LAYARD (Sir Austen Henry, 1817-1894, Archaeologist, M.P. & Diplomat, Excavator of Nineveh)

Brief Autograph Letter Signed to the Vice Chancellor of Queen's College, Cambridge, asking him to "be so kind as to return to me W. M. Lyon's letter (?) containing the description of the Vincent (?) Marbles? ..." 1 side 8vo., with original autograph envelope signed, 130 Piccadilly, 10th January

In the 1840s Layard, supported by the British ambassador at Constantinople, made astonishing discoveries in ancient Assyria. Later, as M.P., he visited the Crimea and was an outspoken critic of the conduct of the war. Between 1857 and 1860 he was out of the Commons and devoted his energies to causes dear to his heart, the Risorgimento in Italy and the art of the unsophisticated early Renaissance, visiting Italy and buying pictures for himself and the National Gallery.

Item Date:  1862

Stock No:  39424