[Literature & Art] Brontë , Charlotte. (1816 - 1855). Autograph Envelope to Elizabeth Gaskell with a notation by Mrs. Gaskell. An envelope addressed by Charlotte Brontë (2.75 x 4.5 in.; 71 x 121 mm.), postmarked on verso four times, Manchester, 27 December 1853, to Mrs. Gaskell ("Mrs. Gaskell, Plymouth Grove, Manchester.”), inscribed on the verso by Mrs. Gaskell: “Miss Brontë’s handwriting. E. C. Gaskell.” Light spotting and soiling, else fine. The envelope opened to show both writing examples, attractively matted and framed with a period engraving to 13 x 19 inches overall.



An exceedingly scarce example from the English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels, including Jane Eyre, have become classics of English literature.



A Victorian novelist, Elizabeth Gaskell is also noted for her biography of her friend, Charlotte Brontë. In 1850, The Gaskell family moved to Plymouth Grove, a large house beyond the manufacturing district in view of open fields. Here Elizabeth tried to bring some countryside to the town by keeping a vegetable garden, a cow and poultry. The house was always bustling and they entertained a stream of visitors there over the years including many eminent literary personages of the day, including Charlotte Brontë



The Manchester of the Gaskells' time was a city of extremes. It was a great cultural and intellectual center, boasting institutions like the Literary and Philosophical Society, the Mechanics Institute and the Athenaeum. It was also the symbol of the new industrial age and the rapid growth of industry made a huge impact on the landscape of the city. It was also a time of great political change with Manchester as a center of Chartist activity. Elizabeth Gaskell observed all these social tensions intimately and used her observations (and the hypocrisy that she saw at work) in her novels that have become known since as her ‘industrial novel’ genre. Gaskell’s work brought her many admirers, including Charlotte Brontë. When Brontë died in 1855, her father, Patrick Brontë, asked Gaskell to write her biography. The Life of Charlotte Brontë was published in 1857 to wide acclaim and demonstrated Gaskell’s great narrative skill. A wonderful association piece.