Rare autograph letter signed, dated “24 July 1830” by the great British mathematician and inventor of early ancestors of computers like his “Analytical Engine”. To Miss. Cowell: “…The pursuits of science do not always destroy the feelings and affections of the heart I use them as well as I can to conceal from the world and from myself the destruction of my own happiness. Do not imagine therefore that I felt otherwise than highly honored by a confidence which excited my sympathy to a degree which I found it difficult to control. I shall obey your instruction implicitly and hope shortly to pay my respects to you again…”. Most surviving letters of Babbage are short messages, and this is the closest to a love letter known from this shy and reserved man, then 39. 1 p. In-8.

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