Lord Durham Rare Books

PARRY, Sir William Edward R.N. [1790 - 1855] & FRY, Elizabeth (Betsy) (née Gurney) [1780-1845]

Letter addressed to Mrs. [Elizabeth] Fry signed by William Edward Parry

Place Published: London
Publisher: Sir William Edward Parry
Date Published: 1826
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: No binding

Autograph Letter signed, dated Admiralty, May 18th, 1826, addressed to Mrs. [Elizabeth] Fry, Newgate. 21 lines, 1 p., with conjugate address leaf, approx. 5x7 inches, hinged on the left with linen onto a larger album page, very good condition.

Letter of introduction: My dear friend, Permit me to have the pleasure of introducing to you the Miss Waldegraves, sisters of Lord Radstock, very pious amiable people, and very desirous of your personal acquaintance. The tickets which I deputed to Bichenda to ask you for were for these ladies, than whom I can assure you, few individuals will more rightly appreciate the privilege you have thus given them. I am my dear friend, with truest esteem, very sincerely yours, W. Parry." The Misses Waldegrave referred to by Parry in this letter were the sisters of George Granville Waldegrave, Second Baron Radstock, 1786- 1857, a British Naval Officer and Vice-Admiral in 1851.

The recipient of the letter was almost certainly Elizabeth Fry, 1780- 1845, the famous British prison reformer, who had in 1817 formed an association for the improvement of female prisoners in Newgate, and later instituted an order of nursing sisters.

The original Elizabeth Fry Society of Canada was founded in 1939 by Member of Parliament Agnes MacPhail

Sir William Edward Parry [1790 - 1855] was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer, who in 1827 attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole. He reached 82°45 North latitude, setting the record for human exploration farthest North that stood for nearly five decades before being surpassed at 83°20 26 by Albert Hastings Markham in 1875-1876.
Very Good+. Item #3295

$395.00 USD
$536.25 CAD