Lot 227 , Quintin Dick, M.P. (1777–1858) — Political and Personal Correspondence, c.1804–1853. Including letters from William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) and John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1782–1845), Chancellor of the E

Quintin Dick, M.P. (1777–1858) — Political and Personal Correspondence, c.1804–1853. Including letters from William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) and John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1782–1845), Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1830–1834. A collection of approximately 90 autograph letters and notes, many addressed to Quintin Dick, British politician and Member of Parliament, spanning much of his parliamentary and public career.

The collection comprises correspondence from politicians, senior public officials, legal figures and other contemporary correspondents, providing an interesting record of the political and social networks surrounding Dick during the first half of the nineteenth century. The correspondence includes parliamentary, political, official and personal communications, with a number of letters connected with Irish political and administrative affairs.

Included is a letter signed by William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806), dated 1804, shortly after Pitt's return to office as Prime Minister. The short note requests Dick's presence at Parliament and provides a direct example of Pitt's correspondence with a fellow parliamentarian during his second ministry.

Other notable correspondents include John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1782–1845), Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1830–1834, in a letter dated 1831; James Watt, Queen's Proctor for Ireland; and other political, legal and administrative figures. The collection also includes correspondence associated with Shelton Abbey, Arklow, County Wicklow, many letters from John Polley of Layer Marney, Essex, multiple letters from Lady Louisa Strachan and a letter (sender unidentified) sent from Downing street 1827. One amusing letter dated 1834 to Dick complains of the behaviour of Lord Ranelagh under his command.

An interesting small archive of early- to mid-nineteenth-century political correspondence, with the Pitt and Althorp letters providing particularly notable examples of Dick's connections within the political establishment of the period.
£300-500