Cotton (Mary Ann)
Eight Letters written by Mary Ann Cotton from her prison cell together with her King James Bible.
The letters, which were written to William Lowrey of West Auckland, bear the 'County Gaol, Durham' blindstamp, and comprise;
23 July 1872, - Dear Friend, I write to ask you to employ a solicitor for me ...., 1 page ALS, addressed verso;
1 August 1872, - Mr Lowrey, In answer to yours, you must not give up either money or property until I see you ..., 1 page ALS;
14 August 1872, - Sir, Will you please tell my solicitor that I want to see him as soon as possible ..., 1 page ALS, addressed verso;
[14] September 1872, - ? Friend, Would you be so kind as to get ..., 1 page ALS, top edge torn with loss of blindstamp, addressed verso;
9 October 1872, - Dear Sir, I am very anxious to hear from you ..., 3 page ALS, addressed verso;
27 October 1872, - Sir, I was glad to hear from you ..., 2 page ALS;
11th February 1873, - Dear Sir, I take the opportunity of writing to you ..., 1 page ALS, addressed verso;
[18]th February 1873, - I wrote to you last weak not reseving enny answare ..., 1 page ALS, addressed verso;
It appears from the contents of the letters, that William Lowrey looked after Mary Ann Cotton's affairs while she was in prison, including the holding of her money and possessions, paying and chasing up the solicitor, etc. Her legal representation appears wanting and her desperation and increasing frailty can be witnessed in the contents and in her handwriting.
Also present is a 1 page typescript of 3 related letters including one from Lowrey to Cotton on the sale of her goods.
For the philatelist, the July letter has been sent without a postage stamp and bears an outstanding manuscript 2d postage due in black ink, the remaining five addressed (entire) letters bear 1d postage stamps, each tied by Durham obliterators, all with Darlington and Bishop Auckland backstamps.
King James Bible, Lacking title page, Cotton family annotation to end papers, rear pastedown inscribed 'Number of Watch 8648 23271', (believed by vendor to relate to Durham Gaol), front pastedown inscribed 'Bought of Mrs Cotton, William Lowrey', morocco binding, worn;
Provenance - by descent from William Lowrey.
[Mary Ann Cotton (1832 - 1873), sometimes described as Britain's first serial killer, is believed to have used arsenic to poison at least 21 people including her mother, three husbands, ten of her own children, five stepchildren, a lover and a friend. A resident of County Durham and an ex-nurse, she was able to continue killing for many years because the arsenic gave symptoms of gastroenteritis, a not uncommon cause of death at that time. Following a three day trial at Durham Crown Court, she was executed in Durham Jail on the 24th March, 1873]