Letter from Jane Porter to Thomas A. Woolnoth, June 26, 1822
By Cassandra McLean
Introduction
This letter is written by Jane Porter (1776 - 1850) and addressed to Mr. Woolnoth. The timestamp reads, “12 o’clock, June 26, 1822.” In the letter, Miss Porter wishes to arrange the order of a package of prints. She is very pleased with the prints’ accuracy and likeness and would like half a dozen prints so that she has some to send to Paris. The package itself is to be addressed to Miss Porter, in the care of Mrs. Taylor.
Description
There appears to be no envelope included, so I believe that it was a hand-delivered note. The letter itself is written on a single sheet of paper and folded in three. The writing begins on the first third on the back, then crosses onto the other side and fills up all three parts. The address is written on the third part on the back; with the letter folded in three, it is then folded again into another three parts for delivery.
There is a stamp at the edge of the paper underneath the address. It reads, “12 o’clock, June 26, 1822.”
Notable features
There is a heart-shaped stain just above the written address. Under it appears to be a faint stamp, though the words are difficult to make out.
Analysis of letter
The contents of the letter include Jane Porter’s arrangement of ordering a package of prints, the subject of which is Porter’s brother, Sir Robert Ker Porter. The letter itself is written in the third person; she writes that she has received a proof of the print and is very pleased with the result. Her deaf mother, Porter reports, was the one who received the package from an unnamed delivery person, the latter of whom “communicated the message delivered” from Mr. Woolnoth. It seems that Mr. Woolnoth was wondering about the name on a plate; Porter confirms that the name is simply her brother’s name.
Something interesting to note is that Porter’s writing for “communicated” gets smaller as she nears the end of the page, which suggests that she is trying not to break her letters up (only doing so in the first instance when she ran out of room). She goes on to address the topic of how many prints to order: she would like half a dozen so that she has some to send to Paris. It is unknown if she is referring to the location of Paris or a person named Paris.
After looking through the British Museum’s objects, I learned that Mr. Woolnoth in the letter is Thomas Alfred Woolnoth, and the Museum includes his portrait of Sir Robert Ker Porter. According to Wikipedia, Woolnoth was “known for his portraits of theatre people” and “was engraver to Queen Victoria.”
Diplomatic Transcription
Long Ditton – Surrey –
Tuesday Evening
Miss Porter presents her compts [compliments]
to Mr. Woolnoth — & has
just received the specimen
of the prints. — Her mother,
(who saw the young person
that brought it,) being deaf,
is not sure she has communi-
cated the message he delivered
from Mr. Woolnoth — but
Miss Porter, in reply to
what has been communicated
to her — says that the
name under the plate
is to be merely —
“Sir Robert Ker Porter.”
[page break]
Mr. Porter also mentions
that Mr. Woolnoth wishes
to know how many
prints she would like
to have — and she
ventures to ask for
half a dozen —
she would like to
have them as soon
as possible, wanting
to send some of them
to Paris.— she is much
pleased with the
[page break]
beauty of the
engraving, &
indeed the accuracy
of the likeness. —
Address the packet of
prints "to Miss Porter, to
the care of Mr. Taylor,
61 — Harley Street —
Cavendish Square” —
[page break]
Woolnoth Esqre [Esquire]
1 — Fitzroy Square
London —
Portrait of Jane Porter
This portrait of Jane Porter features her in a three-quarter profile. It was made by Samuel Freeman in 1811 and published by Charles George Dyer.
Portrait of Sir Robert Ker Porter
This portrait of Jane Porter's brother, Sir Robert, was made by Thomas Woolnoth in 1822. It features Sir Robert from the waist up, dressed in a uniform and leaning against a rock with his left hand on his hip.
