Article: Sale of historic letters in archive fetches 850,000 pounds

ONE of Britain's most important private archives, containing royal letters detailing the madness of George III, Lord Byron'saccount of his pursuit by Lady Caroline Lamb, and a grovelling note of thanks from George Washington, was broken up yesterday.

The collection, from Bowood House in Wiltshire, was sold by the Earl of Shelburne to help pay for the upkeep of the house. The sale raised pounds 853,230 - more than pounds 150,000 above the guide price suggested by Christie's, the London auctioneers.

The sale of the letters, sent to four previous generations of the earls of Shelburne and the marquises of Lansdowne, included correspondence from many important figures of the 18th and 19th ...

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