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| Description | Thirty six proofs of illustrations for A R Wallace's autobiography 'My Life' (London, Chapman & Hall, 1905) captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's and at least one other hand; incomplete set enclosed in an exercise-book cover; comprising:
1. Printed illustration of a fish, from a drawing by Alfred Russel Wallace. Captioned in an unknown hand in ink '4. Plecostomus guacari. Fam. Loricariidae. | (One third nat. size.) '
2.Printed illustration of the valediction 'Thine in amity' and signature of Theodosius Purland, from a letter written by Purland to Alfred Russel Wallace in 1870.
3 Proof illustration of the back of an envelope postmarked Apr 10 [1869].decorated with a cartoon by T. Purland showing a mediaeval archer with a Bird-of -Paradise perched on his nose.
4. Proof illustration of a cartoon by T. Purland, headed 'Saturday!' and showing a man in top hat and coat with a bag under one arm and an [umbrella?] in the other hand, contemplating signs to various places at the four corners of a compass
5 Proof illustration showing part of a letter and cartoon, with the printed caption 'My Last Letter from Dr. Purland.' The cartoon shows a man with a knife in one hand holding a cat by its tail. The proof sheet is stamped on the top left 'First Proof - 7 Sep 1905' and annotated in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's? hand 'My Life. (Dr. Wallace)'.
6. Proof illustration of two fish, (an Angelfish and a Catfish) one above the other, from drawings by Alfred Russel Wallace. The top image is captioned '5. Pterophyllum scalare.[sic] Fam. Cichlidae. | (One third natural size.) ' and the bottom image '3. Pimelodus holomelus. Fam. Siluridae. | (One third natural size.)' both in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
7. Proof illustration of two fish, Cichlostoma severum and Cynodon scombroides, one above the other, from drawings by Alfred Russel Wallace. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
8. Proof illustration of a fish, Xiphostoma lateristriga, from a drawing by Alfred Russel Wallace. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
9. Proof illustration, portrait of Alfred Russel Wallace's mother Mary Anne Wallace née Greenell, aged 18, from a miniature. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'My Mother. From a Miniature Age 18.'
10. Proof illustration of a silhouette portrait of Alfred Russel Wallace's brother Herbert Edward Wallace, aged 20. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
11. Proof illustration with the printed caption 'Alfred R. Wallace. !878.' portrait of Alfred Russel Wallace, 1878, (aged 55) from a photo. He is shown to just below the waist, seated in a carved wooden chair, holding a book in his left hand. Both his hair and beard are white and he is wearing spectacles. Annotated in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'My Life' and with the page and volume number inserted in his? hand.
12. Proof illustration. Portrait of Alfred Russel Wallace's brother Herbert Edward Wallace aged 8, from a sketch by Miss Townsend, showing him to the waist wearing wide sleeves and a broad-brimmed hat. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
13. Proof illustration of The Grammar School, Hertford, from an engraving in Turner's History 1830. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
14. Proof illustration of a village near Leicester from a drawing by Alfred Russel Wallace 1844, dominated by a large almost central (oak?) tree with low farm buildings on the left of the picture and a broad road with low fence on the right. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
15. Proof illustration of a Derbyshire landscape from a drawing by Alfred Russel Wallace, showing part of a large tree-trunk on the far left of the picture next to a road which curves to the left from the foreground, with the top of a church visible in a wooded valley to the right. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
16. Proof illustration of a village near Leicester from a drawing by Alfred Russel Wallace 1844, showing a wide road bordered by a paling fence running from the foreground and curving slightly away to the left of the picture in the background, with buildings including a large brick chimney partly hidden by trees near the left foreground. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
17. Proof illustration of a small church in a landscape from drawing by William G Wallace near Llanbister in 1840, captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'A Lonely Chapel | pencil sketch by W.G.Wallace 1840.'
18. Proof illustration of buildings in the village of Llanbister, Radnorshire, from a drawing by William G Wallace, 1840. Captioned in ink in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
19. Proof illustration of the house 'Whittern', near Ludlow, Shropshire, from a drawing by William G Wallace, 1842, showing the house behind trees in the middle distance with a driveway between low stone walls in the foreground. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
20. Proof illustration of the house 'Whittern', near Ludlow, Shropshire, from a drawing by William G Wallace, 1842, showing the house behind trees in the middle distance with a driveway between low stone walls in the foreground. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand.
21. Proof illustration captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand, of the entrance to the cave Porth y Ogof, Vale of Neath, showing the figure of a woman in hat and long skirt standing on a ledge on the left of the picture. Black and white. From an undated and unattributed photograph.
22. Proof illustration in black and white of a waterfall, captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Ysgwyd einon Gam - Vale of Neath'. From an undated and unattributed photograph. The reproduction in Alfred Russel Wallace's autobiography 'My Life' is captioned 'Ysgwd Gladys, Vale of Neath.'
