Russie

Lord St Helens Alleyne Fitzherbert Baron St Helens diplomat Ambassador to Russia and Chief Secretary for Ireland. Autograph Letter Signed from St Petersburgh to General Bentham introducing 'Mr. Vaxel' who is coming to study in England.

réf. 25992 — 'St. Petersburgh 26th. Jany. 1802.'. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. For the context see Irina and Dmitri Gouzevitch ‘Travelling interchanges between the Russian Empire and Western Europe / The Travels of Engineers during the First Half of the Nineteenth Century’ in Simões Carneiro and Diogo eds ‘Travels of Learning / A Geography of Science in Europe’ Boston 2003. 1p 8vo. Nineteen lines of closely-written text. On aged and worn paper. The item has been torn away from a mount resulting in damage to the two outer corners with the area immediately to the right of the signature ‘St Helens’ lacking. The name of the recipient ‘Genl. Bentham Esqr &c &c &c’ has the word ‘Genl.’ heavily worn. Folded into a packet. Begins: ‘Give me leave my Dear Sir to introduce and recommend to you the Bearer of this Letter Mr. Vaxel a young Russian Literati who is going to England by order and I believe at the Expence of this Government in order to study Hydraulics. As he has been particularly recommended to me by the Vice-Chancellor and some other persons in high Office I could not avoid giving you this trouble being persuaded that nobody is more capable than yourself of pointing out to him the best method of presenting his studies to advantage’. In the rest of the letter he states that Vaxel is ‘a nephew of your late valuable Friend Coll. Itamalnoff’ with ‘Admiral Medvinoff’ as his ‘chief Patron’. He also gives Vaxel's titles. Note: "Mount St. Helens takes its English name from that of the British diplomat Alleyne Fitzherbert 1st Baron St Helens a friend of explorer George Vancouver who surveyed the area in the late 18th century". 'St. Petersburgh 26th. Jany. 1802.' unknown