May 2nd marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Hester Lynch Piozzi in 1821. Known to Johnson as Hester Thrale for the duration of their friendship, Piozzi was a significant figure in his life. A close friend and confidante and regular correspondent, Piozzi went on to publish her ‘Anecdotes’ of Johnson in 1786 and an edition of their correspondence in 1788. Hester Lynch Piozzi was a woman of letters whose poetry, travel accounts, diaries, notebooks and marginalia provide an unrivalled glimpse into a long literary life spanning the later Georgian and Regency period. In celebration of this extraordinary life, this month’s blog post shares some of our favourite items relating to Hester from the Birthplace Museum Collection.
View of Streatham Park
Hester Lynch Salusbury married the brewer Henry Thrale in 1763 and Streatham become her home, along with the House adjoining the brewery in Southwark. Johnson first visited the Thrales in 1765 and became a regular visitor at Streatham.
The view shown here is the house he would have known after extensive improvements in 1771. This drawing of the property is by Peter Richard Hoare. It is possible that the artist visited the property when the contents of the house were sold in May 1816.
The Summer House in the grounds of Streatham was a favourite spot of Johnson’s, who used it for writing and even had a birthday party thrown for him there. It was moved to Kent in the 1800s century, where this photograph from our collection was likely taken, and then to Kenwood House in North London in the 1960s. It was sadly destroyed by arson in 1991.
Samuel Johnson’s Letters
Johnson and Thrale were regular correspondents. The Birthplace Museum holds a small collection of letters written by Johnson to his ‘Dear Lady’, most of which were penned while visiting the Midlands.
This letter written to Hester on 19 June 1775 includes much of the usual subject matter of Johnson’s letters to Hester, often writing on the health of himself and others, enquiring after life at Streatham Park, and Hester’s family. He also shares local news (including Johnson having been pecked on the leg by a Parrot!) The playful and friendly tone of their correspondence is apparent, and Johnson ends with: “I have begun early for what would become of the nation if a letter of this importance should miss the post?”
Drinking Tea in Lichfield 1787
This letter in Hester’s hand shows her ongoing association with Lichfield and Johnson’s circle after his death. Evidently written during a visit to Lichfield, the Reverend Henry White has invited Hester to visit, but she makes her excuses for herself and Mr Piozzi, and her daughter Cecilia as they are already engaged to see Peter Garrick, brother of David Garrick. She suggests an alternative plan to meet at their lodgings at the Swan Inn.
Miniature portrait
This miniature shows Hester in mourning attire after the death of her second husband, Gabriele Mario Piozzi in 1809. Gabriele Piozzi was a singing master and composer who had been tutor to the Thrale children. They married in 1784. The miniature was owned by Hester’s uncle and was passed down through the family. It was painted in 1811, and acquired by the Birthplace in 1974 with assistance from the Art Fund.
Anecdotes of Samuel Johnson and other annotated books
Hester Piozzi’s Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson LLD during the last twenty years of his life were published on 25 March 1786. The first edition was so popular that it was said to have sold out on the first day, and four editions had appeared by May. The Birthplace Museum holds a very special copy of this book amongst a small collection of books annotated by Hester herself, and given as a gift to a friend in her later life. Her additional notes add extra details to her texts, and she points out items of particular interest with a charming illustration of a hand.
