Thomas Steavens (c.1718–1759) Grand Tour Letters A group of ...

Thomas Steavens (c.1718–1759) Grand Tour Letters A group of six manuscript letters of introduction for Thomas Steavens and William Anne Capell, 4th Earl of Essex, Vienna and Naples, 1749–51. Seven manuscript letters, six signed and one unsigned, in Italian, French and Spanish, in brown ink on laid paper, comprising six bifolia and one single sheet, together ten pages written: Enrico Branden to an unidentified professor at the Academy of Turin, Vienna, 12 April 1749; autograph letter signed, in Italian, two pages written on one bifolium, with a contemporary note concerning Steavens beneath; original folds, light staining and show-through. Enrico Brenden to an unidentified correspondent at Bologna, Vienna, 12 April 1749; autograph letter signed, in Italian, one page written on a single sheet; original folds and slight marginal wear. Probably Carlo, Marquis Valenti Gonzaga, to the Marquis of Voghera, Vienna, 4 May 1749; manuscript letter indistinctly signed, in French, one page written on one bifolium; original folds, ink staining, light creasing and minor marginal wear. Probably Carlo, Marquis Valenti Gonzaga, to General Cavalieri at Mantua, Vienna, 4 May 1749; manuscript letter indistinctly signed, in French, one page written on one bifolium; original folds, generally very good. [Count de Lugaggi?] to an unidentified noblewoman, Vienna, 6 May 1749; autograph letter signed, in French, two pages written on one bifolium. Introducing Steavens as a member of "an illustrious English family", travelling for pleasure and instruction; praising the esteem he had earned among Vienna's foremost nobility and requesting the recipient's protection and introductions into Milanese society. Original folds, ink show-through, light staining and minor wear; generally good. Unidentified correspondent to Count Onorato Castiglioni at Mantua, Vienna, 7 May 1749; unsigned manuscript letter, in Italian, one page written on one bifolium; original folds, light staining and minor wear; generally very good. Giuseppe Antonio Pignatelli y Aymerich, Prince of Belmonte, to an unidentified correspondent, Naples, 17 May 1751; autograph letter signed, in Spanish, two pages written on one bifolium; original folds and light spotting, otherwise very good. Six letters introduce Thomas Steavens during his Grand Tour, recommending him to influential contacts in Turin, Bologna, Milan and Mantua and requesting that he be admitted into cultivated aristocratic society and afforded every assistance and courtesy. The letters collectively demonstrate the network of personal recommendations upon which an eighteenth-century gentleman depended when travelling between the principal European courts and cities. The seventh, written and signed by Giuseppe Antonio Pignatelli y Aymerich (1685–1771), Prince of Belmonte, introduces William Anne Capell, 4th Earl of Essex (1732–1799), upon his departure from Naples for London. Belmonte observes that the young nobleman's "calidades y mérito … no necesitan de recomendación"—his qualities and merit require no recommendation—and records his frequent visits to the prince's household. (7)

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