Autograph letter, signed ‘Oscar Wilde’, 2 pages, oblong 4to, with integral blank leaf, 29 Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, no date [probably November-December 1891], to an unnamed correspondent thanking him for sending a sketch, reading, in full, <‘Dear Sir. / I remember with great pleasure my visit to Worcester, and the courtesy I received from you when I was There. / Pray accept my thanks for the little sketch you have been kind enough to send me, and Believe me / Truly / Oscar Wilde’>, verso inscribed in another hand in red ink ‘Oscar Wilde b. 1854’, with pasted description of The Ballad of Reading Gaol from a bookseller’s catalogue and a handwritten note: <‘Note / When Oscar Wilde came to Worcester he was entertained by the Pen and Pencil Club at the Star Hotel. After dinner, we had some talk about the work of Gavarni [French lithographer and painter, 1804-1866], of which he expressed a great admiration. / H.W./’>, framed
Wilde was staying at 29 Boulevard des Capucines in November and December of 1891. He was experiencing great success, having just finished Lady Windermere’s Fan, which was about to be produced, and was currently at work on Salome. The visit to Worcester likely took place in December 1883, when Wilde lectured on “The House Beautiful”. He visited Worcester Cathedral, toured the Royal Porcelain works, and in a letter dated December 1883 he mentions his “most pleasant memories of my morning in Worcester” (Holland & Hart-Davis, The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde). The current letter does not appear to be in Holland & Hart-Davis, and is apparently unpublished.
h. 6 w. 11-1/2 in.
overall: 12 x 15 in. (frame)