GERALD MASSEY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 10/1 - HFSID 73509

GERALD MASSEY
The nineteenth-century British author and Egyptology expert sets plans with a colleague, signs name in black ink
Autograph letter signed: "Gerald Massey" in black ink. 1 page, 4½x7 with blank integral leaf. Ward's Hurst, Kingshall, Hemel Hempstead. October 1, no year. In full: "Dear Sir, I only make one journey but will stay on so as to offer you December 17th. Thinking that will suit you I am". Docketed on blank leaf verso. Gerald Massey (1828-1907) was an English poet and writer on Spiritualism and Ancient Egypt. As a child, Massey had a gloomy life working in laborious factories with a very poor family, therefore he was easily attracted to Christian Socialism, becoming well-associated with notables such as Frederick Denison Maurice and Charles Kingsley. His education led him to a deep interest in Egyptology, particularly the similarities between their mythology with Gospel stories, and he was a strong advocate of the comparisons between Jesus and the Egyptian god Horus. A promoter of spiritual evolution, Massey believed that Darwin's theory of evolution was incomplete without spiritualism. Massey's writings include the poems "Voices of Freedom and Lyrics of Love" (1850), The Ballad of Babe Christabel" (1854) and "A Tale of Eternity" (1869), as well as books on Egypt such as The Book of the Beginnings, The Natural Genesis, and his most well-known book Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World. Slightly soiled. Mounting paper remnant at right edge of blank leaf verso. Toned. Light surface creases. Overall, fine condition.