The Poetical Works
Presentation inscription to Louise de Barante:
“Louise de Barante, from her affectionate friends Lord and Lady Aberdare.”
Mounted at the front, a photographic portrait and an autograph letter signed “Aberdare,” dated 13 November 1876 and addressed to Madame Le Bertre.
Named Poet Laureate in 1850, Tennyson embodied better than anyone the poetry of Victorian England: a vast and musical body of work, drawing on medieval legend and on meditations on mourning, faith, progress and the fragility of civilizations.
The principal interest of this copy, however, lies in its provenance. The presentation inscription is addressed to Louise-Marguerite Le Bertre, who on 5 December 1876 married Claude-Antoine-Félix de Barante, grandson of the historian and diplomat Prosper de Barante. The letter mounted at the front, dated 13 November of that same year and still addressed to “Madame Le Bertre,” was written a few weeks before the marriage. The inscription “Louise de Barante” therefore appears to have been added at the time of her entry into this prominent family of scholars, diplomats and bibliophiles.
The book was given to her by Henry Austin Bruce, first Baron Aberdare, and his wife Norah. A Liberal statesman, Lord Aberdare served as Home Secretary from 1868 to 1873, and later as Lord President of the Council. He also played an important role in the development of higher education in Wales.
Lady Aberdare, for her part, was an active promoter of women’s education. She helped establish Aberdare Hall in Cardiff, a residence for the first female students of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire.
This friendly presentation inscription thus brings together a young woman of the French aristocracy and a British couple closely linked to Victorian political, intellectual and educational life.
A charming copy; some foxing.