Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0025 (400)

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[Alexandria] 31 May 1883
    My dear Constantine,        I am much obliged for your nice letter 20th.     Enclosed you will find the English translation asked     for. In reply to your questions: ― Mr. Moss is always     very kind to me: we pass our Sundays together in     Ramleh as of old. Mrs. Zervudachi was not at home     when we visited her. ―        A new English paper will be shortly started here     under the name of Egypt: mainly conducted by     Chapman and Royle, and edited by one called     Goodrich, an Oxford M.A. I shall send you the
    first copy of the journal, as a curiosity.        Major Baring is appointed to occupy the pos-     ition lately held by Dufferin in Egypt. This new offi-     cial is at present somewhere in India and will go     to England before coming out here. ― Of course     you have heard of the proposal to make a new     Canal; today’s telegram states that negotiations        à ce sujet have already commenced with Lesseps.
    The french sentence: “L’histoire n’était     qu’une suite de mémoires redigées par orgueil de     race”, I would render thus: (’tis really a difficult     phrase to put into English) ―        History was nothing more than a collection of     continuous family records prompted by vanity
of lineage. ― With best love I am, dear Constantine Yours ever John.

DIGITAL OBJECT DESCRIPTION

IDENTITY AREA

REFERENCE CODE:

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GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0025 (400)

TITLE:

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Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

DATE(S):

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31/5/1883

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. He announces the impending publication of a new newspaper and refers to the political developments in Egypt.

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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Mainly 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.

John translates an excerpt from French into English, upon the request of C. P. Cavafy.

ACCESS POINTS

Key-words aiming to facilitate search within the fonds.

SUBJECTS:

Letter

Newspapers:

Egypt

PLACES:

PERSONS:

Baring, Evelyn (1st Earl of Cromer)

Cavafy, John Constantine

Chapman, (?)

de Lesseps, Ferdinand Marie

Goodrich, (?)

Lord Dufferin (Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Frederick, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava)

Moss, Robert Johnson

Royle, Charles

Zervoudaki (Mavrokordatou), Aikaterini

FAMILIES:

Zervoudachi, family

CITATION:

For citation purposes, please use the reference provided here.

Cavafy, John Constantine. “Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy”. Letter, 31.05.1883. GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0025 (400), 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-SF001-0025.