An original autograph note by Anne Thackeray Ritchie (1837–1919) — novelist, essayist, and daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray — written on the front page of a four‑page lettersheet, the remaining three sides left blank. This is complete, exactly as sent, lacking only the envelope.
The note reads:
try & see Bella this week with kind remembrances to yr. daughter believe me Yr. very truly Anne Ritchie
This is a classic example of Ritchie’s polite social‑managerial correspondence, used to coordinate visits, literary engagements, and philanthropic calls within her London circle. The formal valediction (“Yr. very truly”) and the respectful line (“kind remembrances to yr. daughter”) indicate the recipient was an acquaintance or peer, not a family member.
Context & Identification of “Bella” (tentative but strong)
The brevity and tone strongly suggest “Bella” was a literary contemporary rather than a relative. The most plausible candidate is:
Bella Duffy (1858–1923) — Irish writer, translator, and social reformer, active in the same London literary networks as Ritchie, the Stephens, and the Brownings.
Duffy was precisely the sort of woman Ritchie might encourage an acquaintance to “try & see this week,” especially in the 1875–1895 period.
Identification remains tentative, but Duffy fits the tone, period, and social function of the note better than any alternative.
Anne Ritchie was a central figure in late‑Victorian literary society, closely connected to:
The Stephen family (Leslie Stephen, Julia Stephen, and later Virginia Woolf)
Women’s literary salons and philanthropic committees
The extended Thackeray and Browning networks
Autograph material from her social correspondence is scarcer than her literary letters and is valued for its insight into the interpersonal fabric of Victorian literary life.
The possible link to Bella Duffy adds interest for collectors of women’s writing, Irish literary history, and late‑Victorian reformist circles.
Condition as photos. All items can be returned for a full refund if found to be not as described.
Anne Isabella, Lady Ritchie (Jun 1837 – Feb 1919), eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray, was an English writer, whose several novels were appreciated in their time and made her a central figure on the late Victorian literary scene. She is noted especially as the custodian of her father's literary legacy, and for short fiction that places fairy tale narratives in a Victorian milieu. Her 1885 novel Mrs. Dymond introduced into English the proverb, "If you give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish you do him a good turn."
Bella Duffy (1849–1926), was an Irish translator and writer who spent most of her life in Italy.
PROVENANCE:
One of c.2,500+ items once from the collection or dealer stock of Winifred A Myers (Autographs) Ltd, St Martins Lane, London, evidenced by the quantity of Myers pre-printed envelopes and paper folders and the general ‘presentation’ of the items, many having Myers identification notes in pencil.
Winifred Alice Myers (1909 - 1985) served as ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers Assoc) president, 1950-1952. See the ABA website for an extended article on Myers. Myers left her business, in 1985, to Ruth Shepherd, who traded from home until 2004.
Complete with digital .jpg CoA - as photo - for you to print if needed
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