John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury SIGNED letter 1850 w/Photo for Sale

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John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury SIGNED letter 1850 w/Photo For Sale

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John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury SIGNED letter 1850 w/Photo:
$49.00

A handwritten, SIGNED letter from John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury, to William Deane dated November 15, 1850. The letter is written in ink on two sides of a single page measuring about 4 1/2" x 7 3/16".

John Bird Sumner (1780 – 1862) served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1848 to 1862. He wrote this letter while serving in that office. The letter is signed "JB Cantuar," the signature that Sumner used while Archbishop.

Shortly after taking his seat in the House of Lords, Sumner voted for Catholic emancipation, which brought him into conflict with many of the clergy in his diocese. The anti-Catholic sentiment referenced in this letter apparently stems from the division of Great Britain into Roman Catholic dioceses, which was done by Pope Pius IX in 1850 without consulting the inhabitants. Sumner acknowledges receipt of a tract on the subject and promises to "take the earliest opportunity" to transmit it to Queen Victoria.

Condition is very nice. The letter is well-preserved. The words "Address to Her Majesty" are underlined faintly in pencil. On the photograph, some identifying information is written very lightly in pencil.

The letter comes with other Sumner-related items which our father kept with it in his collection. These include (1) a photograph of Sumner measuring about 2 7/16" x 4 1/8" with the logo of Caldesi Blanford & Co., Photographers, on the reverse; (2) the listing from the sale or catalog through which our father purchased the letter; and (3) a copy of an encyclopedia article on Sumner.

Our rough transcription of the letter follows:

[page 1]

Addington, Croydon

Nov 15 1850

Sir

I have the honor of acknowledging the receipt of an Address to Her Majesty for the Parishoners & rate payers of St. Pancras, Exeter, on the recent "attempt to" introduce a Papist hierarchy into this Kingdom: & I will take the

[page 2]

earliest opportunity of transmitting the same to Her Majesty, as desired.

I remain, Sir, yr [cannot make out writing]

JB Cantuar

[to:] Willm Deane

Our father was a bibliophile who collected rare books, letters, and ephemera for more than 60 years. For now and into the foreseeable future, we will be listing rare paper items from his estate.

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