HENRY M. STANLEY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 09/24/1891 - HFSID 218149

HENRY M. STANLEY
He penned this letter in 1891 regarding rent money owed
Autograph Letter signed: "Henry M. Stanley" in black ink, 1p, 4½x7. London, September 24, 1891. On personal letterhead to Reverend J. W. Fellowes. In full: "My wife tells me I owe you for rent of Vicarage for seven weeks, Aug 5 to Sept 23 - at 10 guineas per week./ Though my accident debarred me from enjoying your unique house & its surroundings longer than 3 weeks, I send you a cheque herewith for £73.10-0./ If the sum is right kindly acknowledge receipt & oblige./ Yours faithfully". Prior to the 20th century, English commercial billings were sometimes denominated in guineas, one guinea equaling 21 shillings (1 pound and an extra shilling). Sir Henry M. Stanley (1841-1904, born as John Rowlands) was 17 when he came to the United States in 1858, and was adopted by a New Orleans merchant named Henry M. Stanley, who gave Rowlands his name. In 1865, the 24-year-old Stanley became a newspaper correspondent and traveled to Asia Minor, Ethiopia, Crete, and Spain. James Gordon Bennett, publisher of the New York Herald, commissioned him to lead an expedition into central Africa to find missionary David Livingstone. In November 1871, Stanley "found" him, greeting him with the famous remark: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" From 1874 on, Stanley led various exploring expeditions into Africa. He discovered Lake Edward, circumnavigated Lake Victoria, traced the southern sources of the Nile River, surveyed Lake Tanganyika, and opened up the Congo region. The Congo Free State was formed in 1885. The Congo city of Stanleyville, now Kisangani, was named in his honor. After becoming a repatriated British citizen, he served in Parliament from 1895-1900. He was knighted in 1899. Lightly soiled. Four paper clip stains along right edge, touching two lines of text. Otherwise, fine condition.