Autograph letter and envelope signed by illustrator Richard Doyle Dinner Invite

DOYLE, Richard (1824-1883). Autograph letter signed accepting a dinner invitation from the Hon. Mrs Lyulph Stanley. 7 Finborough Road, South Kensington, April 3rd 1876.
 
Single sheet folded, 180x115mm, written on one side only, with the original envelope addressed and initialled by Doyle to the Hon. Mrs L. Stanley at 82 Harley Street, Cavendish Square. The letter with an old horizontal fold and light toning; the envelope opened and somewhat worn, with postal markings and its original one-penny stamp; otherwise overall, very good.
 
Doyle accepts a dinner invitation. The recipient was Mary Katherine “Maisie” Stanley, née Bell, wife of Edward Lyulph Stanley, the Liberal politician and educational reformer who later became the 4th Baron Stanley of Alderley. Their Harley Street home was a noted social address, and the survival of Doyle’s original addressed envelope makes this a more complete and attractive example of his social correspondence.
 
Richard Doyle was a leading Victorian illustrator and caricaturist. He joined Punch in 1843 and designed the magazine’s celebrated crowded cover, while his later work became particularly associated with fairies, elves and the supernatural. His best-known illustrated book was In Fairyland, published in 1870. He was also the uncle of Arthur Conan Doyle.