Bidspirit 拍卖 | Windsor Castle, 1877 – Autograph

Windsor Castle, 1877 – Autograph Letter in German from the Close Circle of the British Royal Court to Louise, Baroness Mayer Carl von Rothschild in Frankfurt – References to Queen Victoria and Members of the Royal Family – with Royal Mourning Envelope - An extensive autograph letter in German, dating from 1877, written on official Windsor Castle stationery bearing a Royal crown and heavy black mourning border, together with its original matching Windsor Castle envelope. The letter was addressed to Louise, Baroness Mayer Carl von Rothschild (1820–1894) in Frankfurt. Louise was the youngest daughter of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, founder of the London branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty, and the wife of the prominent Frankfurt banker and politician Mayer Carl von Rothschild (1820–1886). Born in London, she married her cousin Mayer Carl in 1842 and subsequently lived in Frankfurt while retaining strong connections with Britain. Mayer Carl and Louise were leading figures of the Frankfurt branch of the Rothschild family. They raised seven daughters and assembled an extraordinary collection of more than 5,000 works of art; Louise was also a major philanthropist in Frankfurt. The letter is written in an intimate and informal tone and extends over several pages. Partial decipherment of the difficult German handwriting indicates that it concerns social and Court life and contains references to “the Queen” and members of the Royal Family, apparently including Alice and Beatrice. One passage appears to refer to “Dinner bei d. Queen” – dinner with/at the Queen. The writer's references to the Queen in the third person indicate that the author was not Queen Victoria herself, but apparently a woman belonging to, or closely associated with, the Queen's family or Court circle at Windsor. The precise identity of the writer has not been conclusively established. Both letter and envelope are distinguished by heavy black mourning borders. The reverse flap of the envelope bears a Royal crown and the printed designation “Windsor Castle.” The envelope was postally transmitted from Britain to Frankfurt and retains an original British Queen Victoria 2½ Pence postage stamp, British postal cancellations and a Frankfurt arrival marking. An unusual piece of nineteenth-century Royal correspondence providing a direct documentary connection between Windsor Castle and the intimate circle of Queen Victoria on the one hand, and the Frankfurt Rothschild family on the other, with references to contemporary Royal Court life. Dimensions: Each page approx. 18.5 × 12.2 cm. The letter comprises 4 pages, all four fully handwritten. Envelope approx. 12.7 × 8.4 cm.