Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0037 (412)

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[Alexandria] 15 November 1883
My dear Constantine,< I am in receipt of your letter 5th inst- ant. As you will readily imagine, we were much annoyed to see the delay in the payment of the £ 100. The fact is, the Credit Lyonnais telegraphed viâ the Egyptian line, and telegrams on these wires are generally two or three days going. The money ― however ― is doubtless now in your hands. Thanks for your praise of my lines “without a name”. Swinburne’s verses are new to me.
The Gentleman’s for November I posted you last week. You are right in supposing that your sub- scription entitles you to the Annual: I shall forward it as soon as it is out. I note Alexander has put off his return, and trust he may succeed with Balthaggi ― At the same time I cannot but regret that I shall not see him as soon as expected. The Cholera still exists but the mortality keeps low. As forshadowed in my last letter, I have been staying for a few days with Moss at the “Beau Séjour” in Ramleh. The Hotel is picturesque and well-kept: I have enjoyed my stay immensely ― No further news from Field and Weightman. You will notice that this letter is written in a shaky hand; I have a bad cold, and every two seconds am obliged to pull and tug at my fertile nose till my arm is quite tired with the exertion ― Many kisses to mother, Alexander and Paul ― Believe me ever Your affectionate John.

DIGITAL OBJECT DESCRIPTION

IDENTITY AREA

REFERENCE CODE:

Records the unique identifier that has been appointed to the unit of description by the archivists, in order to facilitate references made to the fonds on an international level.

GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0037 (412)

TITLE:

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Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

DATE(S):

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15/11/1883

LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION:

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Item

EXTENT AND MEDIUM:

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27 x 22 cm

FORMER REFERENCE CODE:

Records the former identifier of the item as given by the Historical G. P. Savvidis Catalogue.

F52_Φ1-31

CONTEXT AREA

NAME OF CREATOR(S):

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Cavafy, John

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE AREA

SCOPE AND CONTENT:

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Handwritten letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy on both sides of a letterhead of R. J. Moss & Co., Alexandria. John refers to his health and to family news. (Alexandria)

CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE AREA

CONDITIONS GOVERNING REPRODUCTION:

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CC BY-SA 4.0 Cavafy Archive Onassis Foundation

LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT NOTES:

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English

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

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Writing in ink. Watermark: R. J. Moss & Co., Alexandria.

NOTES AREA

NOTE:

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The transcription and editing of the letters of John Constantine Cavafy addressed to C. P. Cavafy was first carried out by Katerina Ghika; said transcriptions were subsequently uploaded to the official website of the Cavafy Archive.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Literary annotation, providing additional information on the digital object.

We learn indirectly that C. P. Cavafy has recommended Swinburne’s work to John Cavafy, which the latter ignored. We also learn that certain untitled verses by John were liked by C. P. Cavafy.

ACCESS POINTS

Key-words aiming to facilitate search within the fonds.

SUBJECTS:

Epidemic (cholera)

Letter

Journals:

Gentleman's Magazine, The

PERSONS:

Baltatzis, Leonidas

Cavafy (Fotiadi), Charikleia

Cavafy, Alexandros P.

Cavafy, C. P.

Cavafy, John Constantine

Cavafy, Paul

Moss, Robert Johnson

Swinburne, Algernon Charles

CORPORATE BODIES:

Crédit Lyonnais

Field & Weightman

CITATION:

For citation purposes, please use the reference provided here.

Cavafy, John Constantine. “Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy”. Letter, 15.11.1883. GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0037 (412), Onassis Foundation C. P. Cavafy Fonds. From The Digital Collection of the Cavafy Archive, edited by Onassis Foundation, Athens, last modified 01.10.2025. https://doi.org/10.26256/CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0037.