Charles Dickens (Portsmouth, 1812 - 1870, London)
Letter to Henry Ingersoll, Esq. from the United States Hotel, Philadelphia, 6 March 1842
Ink on paper, 24.5 x 19.5 cm (9 5/8 x 7 11/16 in.)
Long Gallery
Commentary
In 1875, Isabella Stewart Gardner and her husband adopted three of their nephews, all of whom had been recently orphaned. Gardner was an attentive aunt and read aloud from the novels of Charles Dickens to the boys every weekend. Dickens was among the greatest celebrities of the nineteenth century, and Gardner displayed two documents bearing his signature in the Long Gallery of the museum.