H. V. Tebbs Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Photographs, 1866-1897 (mostly 1866-1868)

Contents and Arrangement

Expanded View

Only show materials containing online content

Collection Overview

Creator:

Tebbs, H. V. (Henry Virtue)

Title:

H. V. Tebbs Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Photographs

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/d504rk33b

Dates:

1866-1897 (mostly 1866-1868)

Size:

3 boxes and 5.75 linear feet

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-3

Language:

English

Abstract: Consists of 76 cards of mounted photographs of drawings and paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, his wife Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, and a few other members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle. The group seems to have been put together by or for Henry Virtue Tebbs, lawyer and patron of the arts: he was a close friend and admirer of Rossetti.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of a collection of mounted photographs of drawings and paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, his wife Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, and a few other members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, put together for or by Henry Virtue Tebbs. Many of the mounts have been inscribed by Rossetti himself –- most importantly, items 1-18, the photographic portfolio of his late wife's drawings, but also a good number of the "detached" photographs. One is inscribed by Rossetti to Tebbs's wife Emily, and the letter which accompanied the gift is printed by Fredeman (see item 36 below). In addition, many of the mounts are inscribed in pencil with Tebbs's name, sometimes with reference to other collectors of the time such as Charles Fairfax Murray. It is perhaps no coincidence that a number of the originals of these photographs were owned at one point by Fairfax Murray himself. A photograph of a well-bearded man also in this collection (item 76) may be of Tebbs.

Some mounts have been signed by William Michael Rossetti, but this does not mean that he owned them –- he was in effect the family authenticator as well as the family archivist, and it is likely that he signed them to indicate that they had been authorized by the family.

A number of the photographs bear the stamp of Frederick Hollyer, the art photographer. He was well known for specializing in the reproduction of drawings and paintings; and many of those which do not bear his stamp may also be by him.

Arrangement

Organized into the following groups of photographs:

Collection Creator Biography:

Tebbs, H. V. (Henry Virtue)

Henry Virtue Tebbs was a close friend and admirer of Rossetti, and many letters to him and his wife Emily are recorded among Rossetti's correspondence. He bought works by Rossetti, promoted his work, and after his death wrote the preface to the 1883 exhibition of Rossetti at the Burlington Fine Arts Club. His intimacy with the artist was such that he was among a very few to be present at the disinterment of Rossetti's wife, Elizabeth Siddall, in 1869 when he wished to rescue the manuscript volume of poems which he had buried with her. Violet Hunt ( Wife of Rossetti, 1932, p. xxiv) states that Tebbs wrote an account of the event.

Collection History

Acquisition:: The Tebbses had two daughters, who did not marry, and they bequeathed a number of works of art to the Tate Gallery and to the Ashmolean on their deaths in the middle of the last century. The present collection must have become detached from the main collection, perhaps at about that time. It was purchased in April 2005 .
Appraisal: No appraisal information is available.
Processing Information: This collection was processed by John Delaney in April 2005. The finding aid is based on earlier work done by Christopher Edwards in 2005.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is available for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

H. V. Tebbs Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Photographs; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/d504rk33b

Location:

Manuscripts Division

Firestone Library

One Washington Road

Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

(609) 258-3184

Ask Us a Question

Visit Us