Ɛpsilon

WCP6855

Author’s draft (WCP6855.7947)

[1]1

D[ea]r Sir

As I am staying for a few weeks somewhat nearer London I should like if not inconve to be

Would it be possible for you to make it convenient for me to com

While I am spending a few weeks in Sussex I should like if possible to take advantage of my greater proximity [to] reduced distance from London to come and see the Greenell2 portraits if you could make it convenient to yourself for me to do so. I shall be at the above address till June 1st. A Wednesday would suit me best as travelling facilities are somewhat greater on that day & I could call at almost any hour between say 11.30 and 4 P[ost].M[eridien]. [3] I might add that should it not be convenient for you personally to show me the pictures, perhaps you would allow one of your household to do so, as I should only require a few minutes in which to examine them & to satisfy my desire to become acquainted with the appearance of my namesake & ancestor.

1
Draft for a reply in the hand of the recipient in ink on the back [Originally in envelope at WP/16/1/82].
2
ARW described his attempts to obtain 4 ancestral portraits in a letter to his son William in February 1899 (see WCP162). William Greenell (d. 1791) an architect, was the brother of ARW’s maternal great-grandfather John Greenell (d. 1797) after whom ARW’s eldest brother and ARW’s youngest son were both named William Greenell Wallace. The 4 large oil paintings, including one of the architect, were originally owned by ARW’s mother’s sister Martha Wilson (née Greenell), then her cousin Miss Roberts, who bequeathed them to Mr. and Mrs. Gorringe, who were no relations of the Greenells. ARW wrote to Mrs. Gorringe asking if a professional photograph of the architect’s portrait could be taken for his autobiography My Life, but Mr. Gorringe refused to let the picture leave the house. ARW asked his son to enquire whether he could look at the picture of the ancestor after whom he was named and photograph it himself. It appears that any request was unsuccessful, as this latest attempt was made in 1925.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Author’s draft (WCP6855.7947)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2020-04-23]

Please cite as “WCP6855,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP6855