LEADER 05085cpcaa2200553 a 4500001 8127054 005 20240322165619.0 008 080311i17891797ctu eng d 035 (OCoLC)ocn702248903 035 8127054 040 CtY-LW |beng |eappm |cCtY-LW 041 eng 079 702184305 090 LWL Mss Vol. 64 100 1 Damer, Anne Seymour, |d1748 or 1749-1828. 245 10 Notebooks, |f1789-1797. 300 4 |fv. ; |c15 cm. 336 unspecified |2rdacontent 337 unspecified |2rdamedia 338 unspecified |2rdacarrier 386 Women |2lcsh 545 Anne Seymour (Conway) Damer (1749-1828), sculptor and author, was born on 8 November 1749, the only child of Field-Marshal Hon. Henry Seymour Conway (1719-1795), and his wife, Caroline Bruce, Lady Ailesbury (1721-1803), the daughter of John, fourth duke of Argyll. In 1767 she married John Damer, the son of Lord Milton, later the 1st Earl of Dorchester. They separated after seven years, and he died by suicide in 1776. Her artistic career developed during her widowhood, though the development of her youthful interest in sculpture is credited to her father's secretary, David Hume, and to the encouragement of Horace Walpole, who was her guardian during her parent's frequent trips abroad; in 1789, Walpole introduced Damer to Mary Berry (1763-1852), with whom she developed a passionate and lasting friendship. At his death, Walpole bequeathed her Strawberry Hill as his executor and residuary legatee. Damer exhibited 32 works at the Royal Academy and produced keystone sculptures for the bridge at Henley-on-Thames, a 10-foot statue of Apollo, now destroyed, for the frontage of Drury Lane theatre, and two bas-reliefs for the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery. Damer also wrote one published novel, Belmour (1801). 520 Manuscript, in a single hand, of a collection of excerpts of letters, in four volumes, from Mary Berry to Damer, transcribed and edited by Damer. The notes refer primarily to their passionate friendship and confidence in each other; their ill health, both mental and physical; and introspective commentary upon the reasons for their melancholy moods. Few of the entries are dated, and mutual acquaintances are left unnamed or else mentioned by initials only. Berry describes their friendship as having "become such a part of myself, or rather of something much dearer than myself, that I can neither live without it, nor dissatisfied with it, nor with the idea of ever being deprived of it." In Vol. 2, she mentions she has waited all day for her correspondent to visit her, having hoped that each carriage passing by will stop at her door. Elsewhere, she complains that her friend is leaving for Tours without her and of feeling "continual pains in my head, restless nights & miserable feels of weakness & langour." Other excerpts address Berry's thoughts on William Fawkener, Damer's suitor; Damer's persecution by the press; a crisis in their friendship at the end of July 1794 resulting in Berry's desire to distance herself from Damer socially, and then her decision to weather out the public attacks on their relationship; and Berry's secret courtship by General Charles O'Hara and its disintegration. 561 Purchased from Christie's (Waller sale, lot 10), December 1947. 546 In English. 530 Available on microfilm |bfrom The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University ; |dD182 1-2. 530 Available as pdfs |bfrom The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. 506 This material is available for research. 500 The original letters, from which these excerpts are transcribed, have apparently not survived. 500 Notebooks are numbered on the front covers and dated on the inside front covers. 500 Vol. 1 includes a sketch of a tree. 500 Binding: cardboard covers. 505 0 vol. 1. 1792 -- vol. 2. 1792-1793 -- vol. 3. 1793-1795 -- vol. 4. 1795-1797. 544 1 |dAssociated material: Anne Seymour Damer Collection (LWL MSS 48),Lewis Walpole Library. 524 Anne Seymour Damer, Notebooks. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University. 600 10 Berry, Agnes, |d1764-1852. 600 10 Berry, Mary, |d1763-1852. 600 10 Damer, Anne Seymour, |d1748 or 1749-1828. 600 10 Fawkener, William. 600 10 O'Hara, Charles, |d1740-1802. 650 0 Female friendship. |0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh96004236 650 0 Nobility |zGreat Britain. |0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh86001153 650 0 Nobility |zGreat Britain |xSocial life and customs |y18th century. 650 0 Women |xConduct of life. |0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85147282 655 7 Diaries |zEngland |y18th century. |2aat 700 10 Berry, Agnes, |d1764-1852. 852 The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University, Farmington, CT. 902 Lewis Walpole Library |bLEWIS WALPOLE LIBRARY (Non-Circulating) >> LWL Mss Vol. 64|DELIM|8536473 907 2008-03-11T09:41:56.000Z