WILLIAM H, PRESCOTT - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 27827

WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT
Historian William Hickling Prescott wrote this letter asking the recipient to bid on 12 books, mostly historical works, at an upcoming auction.
Autograph letter signed "W H Prescott". 1 page,7¾x9½. Docketed on verso. In full: "Dear Sir, I thank you to buy for me at the auction tomorrow the books mentioned below, at reasonable prices. I have not see them and therefore cant [sic] name prices, but submit it to your judgment. The history of the house of Austria I know is a good edition & uninjured. I would go for that as high as $3.50 per vol. Yours [illegible]". This letter is postscripted with a list of 12 books and multivolume sets, mostly on various historical subjects. Despite being rendered partially blind while at Harvard University, Prescott (1796-1859, born in Salem, Massachusetts) went on to become an important historian. Shunning a life in business, he began writing biographies before switching to history. His works inclue the three volume History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic (1838), the three-volume A History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain (1855-58) and History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843), all three-volume works, and the two-volume History of the Conquest of Peru (1847). Prescott made extensive and critical use of original sources and has been called America's first scientific historian. Fragile. Lightly toned, foxed and creased. Tape repairs on verso; show-through and discoloration touches signature and handwriting. Handwriting, but not signature, is lightly smeared in places but legible. Show-through from docket touches handwriting, but not signature. Tackholes in corners. Pinholes along left edge. Left and right edges are ragged. Light dent in lower edge. Random ink stains. Folded multiple times vertically and horizontally and unfolded. Holes and pinhole along edges and where folds touch. Otherwise in fine condition.