Autumn: 1819
Permit me, with every expression of profound respect, to trespass upon Your Grace’s attention with intelligence which, I believe, will be most particularly agreeable to a gentleman of your refined antiquarian taste. By a concurrence of fortunate circumstances (and, I confess, a few discreet enquiries of my own), I have lately come into possession of certain folios of uncommon age and mystery, which, to the instructed eye, bear the unquestionable character of the Alexandrian School.
These volumes, or rather fragments thereof, are composed upon a parchment of singular texture—smooth and ductile, yet retaining vestiges of extreme antiquity. The ink itself, of the palest sepia, has congealed in irregular veins, which some learned men consider emblematic of early Egyptian composition. Most persuasive of all, upon the outer coils appear markings—half-symbol, half-letter—which, to my inexperienced view, suggest the work of that scholarly community that flourished beneath the shadow of the Great Library before its lamented fall. The gentleman from whom they were obtained—an antiquarian of retiring habit, lately returned from the Levant—could provide no precise account of their earlier custody, save that they had ‘escaped a greater fire than any in London.’ Could these, My Lord, be remnants of that venerable collection once thought wholly consumed? I dare not pronounce, yet the possibility exalts the imagination.
I need not remind Your Grace that such an acquisition would render your already distinguished library the envy of every collector in Europe. The folios, at present, rest in a secure cabinet under my personal custody and may be inspected at your pleasure. For the sake of propriety, I mention (with diffidence) that a gentleman of considerable means has already expressed interest some guineas in excess of two hundred, but it is my earnest wish that they should grace so enlightened a repository as Your Grace’s.
Should you desire a confidential viewing, I shall be honoured to attend with the specimens and to submit whatever attestations or expert corroborations Your Grace might command. In the meantime, allow me to convey my profound esteem and my constant devotion to your distinguished patronage of learning and the arts.
With sentiments of the most respectful obedience,
Your Grace’s most humble and very devoted servant,
Mr. Peregrine Latchley
Dealer in Rare and Curious Books
Curzon Street, Westminster
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