Every day Sophie Dupre presents two items from her large stock of signed photographs, autograph letters, autographs for sale, royal memoralbilia and antiquarian manuscripts.
The photographs are presented with the catalogue descriptions.
On this day... see what happened on your special day
March 13
On This Day
On this day in 1884 Khartoum, the capital of the Sudan, was beseiged by al-Mahdi and his followers. The city, which had been defended by an Egyptian garrison under General Gordon, was captured, and its defenders, including Gordon, were slaughtered. The most popular account of Gordon's death was that he put on his ceremonial gold-braided blue uniform of the Governor-General and the Pasha's red fez and that went out unarmed to be cut down by the Ansar.
GORDON (Charles Gordon, 1833-1885, General Gordon of Khartoum, ‘Chinese Gordon’)
Superb Illustrated Autograph Letter Signed to “My dear Gerald”, starting with a description of his journey to Galatz by rail and carriage, “as I could not speak the languages German is by far the most useful out here & I must try and learn it ... I thought to find it very mountainous near Czernowitz where the Carpatheans extend their spurs but it is not so ... this is the route the savage tribes of old used to follow in their descent on Daria and Roumania, and it is fine pasture land ...Divorce being so very easy that a woman may meet two of her former husbands in the same room. Galatz is a large semi civilised place ... The Commission consists of Turkish, Austrian, English, French, Russian, Italian, Prussian Commissioners, who meet twice a year & make very prosy proposals. The Executive Committee is Stokes, who rules them all & carries everything ...” he continues that he had been “down to the Delta .. it is a dismal swamp ... the villages are principally Russian ... they used to be much persecuted, they do not smoke but make up for it by drinking ... All these environs are historical ...” he details some events of note in the area and continues that “The Turkish soldiers are fine soldierly fellows with quite a swagger ...” he has drawn an excellent detailed map of the area on the final sheet, with all the places that are mentioned clearly named, 8 sides 8vo., Galatz, 22nd November 1871
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