The Cotman Letters 1835-1837

{typed transcript}
42 Hunter Street
Feby 23. 1836

My dear John
As I know any contribution in the shape of a Letter from us must be ever welcome to you, in the forlorn State you are in, therefore I set down to give you one, con amore and con spirito. In the first place, you will receive the paper you wrote for which I hope you will find good and acceptable to you. – In the next place you may see I sport a fancy paper, My own Whim, And I was determined not to use it till I found a proper person to hand it upon, so I begin with you to spoil the first sheet of it. The next topic, is, I am made an honorary member of the “Institute of British Architects” Several meetings of which have passed over without my attending any one of them. But last night I could not do otherwise than attend one of the private ones that was held by the Honorary Secretary at his House, which was absolutely filled chuck full, four Rooms full, works of art filling every table, consisting of Drawings and Books. Edmund and I with many other Gentlemen mark that, Gentlemen were standing round the centre and principal Table, when list oh! list!! make up your mind for an event and a Crash, down fell from its moorings the great chandelier of three or four burners and dented in the table through a dozen of Harding’s beautiful sketches upon colored paper heightend with white, but most fortunately only seriously damaged about seven of them with the oil it contained. The dent it made in a very fine hoo Table was large enough to put in an Egg!!! had it fallen on any our Skull, whoever thick it might have been, it must have killed the unfortunate White, outright – the confusion it occasioned was considerable. Barry the fortunate candidate for the building of the Houses of Lords and