This book is an album of photographic prints that were made from photographs shot by John Parsons under Rossetti's directions. All the photos seem to have been shot on 7 July 1865 at Rossetti's house on Cheyne Walk. Most of the shots were taken outdoors, in the garden, but two were made indoors in the parlor. Some of the prints are original (dating from 1865), some were made later as an effort to preserve the images, which were seen to be fading. The latter were produced sometime early in the twentieth-century, as the extract from the letter of Emery Walker, included in this album, indicates.
—“and then there are the photographs posed by Rossetti made from the prints you had framed together. You will remember we thought these were fading and we made new negatives to save their lives—”
. . .“I have been waiting to hear of you being at home again to send you the photograph-book, made and completed during the Summer: I
felt it must not start travelling until it could go straight to Kelmscott and
the Tapestry Room. So now I speed it to you as soon as I hear: and here it is
with my love.
I send it with some trepidation and diffidence: for it is a precious document and
a heavy trust—and though its and the man who mounted and framed them
for your father was a mere malefactor.
He nearly undid me seven times at least. He would use starch or decent flour as his mountant sometimes, and I got on very nicely, evolving a beautiful technique for dealing with them: then one mounted glue turned up, and I was nearly shipwrecked before I was aware! The worst problems of all came because he wanted to regiment them into his top-mount into holes of the same size; and it was impossible for me to know that he was covering up pieces of picture of varying (and sometimes large) size.
This has seemed to me important: for these prints are, in essence, original compositions by Rossetti, and the proportion of figure to space is an expressive part of his intention. In the 9th print in the book, for instance, the hidden portions make the figure far more impressive— and to me it has always been a thing of the greatest grandeur.
But in the 15th print I fear that you may feel upset and annoyed by what at first looks like a ruin (though to me it is my masterpiece of craft!), The framer daubed glue all over the underside of his top-mount regardless of whether it was going to meet back-mount or hidden photograph-surface when he laid it in position. When it sqeeged itself over a piece of photograph it darkened and tarnished it; in this case the photograph's starch-mountant had perished, so that when I tried to separate the top mount, pieces of unheld, hidden photograph came away before I knew—the paper being almost rotten. I was merely helpless. In the circumstances you may think I ought to have trimmed off the hidden, discoloured part, and preserved simply what had previously been visible: but the proportions then so falsified Rossetti's intention that I felt powerfully inhibited from doing it.
If you dislike the appearance too much, I think a thin top mount might be contrived, to shew only the portion previously seen.
As for the portrait on glass, you will see that I have managed to get a perfect new print made from it, in the beginning of the book. I then thought I would try having it made nearly as large as the others; and the result is so nice that I have put it in after the last of the others—so that it is not in the way if you think it is unnecessary.
I thought it best to have a few extra leaves put in, on the chance of your having one or two later photographs that you might like to add—or perhaps some early ones of your father.
One more flaw I must mourne, I told the binder to sew in a few leaves of handmade paper at each end, for possible annotations: and the dolt has used the blue colour one only sees in account books. Possibly it will fade—but I was grieved; something like that always happens with workpeople unless one can stand over them!
I hope rather ruefully that you will not find it permanently exasperating: and I trust you will approve the binding. I feel the pattern “comes” rather well, and that it needed to be large for so large a book.
Well, here it is—as well done as I could do it. I cannot describe to you the intense satisfaction and gratification I had in doing it. The prints would have perished as they were: and now one knows that at least this marvellous record is safe, and that it is assembled in a way to make for its preservation................
One thing I do long very much to see done: that is for you to write a short note about the history of the prints, and have it written out in a fair script on one of those blank pages. I would have seen to it—so that those who come after should realise their importance; but I do not know enough to write it..............
The photographer is coming at II on Wednesday. So I'll expect you as early as you can manage. Love to all at the Hole—