Lot Essay
The 1814 British Institution catalogue gives a reference in Shakespeare's King Lear, Act 1, scene 1: "Nothing can come of nothing..." etc., the actual text reads "Nothing will come of nothing", and comes after Cordelia's reply of "Nothing, my Lord" in reply to Lear's demand to his three daughters to tell him which of them loves him most. From Cordelia's answer stems the action of the play