Saturday, 26 January 1861
Thurston Thompson? Photographer?1
Fine: ― rose at 7.30. Letters from E. Tennyson, & Windham Hornby & J.B. Edwards ― the last satisfactory.
But my eyes & stomach were ill at ease & I worked [], at the Bethlehem ― the black from the chimney annoying me horridly. So at 2 I cabbed to Foord’s ― & ordered glass for the frames. Returning ― spent the rest of the day in looking at paper &c. &c. &c. They sent, & put the glasses.
At 7 to Martineau’s. Mrs. M. always so kind, pleasing, & lady-like, the 2 Miss M. ― Edward M., & Bob ― a pleasant evening ― burning the Candles at dinner.
Walked back with Bob M. We spoke of Lockyer’s death.
XX
[Transcribed by Marco Graziosi from Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Eng. 797.3.]
- Lear might have been looking for information on photographic reproductions of his drawings, as Thurston Thompson is mentioned as taking photographs of the Mulready Drawings “previous to the presentation of these drawings to the National Gallery” in the Journal of the Society of Arts for 9 April 1858, p. 317. [↩]
Lear and photography–a tremendous subject.
Mathew Brady had been in London in 1851 to show his work at the Crystal Palace Exhibition. In the 1860s–when Lear is writing this–Brady was engaged in photographing the Civil War. Americans can check out the advances in camera work at the time by watching Ken Burns’ remarkable documentary on that conflict.