23. Proof illustration in black and white of a waterfall, captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Llanrhaidwr Waterfall.' From an undated and unattributed photograph.
24. Proof illustration in black and white captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Free Library, Neath | Designed by A. R. Wallace. 1847' showing an angled view of Neath Free Library building with a lantern-shaped sign reading 'Free Library' suspended over the arched entrance. From an undated and unattributed photograph.
25. Proof illustration in black and white captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Maen LLia | Upper Vale of Neath' showing a tall standing stone with hills in the background and a man standing near the stone on the right of the picture. From an undated photograph by Florence Neale.
26. Proof illustration in black and white in two sections, from photographs by Florence Neale; on the left showing a tall narrow standing stone surrounded by small boulders and on the right a copy of the rough latin inscription carved on it. Annotated in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand ' Maen Madoc | Upper Vale of Neath' and 'Latin inscription on Maen Madoc.'
27. Proof illustration in black and white showing a middle-aged man in profile looking to the left of the viewer, seated at a table with a bottle and jug. Annotated in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Samuel Hosgood [sic] | From a sketch by W. G. Wallace, 1843.' The reproduction in Alfred Russel Wallace's 'My Life' is captioned 'Samuel Osgood ...'
28. Proof illustration in black and white showing a low thatched shelter with a smaller one nearby, in a jungle clearing. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Native House, Wokan, Aru Islands. | Where I lived two weeks in March 1857[sic].' The reproduction in 'My Life' gives the date as 1859. From an undated and unattributed photo given to Alfred Russel Wallace by Henry Moseley (See 'My Life' vol. 1 p. 357.)
29. Proof illustration in black and white with printed caption 'My Faithful Malay Boy - Ali, 1855-1862.' Full face head and shoulders portrait of a young Malay man wearing a jacket and white bow tie. This is an enlarged reproduction of a photograph taken in Singapore by an unnamed friend of Alfred Russel Wallace's. (See also WP6/8/19).
30. Proof illustration in black and white captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'The Saracen's Tent | Luray Cavern' showing stalactites and stalagmites in a limestone cave in Virginia, USA.. From a photo by C.H.James. (See also WP17, photos of the USA.)
31. Proof illustration in black and white captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'The Squatter. Garden of the Gods. Col.' Showing a sandstone formation near Colorado Springs. Undated and unattributed.
32. Proof illustration in black and white showing a gap between sandstone cliffs with a snow covered mountain range in the far distance. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Gateway to the Garden of the Gods: with Pike's Peak.' From an undated and unattributed photograph.
33. Proof illustration in black and white showing large sandstone formations near Colorado Springs with a horse-drawn carriage in the foreground. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'The Seal and Bear. Garden of the Gods.' From an undated and unattributed photograph.
34. Proof illustration in black and white showing large sandstone formations near Colorado Springs. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Cathedral Spires - Garden of the Gods.' From an undated and unattributed photograph.
35. Proof illustration in black and white showing a railway track with a spur line, running towards high (sandstone?) cliffs (Castle Gate, near Pleasant Valley, Colorado). Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'On the Denver and Rio Grande Railway.' From a photograph (by Price Cannon?).
36. Proof illustration in black and white showing the remains of storm-damaged wooden buildings, the foreground strewn with timbers, a few men on foot and in horse-drawn carts in the picture. Captioned in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. Effects of a Tornado.' The storm occurred on 14 April 1886 ('My Life' vol. 2, p. 150). From an unattributed photograph c 14 Apr 1886.
37.Grey exercise book cover labelled in Alfred Russel Wallace's hand 'My Life | Set of Proofs of Illustrations'.
Name: Wallace, Mary Anne, born c 1789 died 1868
Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1823-1913
Wallace, Herbert Edward, c 1829-1851
Purland, Theodosius, fl 1868
Townsend, Miss ?, fl 1837
Ali, fl 1855
Neale, Florence fl 1905
Moseley, Henry Nottidge, 1844-1891
Place: Amazon, Great Britain, United States of America
Notes: Two portrait photographs of Alfred Russel Wallace were transferred to more appropriates items or series. Proof pages approximately 23 cm x 14.5 cm. Reproduced in Wallace, Alfred Russel, 'My Life' (London 1905). All fairly dirty on the edges with inky fingerprint marks. 24 proof sheets are approximately 23 cm x 14.5 cm, 12 approximately 23 cm x 17 cm. Most are on thick white paper without printed captions or numbers, three on thinner paper with printed text. Possibly from two or three proofs made on different dates? Both this file and WP6/8/21 contain proofs of illustrations from both vols 1 and 2 of 'My Life', both incomplete. The two have not been merged because they appear to have been separated into two files by Alfred Russel Wallace himself, though this is dubious and the reason not apparent.
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