LAYARD (Sir Austen Henry, 1817-1894, Archaeologist, M.P. & Diplomat, Excavator of Nineveh)

Autograph Letter Signed to "My dear Lord" regretting that "Thursday being a House of Commons night I am unable to accept your very kind invitation to dinner. Having taken a somewhat active part in Parliament I am now compelled very reluctantly to decline the engagement ...", 1 side 8vo., 9 Little Ryder Street, 5th March

In the 1840s Layard, supported by the British ambassador at Constantinople, made astonishing discoveries in ancient Assyria. Later, as M.P., he visited the Crimea and was an outspoken critic of the conduct of the war. Between 1857 and 1860 he was out of the Commons and devoted his energies to causes dear to his heart, the Risorgimento in Italy and the art of the unsophisticated early Renaissance, visiting Italy and buying pictures for himself and the National Gallery.

Item Date:  1855

Stock No:  39546      £125

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