Ada Lovelace | Autograph letter signed, 1841

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace

Autograph letter, in the third person, to Alfred Bunn, informing him that she has "made up her mind to engage a stall for the season" and asking him to call on her at home "to settle the locality, & also some other arrangements [...] on the event of her absence for a small part of the season", 2 pages, 8vo, integral blank, 10 St James's Square, 25 February 1841, previously folded, remains of former mount, 1.5 inch cut to inner margin, slight soiling

A RARE AUTOGRAPH LETTER BY THE GREAT MATHEMATICIAN AND PIONEER OF COMPUTING. Lovelace worked closely with Charles Babbage and her description of an algorithm for calculating Bernoulli numbers using the Analytical Engine is generally accepted as the first published computer programme. She was the daughter of Lord Byron, and her parents' notorious divorce cast a long shadow over her youth and upbringing, but in 1835 she married William, Baron King, who was created Earl of Lovelace three years later. They lived a life of exceptional privilege with country houses in Surrey and County Ross as well as their London home on St James's Square. Lady Lovelace's correspondent in this letter was Alfred Bunn (1796-1860), manager of the Drury Lane Theatre.

ONLY TWO OTHER LETTERS BY ADA LOVELACE HAVE SOLD AT AUCTION IN THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS.