[G. C. Williamson [George Charles Williamson] (1858-1942), art historian ‘Rowley Cleeve’, who advised J. Pierpont Morgan on purchases.] Two Typed Letters Signed to social historian Amy Cruse, praising her books and discussing a Milton portraits.

Some of Williamson’s papers are held by Boston College. These two items are each 1p, 4to, on aged and worn paper, the first letter with blotting to signature. The two are held together by strip of paper mount. Written little more than a year before Williamson’s death. ONE: 16 October 1941. Begins: ‘Dear Miss Cruse, / I am delighted to have your letter of October 9th, and so glad that my epistle to you gave you any pleasure.’ He finds her books ‘very delightful’, and names ‘the other two’, of whose existence he was ignorant. He is informed that her publisher Harrap sold them off a few years before: ‘Do you know what became of them? Were they sold by your publishers to any so-called remainder man? [...] You call one of them “The Making of English Literature”, my bookseller says it is “The Shaping of English Literature”. That seems to be an odd name, and I should think that you are more likely to be right than he, because you wrote the book, but do please let me know how I can obtain these two books’. Signed ‘George C Williamson’. TWO: 5 December 1941. He is glad to be able to tell her that he now has ‘the six volumes, and shall enjoy them very much. I am sorry to have to tell you that in one that is illustrated, you give a portrait of John Milton that is discredited now. The arguments against its authenticity are very considerable, it is much more like a portrait of John Bunyan, buy it is certainly very different from mthe accepted portraits of Milton. I wrote all the catalogue of the Cambridge Milton Exhibition, and I also wrote a book on Milton and I got together (unfortunately not now in existence) the best collection of Milton portraits that has ever been obtained, and therefore I am in a position to say something about Milton.’ He finds the coloured illustration in one of the books ‘exceedingly clever’. In autograph he writes: ‘What a glorious lot of books you have read’ and names four books ‘I was brought up on’, including ‘Family Peep o’ Day’ and ‘Sandford & Merton’. Signed ‘George C Williamson / AET 84’.