| Administrative History | James Boswell (1740 - 1795). The friend and biographer of Samuel Johnson, who appears to have been an early friend of Beattie, though it is unclear when they first met. He is first mentioned in the Beattie correspondence in 1770. He introduced Beattie to Johnson in 1771. |
| Description | Letter from James Boswell, London, to James Beattie, Aberdeen, thanking Beattie for Samuel Johnson's letter, which will be used in Boswell's biography of Johnson. Letter asks Beattie for any of Johnson's sayings; talks about Mrs Thrale's [Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi] collection of his letters ['Anecdotes of Samuel Johnson' 1786] and Boswell's friend Mr Malone [Edmond Malone (1741 – 1812), literary scholar and biographer] regarding Scotticisms. Mr Boswell writes about his wife's poor health - suffering from consumption, and mentions Beattie's explanation of his omission of Johnson from his 'Evidences of the Christian Religion'. Letter asks Beattie to 'Please to address under cover of John Courtenay Esq: M. P.'
Letter accompanied with an envelope addressed to Beattie. |