship, and he is described by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as being ‘arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history’.
Dr. Johnson’s letter to the young Sophia Thrale had been logged as ‘present location unknown’ for around two centuries, despite its contents being published in The Letters of Samuel Johnson in 1994.
But it was recently rediscovered by complete coincidence during a routine valuation by Chorley’s auction specialists.
Dr. Johnson was in regular correspondence with young Sophia’s mother, British author and patron of the arts Hester Lynch Thrale, and their letters later provided important insights in 18th-century society.
The pair first became acquainted when Hester, who hailed from one of the most illustrious Welsh land-owning dynasties, the Salusbury family, married brewer Henry Thrale in 1763 and moved to London, where she met leading literary figures such as Dr. Johnson, who became close friends with her and her children.
The 1783 letter is the only known correspondence between Dr. Johnson and Hester’s sixth daughter, Sophia, to have survived – though references to others are found elsewhere.
In the letter, an elderly Dr. Johnson, well into his seventh decade, chides Sophia for not thinking of her as his favorite, writing: “My favour will, I’m afraid never be worth much, but its value more or less, you are never likely to lose it.”
He also praises the young girl’s maths ability, saying: “‘Never think, my Sweet, that you have arithmetick enough, when you have exhausted your master, buy books, nothing amuses more harmlessly than computation.”
The letters between Johnson and the Thrale family began in 1765 but abruptly ended in 1783 after the mother’s second marriage following her husband’s death to an impoverished Italian music teacher, of which Dr. Johnson disapproved.
Letter by Dr. Samuel Johnson was discovered after 250 years. (Chorley Auctions via SWNS)
However, Hester and Dr. Johnson later reconciled before the latter’s death in 1784, with his friend later publishing a book based on their letters titled Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson.
Detailing the circumstances in which the shock discovery was made, Werner Freundel, Director at Chorley Auction House, explained: “Initially, I was asked to value a collection of books and rugs for a family who had recently taken over their ancestral family home.
“I spent a long afternoon between the library and drawing room, collating volumes of Tillotson, Defoe, Kipling and Scott that had been separated throughout the years, during their time in the various generations of the family.
“One of the cupboards in the library yielded several manuscript volumes detailing the household expenditure during the late 18th and 19th centuries.
“There were also fascinating diaries, accounts of society gossip, family feuds about inheritance, as well as advice on etiquette, marriage, and grumbles about failing health.
“I then came across a volume of over 100 letters that the family weren’t aware of and I asked if I could take them away to go through.
“Later, alongside a manuscript specialist, we examined everything in more depth and it wasn’t long before our curiosity was piqued by the mention of Sarah Siddons, Hester Thrale-Piozzi, several members of the Hoare banking family and Samuel Johnson.
“Finally, a letter from and signed by the famous Dr. Johnson appeared towards the end of the volume.
“We were thrilled to discover that it was a missing letter written by Dr. Johnson himself to Sophia Lynch Thrale, which is currently listed as ‘current location unknown.’
“We felt honored to handle such a historic document by one of the greatest contributors to the history of English.
“Johnson developed what we know as the English dictionary, not as a student’s tool, but as a literary work.
“His creation of the English dictionary was the impetus for all subsequent dictionary genres.
“It is a complete mystery as to how the letters came into possession of the family.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
Edited by Maham Javaid and Newsdesk Manager
