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Antiquaries in the Age of Romanticism: 1789-1851 - Queen Mary ...

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mediaeval rema<strong>in</strong>s’, ‘antique porcela<strong>in</strong>’ and ‘miscellaneous’. 28 These are much less <strong>in</strong> number<br />

but cover an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>gly typical range:<br />

449 An Oak Panel, with <strong>the</strong> Crucifixion carved <strong>in</strong> high relief, and three ditto, Heraldic badges<br />

451 Various fragments <strong>of</strong> Sta<strong>in</strong>ed Glass…<br />

452 Carved Oak Arm chair<br />

453 A Panel conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g rich pieces <strong>of</strong> ditto, <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fourteenth and fifteenth centuries…<br />

455 A Demi-suit <strong>of</strong> Armour…<br />

456 A Helmet and Breast Plate, and <strong>the</strong> Head <strong>of</strong> a Pole-axe…<br />

461 An old Sheep Bell…<br />

462 A very large Roman Urn, with narrow mouth, faulty…<br />

464 A quantity <strong>of</strong> old Tapestry<br />

468 A Large Number <strong>of</strong> Fragments <strong>of</strong> ancient Manuscripts…<br />

469 A large Whip, known as a “Caistor Gad”<br />

470 Bronze Head <strong>of</strong> an Indian Staff <strong>of</strong> Honour, and an embroidered Ch<strong>in</strong>ese Slipper<br />

471 Cast <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bust <strong>of</strong> Shakespeare at Stratford on Avon…<br />

474 Sundry Vertebrae <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ichthyosaurus with o<strong>the</strong>r Organic Rema<strong>in</strong>s 29<br />

The list might be Cooke’s for an assembly <strong>of</strong> props, a virtual checklist <strong>of</strong> antiquarian<br />

requisites, but <strong>the</strong>se were <strong>the</strong> real contents <strong>of</strong> Willson’s house. More modest and less voluble<br />

than his friends John Britton and A W N Pug<strong>in</strong>, it is impossible to know <strong>in</strong> any detail how<br />

Willson displayed or regarded his antiquities. A letter from Pug<strong>in</strong>, however, who had just created<br />

an antiquarian <strong>in</strong>terior <strong>in</strong> his house <strong>in</strong> Ramsgate <strong>in</strong> 1834 <strong>in</strong>vites Willson to stay with a promise <strong>of</strong><br />

complete immersion which he clearly feels will appeal: ‘Glad I shall be when I can Lodge you <strong>in</strong><br />

an ancien [sic] [room] with tapestry hang<strong>in</strong>gs round <strong>the</strong> walls… and every th<strong>in</strong>g en suite. You<br />

will <strong>the</strong>n be able to fancy yourself transported back to <strong>the</strong> fifteenth Cent. and not discover your<br />

mistake till you Leave <strong>the</strong> ro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> your s<strong>in</strong>cere friend A Welby Pug<strong>in</strong>.’ 30 Willson, however, may<br />

have been less romantic than his young correspondent. His portrait shows him look<strong>in</strong>g more like<br />

<strong>the</strong> respectable JP which he also was than a Jonathan Oldbuck.<br />

28<br />

A Catalogue <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> … Collection…<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> late Edward James Willson.<br />

29<br />

A Catalogue <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> … Collection…<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> late Edward James Willson, pp. 24-25.<br />

30<br />

AWN Pug<strong>in</strong>, letter to E J Willson, 6 November 1834, Collected Letters, 1, p.43.<br />

174

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