Courting Gentility: Handel at the Bank of England

The discovery that Handel began investing in South Sea Annuities five years earlier than previously believed (1723 rather than 1728) offers important new information about the composer's investment practices and their financial outcomes. Further, renewed examination of the records at the Bank of England has permitted a better understanding of the importance of signed transfer forms as biographical documents and, in particular, provides new information about the distribution of Handel's estate. Included are a diplomatic transcription of the newly identified account from this early period, biographical identification of persons named in the account, a financial accounting of Handel's investments from 1723 to 1732, and photographic images of the account ledger and selected transfer forms.