link to Talbot Project home page link to De Montfort University home page link to Glasgow University home page
Project Director: Professor Larry J Schaaf
 

Back to the letter search >

Result number 7 of 35:   < Back     Back to results list   Next >  

Document number: 5007
Date: 07 Dec 1856
Recipient: PANIZZI Anthonio Genesio Maria
Author: TALBOT William Henry Fox
Collection: British Library, London, Manuscripts - Fox Talbot Collection
Last updated: 11th February 2011

[draft]

Panizzi
7 Dec/56

Sir

I hv ye honr t ackge ye rect of yr lr of the 6th inst, in wch you say &c (A)

I assre y. Sir, yt there is Your letter of the 6th is, I assure you ye 1st I hv hrd, of any misundg existg betwn Sir H. R– & myself, and that no suc as far as I am aware nothing of ye kind exists with respect to these lithographs – Several weeks before I made appln for thm thro’ you, to the Trustees, I wrote to E. Norris Esq stating my intn of doing so – I requested him to apprize Sir H. Rn of it, and to say that if he Sir H. had the slightest objectn I wd relinquish the idea – In reply Mr Norris said that Sir H. ha made no objn and that he Mr N. advised me to approved very highly of my intn & advised me to make applicn by letter to the Trustees – wch I accordingly did –

A) When readg this lr, I must ackdge that I felt vy much surprised This lr has surpsd me vy much, & after readg it over 2 or 3 times I hve come to ye conclusn that the Trustees have bn misinformed in this matter owing to some mistake, & I ∴ request you to do me ye honor to lay before ym this reply to their commn

accordingly did, –

Since th my letter to Mr Norris, & his reply, I have had no commn whtvr wh Sir H. Rn on this Subject, nor has he given me the slightest intimatn of any change of opinion on his part. I can only ∴ come to the Conclusn that there Trustees have acted under has been a mistake – In my applicatn to the Trustees, I took particular care to explain, that I wd not publish anything on the subject, nor forestall in any way the labours of others, by publishing anything of the contents of these lithographs ( always supposing in the case, of course doubtful, of my being able to interpret them) – until such time as Sir H R’s transln was published. – But I thought that I was able to render a service to archæology by executing an independent transln & depositing it in the archives of the R. Asc Socy – for comparison with the better and fuller, but I trust not discrepant transln wch may be expected from Sir H. Rawln – I was actuated in this matter by simply by a love of Science. I was aware that it was due

Panizzi/

2

yt it was due to Sir H. Rns the distinguished reputatn high posn of Sir H R to make refer the matter to him in the 1st instce. I ^accordly did so, & I consider as he intimated no objectn I then proceeded to make applicatn to the Trustees.

Nor has Sir Hy since then, or at any time, to my knowledge, made any objection.

I now beg leave to place this matter in the hands of the trustees –

[expanded version]

Panizzi

7 Dec/56

Sir

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sixth inst., <1> in which you say etc. When reading this letter, I must acknowlege that I felt very much surprised This letter has surprised me very much, and after reading it over two or three times I have come to the conclusion that the Trustees have been misinformed in this matter owing to some mistake, and I therefore request you to do me the honor to lay before them this reply to their communication.

I assure you Sir, that there is Your letter of the sixth is, I assure you the first I have heard, of any misunderstanding between Sir Henry Rawlinson <2> and, and that no suc as far as I am aware nothing of the kind exists with respect to these lithographs <3> – Several weeks before I made application for them through you, to the Trustees, I wrote to Edward Norris, Esq. <4> stating my intention of doing so – I requested him to apprize Sir Henry Rawlinson of it, and to say that if he Sir Henry had the slightest objection I would relinquish the idea – In reply Mr Norris said that Sir Henry had made no objection and that he Mr Norris advised me to approved very highly of my intention and advised me to make application by letter to the Trustees – which I accordingly did –

Since then my letter to Mr Norris, and his reply, I have had no communication whatever with Sir Henry Rawlinson on this Subject, nor has he given me the slightest intimation of any change of opinion on his part. I can only therefore come to the Conclusion that there Trustees have acted under has been a mistake – In my application to the Trustees, I took particular care to explain, that I would not publish anything on the subject, nor forestall in any way the labours of others, by publishing anything of the contents of these lithographs ( always supposing in the case, of course doubtful, of my being able to interpret them) – until such time as Sir Henry Rawlinson’s translation was published. – But I thought that I was able to render a service to archæology by executing an independent translation and depositing it in the archives of the Royal Asiatic Society – for comparison with the better and fuller, but I trust not discrepant translation which may be expected from Sir Henry Rawlinson – I was actuated in this matter by simply by a love of Science. I was aware that it was due to Sir Henry Rawlinson’s the distinguished reputation high position of Sir Henry Rawlinson to make refer the matter to him in the first instance. I accordingly did so, and I consider as he intimated no objection I then proceeded to make application to the Trustees.

Nor has Sir Henry since then, or at any time, to my knowledge, made any objection.

I now beg leave to place this matter in the hands of the trustees –


Notes:

1. Letter not located.

2. Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 1st Baronet (1810–1895), orientalist.

3. See Doc. No: 05388.

4. This letter to Dr Edwin Norris (1795–1872), orientalist; Secretary, & Librarian, Royal Asiatic Society, not located.

Result number 7 of 35:   < Back     Back to results list   Next >