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Document number: 8466
Date: 04 Nov 1861
Recipient: MENANT Joachim
Author: TALBOT William Henry Fox
Collection: Institut de France Bibliotheque Paris
Collection number: MS 3785
Last updated: 5th August 2010

Millburn tower <1>Edinburgh
en Ecosse
le 4 Novembre 1861

Monsieur

J’ai reçu la lettre dont vous m’avez honoré en date du 12 Octobre, <2> mais étant en Ecosse je n’ai pas reçu en même temps votre paquet. J’ai dû donc écrire pour qu’on me l’envoyât, et ilya 3 jours qu’il m’est parvenu. Je vous en remercie beaucoup, et je vais m’occuper incessamment de la lecture de vos brochures, et plus tard si vous me permettrez je vous ferai quelques observations sur le sujet de vos recherches.

Je savais déjà que vous étiez entré dans le bon chemin pour faire des progrès véritables dans cet [sic] étude. Vous possédez sans doute le nouveau recueil d’inscriptions cunéiformes que le Musée Britannique vient de publier. C’est un livre désormais indispensable aux archéologues. Je viens de faire imprimer ma traduction d’une des pièces les plus intéressantes de ce recueil, les Annales de Sennacherib contenant les 8 premières années de son regne.

Le texte originel se trouve dans les planches 37 à 42 de ce livre. J’aurai l’honneur de vous adresser un exemplaire de ma traduction dès que l’impression en sera terminée.

J’ai l’honneur d’etre Monsieur avec profond respect
votre serviteur dévoué
H. Fox Talbot


Translation:

Millburn tower Edinburgh
In Scotland
4 November 1861

Dear Sir,

I received the letter dated 12th October with which you honoured me, but being in Scotland I did not receive your parcel at the same time. I was obliged to write therefore to have it sent on, and it reached me three days ago. I thank you kindly for it, and I will set about reading your brochures shortly, and later if you allow me I will make some observations on the subject of your research.

I already knew that you were on the right path towards making genuine progress in this study. No doubt you already have in your possession the new collection of Cuneiform inscriptions that the British Museum has just published. It is a book henceforth indispensable to archaeologists. My translation of one of the collection’s most interesting pieces, the Annals of Sennacherib spanning the first 8 years of his reign, has just gone to print.

The original text can be found in plates 37 to 42 of this book. I will be delighted to send you a copy of my translation as soon as the printing is finished.

I am honoured to be, Sir, with great respect, your devoted servant.
H. Fox Talbot


Notes:

1. Millburn Tower, Gogar, just west of Edinburgh; the Talbot family made it their northern home from June 1861 to November 1863. It is particularly important because WHFT conducted many of his photoglyphic engraving experiments there. The house had a rich history. Built for Sir Robert Liston (1742-1836), an 1805 design by Benjamin Latrobe for a round building was contemplated but in 1806 a small house was built to the design of William Atkinson (1773-1839), best known for Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford. The distinctive Gothic exterior was raised in 1815 and an additional extension built in 1821. Liston had been ambassador to the United States and maintained a warm Anglo-American relationship in the years 1796-1800. His wife, the botanist Henrietta Liston, née Marchant (1751-1828) designed a lavish American garden, sadly largely gone by the time the Talbots rented the house .

2. Letter not located.

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