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Percy Bysshe Shelley: supposed portrait by George Romney. Five Autograph Letters Signed from William Salt Brassington Librarian of the Shakespeare Memorial to the donor of the picture Evan Marlett Boddy.

rif. 26009 — Three of the five from 1900 28 and 31 August and 4 September; and two from 1901 5 and 13 December. All on letterheads of the Shakespeare Memorial Stratford-upon-Avon. These five items are part of a collection of correspondence the rest is offered separately relating to a supposed portrait of a young Percy Bysshe Shelley by George Romney which was in a group of paintings donated to the Shakespeare Memorial Association by the appropriately-named anatomist Evan Marlett Boddy. The Shelley portrait is reproduced in ‘The Magazine of Art’ 1901 with the caption ‘Reputed portrait of Shelley as a boy by Romney. In the Shakespeare memorial Stratford-on-Avon.’ in an article on ‘Portraits of Shelley at the National Portrait Gallery’ p. 494. The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was founded through the efforts of local brewer Charles Edward Flower 1830-1892 after whose death its management was taken over by his brother Edgar Flower 1833-1903 also Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. On Edgar’s death these duties fell to his son Archibald Flower 1865-1950 several times mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon. Between 1899 and 1901 Boddy donated at least twelve portraits to be hung in the Shakespeare Memorial reading room from the correspondence wood carvings also appear to have been donated. Details of the first seven portraits including the supposed Romney one of Shelley are contained in a letter in the separate collection of correspondence of 11 December 1899 from Boddy to the Shakespeare Memorial librarian the archaeologist William Salt Brassington 1859-1939. The paintings included supposed works by Henry Fuseli ‘The Fuseli Macbeth’ and Sir Peter Lely Nell Gwynne Henry Wyatt Coleridge one of Alexander Pope ‘attributed to Hogarth’ as well as a ‘Garrick portrait’ one of Nell Gwynne and a ‘Spanish Lady’. In 1916 Boddy demanded their return on discovering that the Archibald Flower had broken the condition that Boddy had arranged in 1900 with the then librarian W. S. Brassington: ‘The Portraits were to be hung together and remain so.’ The present five items comprise four in 12mo totaling 8pp; and one the first in 4to 1p the first part of which is typed and the latter part in autograph. All signed ‘W. S. Brassington’. All in good condition lightly aged. In the first letter 28 August 1900 he writes: ‘Dear Dr. Boddy / Following the investigations respecting the portrait of Shelley I find that the description on the frame of the picture is not quite correct. / “Percy Bysshe Shelley aged 13 by G. Romney.” Shelley was born in 1792 and in 1805 he was 13 years old. Romney died in 1802 and did not paint much for some years before his death. From a careful examination of the portrait it appears to me that the subject is a boy of about 8 or 9 years of age and consequently the portrait may have been painted by Romney in or about the year 1800. Next month I hope to meet Dr. Garnett Richard Garnett 1835-1906 at the meeting of the Library Association at Bristol and hear what he has to say on the subject; He is the greatest living authority on Shelley. I am also writing to the author of a new life of Romney and hope to find a record of the sittings in Romney’s notes.’ In the second letter 31 August 1900 he recaps the position adding: ‘The more I see of the picture the more I like it: it is beautiful and to me more interesting than any of the others: it would be a treasure for any gallery.’ In the third letter 4 September 1900 he comments on a photograph of the Shelley portrait presumably for the ‘Magazine of Art’ article which he considers excellent. On 5 December 1901 Brassington writes: ‘Since last I had the pleasure of seeing you Miss Florence May has been hunting up the bust of Shelley which Mrs Leigh Hunt made & gave to Thomas Carlyle. It has now been found in Scotland and the owner has kindly sent me for the Memorial an etching made from the bust by W. Bell-Scott. It appears that the present representatives of the Shelley family do not like the bust though it undoubtedly is a likeness and it has a resemblance to the Romney portrait which renders it all the more interesting to me.’ In the last of the five letters 13 December 1901 he write: ‘It is quite time as you say that misfortunes attend some poor souls even after death but I fancy the poor departed generally score in the end if they deserve to do so. In Shelley’s case this must be so & it is a score that his portrait should be here. I shall do my best to get the Leigh Hunt Bust placed beside the Romney Portrait before next April.’ There is a final reference to his ‘young friend Nupean’. Three of the five from 1900 (28 and 31 August, and 4 September); and two from 1901 (5 and 13 December). All on letterheads of th unknown