An unpublished letter written by Nelson Mandela from his prison cell on Robben Island is to be offered at Bonhams’ South African sale in New Bond Street on September 14.
The letter was penned to Barbara Lamb, the daughter of his friend and fellow anti-apartheid activist, Michael Harmel. In it, Mandela sends condolences on the death of her father, news of which had only recently reached him. At the time – October 1974 – the future South African president was 10 years into a life sentence, following his conviction for sabotage at the Rivonia Trial in 1964.