Up for auction this week is a tiny note from General Gordon written whilst Khartoum was under siege.
Dated June 22nd 1884 and written in Arabic it says "...Mudir of Dongola Khartoum and Senaar in perfect security and Mahamed Ahmed carries this to give you news and on his reaching you give him all the news as to the direction & position of the relieving force and their numbers and as for Khartoum there are in it 8 000 men and the Nile is rapidly rising on arrival of the bearer give him 100 reals mejide'h from the States C G Gordon."
It was beleived that it was smuggled out of Khartoum, probably in the courier's hair.
Guide price is £500-£700 and I am very tempted by this! The problem is that now it has been in the newspaper it will probably go for much more and I really need to get a new PC this month! Whoever buys it might also get press coverage and my wife would have a fit if she found out I had bought it when she is demanding new shoes!
9 comments:
A new PC will become obsolete in a couple of years. Shoes will wear out. But this is a piece of history that will last forever - it's a no-brainer!!
Giles
Tchhh... how can one measure a small piece of history against a new pair of Manolo's????!!
I'm with Giles... :o))
There is always the time honoured buy-it-and-deny-everything routine! It sometimes works!
Does anyone know who was selling 'General Gordon's message from Khartoum' and who ended up buying it?
I recently inherited one of these notes from my father, and I would like to know more about Gordon and his work in Khartoum.
How lucky you are. I wished I had bid on the one up for sale a few years ago!
A good brief biography of Gordon is here http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/gordon/bio1.html
For a much more in depth book I suggest:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gordon-Khartoum-Demetrius-Charles-Boulger/dp/1846776775/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1
A fascinating and complex man he is not as well known today as he should be but note the number of Gordon Roads you see around the country!
Thank you!
If you are ever in Cambridge, please do let me know and I can show you the notes written by Gordon.
I do visit Cambridge from time to time and may take you up on this kind offer!
nice blog great job
Abdul Sami
Post a Comment