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Historical Letters

I wish I could afford this. 

The treasure trove of almost 1,000 documents, collected over 30 years by a wealthy Austrian banker, includes letters written by Winston Churchill, Peter the Great, Mahatma Gandhi, Alexander Pushkin, John Donne and Queen Elizabeth I.

One of the rarest and most touching of the collection is a passionate letter written by an apologetic Napoleon to his wife to be, Josephine, the morning after a furious argument.

“I send you three kisses—one on your heart, one on your mouth and one on your eyes,” wrote the chastened lover in a spidery scrawl full of corrections and crossings out.

The letters, which cover more than 500 years and range across art, science, literature and philosophy, are to be auctioned by Christie’s in London on July 3 and are expected to raise up to 2.3 million pounds ($4.6 million).

Posted by Owen at 2020 hrs
Culture

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