ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN (1841 - 1901)

ROBERT BUCHANAN’S LETTERS TO THE BROTHERS DALZIEL

From the spring of 1866 to the autumn of 1867 Robert Buchanan produced three books for the Brothers Dalziel, Wayside Posies: Original Poems of the Country Life, Ballad Stories of the Affections: from the Scandinavian and North Coast, and other Poems. Three of the letters below were found in Edward Dalziel’s own copy of North Coast acquired at auction by Alan Hewer. I’d like to thank Alan for allowing me to add the transcripts to the site. Two earlier letters to the Brothers Dalziel are also added here. I came across the first when it was being offered for sale on ebay by David J. Holmes Autographs, and the second is in the collection of the National Library of Scotland.

Letter 1: 16th April, 1866

Belle Hill
Bexhill
April 16^th 1866

Gentlemen,

                   I accept your terms contained in yours of the 14^th. You are to pay me £150 for the set of poems illustrated by Pinwell & North—£50 on Wednesday the 18^th April & the other £100 on the finish of the M.S.S. I reserve the right of incorporating the poems in my collected works, but not within three years.
         Will you kindly let me know how many more photographs there will be, that I may not exceed the No. of cuts to any poem?—With regards

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

[‘to M. Dalziel Bros.’ written in another hand opposite the address.
‘“Wayside Posies” written at an angle, in another hand, beneath the date, and ‘published 1867’ crossed through.
Six pence postal stamp embossed on the letter with the date ‘17 4 66’.
‘s’ crossed out after ‘poem’ in the final sentence.
When this letter was offered for sale on ebay, it was accompanied by a photograph, which is available on the Random Letters page.]

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Letter 2: 23rd June, 1866

Bexhill
June 23^rd 1866

Gentlemen,

                   I write this to ask you to let me have the Money by Wednesday afternoon, if possible; and to request that you will let me know ab^t the Scottish scheme as soon as you can.
         On careful reflection, I think I should hardly care to go into the business with Strahan. I have so many connexions with him already, that I fear to contemplate any complication. Besides, I do not think him the best publisher for such a work. He has a large magazine connexion, but it is not with the class who buy such books.
         I think the scheme one of extreme excellence. I have long felt the want of such a work myself, & have heard others exclaim to the same effect.
         The method I should adopt would be to drive thro’ all Scotland—save of course the places only accessible by water—in a carriage of my own; and thereby to open up many splendid places hitherto unknown to Tourists. You should by all means get something done this season, as there is sure to be an immense influx of new Tourists, owing to the closing up of the Rhine; and there is no time to be lost.
         If you still hold to the scheme, send me full particulars & a clear offer; and I will let you know at once if I can accept. I will not lend myself on any terms to a mere guide-book, however good. The work, if I do it at all, must be unique & intrinsically valuable.

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Messrs. Dalziel Brothers.

[This second letter is from the collection of the National Library of Scotland. The reference to letting him ‘have the money’ could either refer to his commission to edit Wayside Posies or his translation of Scandinavian poems, Ballad Stories of the Affections, both of which were engraved by the Brothers Dalziel and published by George Routledge & Sons for the Christmas market of 1866.
The proposed guide book of Scotland never materialised, although Buchanan did produce something similar with The Land of Lorne, including the Cruise of the “Tern” to the Outer Hebrides, which was published by Chapman and Hall in March 1871.]

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Letter 3: 22nd August [1866]

Bexhill
Aug. 22^nd

Gentlemen,

                   There will be no more delay; but you should not forget that we have been thrown so late because of my first failure, & that June was not the date arranged for in our second negotiation.
         Put “Peace” first by all means,—but arrange all the rest just as you like.—Copy next post.
         In haste

                   Yours faithfully
                   Robert Buchanan.

Messrs. Dalziel.

[After ‘we have been thrown’ ‘de’ crossed out and ‘so’ inserted above.
‘s’ crossed out after ‘negotiation’.
This letter refers to Wayside Posies: Original Poems of the Country Life. The poem, ‘Peace’ (possibly by Buchanan - all of the poems are anonymous) was actually placed at the end of the book. There is a copy of Wayside Posies at the Internet Archive.]

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Letter 4: Friday, 29th [March, 1867]

Bexhill
29^th
Friday morning

Gentlemen,

                   Unless you send me another £10 by return of post I should be badly off. Remember, I had your distinct promise of £50 to-day, & perhaps before to-day; yet here is the result,—quite unexpected. I have arranged to make a heavy payment to-day. If you write by return I shall get your letter to-morrow morn^g.
         I will write about the Book then.

                   Faithfully &c.
                   Robert Buchanan.

         (over)

         I have thought of a better way—so do not send. A person will call on you to-morrow with my order for £9 – wh: will be enough to complete the payment I want.

[In the postscript, ‘bearing my Order’ is crossed out after ‘A person’.
Although there were four ‘Friday 29ths’ during the period when Buchanan was dealing with the Brothers Dalziel, in June 1866, March and November 1867, and May 1868, I believe this letter should be dated 29th March, 1867 since it matches in tone the following letter.]

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Letter 5: 22nd May, 1867.

Bexhill
May 22^nd 1867

Gentlemen,

                   Are you too incredulous to sign enclosed Order as Ellis’s Lawyer’s request? He will wait on these terms.
         I meant to explain fully why I thought it better to withhold copy from M^r Greenhill. It means simply that I must deliver you the whole on the 31^st, & had better do it in one piece.
         M^r G. says you want the Book out in July; whereas you said that the autumn was your time of publication. But I think you lay unusual stress on my delay. Beyond getting money in advance, I cannot have put you to a single farthing of expense. I, not you, made the stipulation ab^t delivery on March 31^st.
         Now, you had better look the matter direct in the face. If I have got you in any difficulty, I want to get you out of it.
         You get the copy on the 31^st May And if you dont want to illustrate very profusely, all the illustrations ought to be complete by 31^st June. On July 1^st go to press with first sheets & plenty of books for the American market can be ready by July 15^th. I know enough of practical printing to assert that this is easy —
         If you had by you any very fine pictures, & would send me proofs, I might find something by me to suit them; & that would save a little trouble.

                   Truly yours
                   R. Buchanan.

         If you cannot sign the order let me know. If you can, post it on without comment to Willoughby & Cox.

[‘time of publication’ - the ‘of’ is obscured by an inkblot.
‘with first sheets’ inserted after ‘go to press’.
‘Willoughby & Cox’ were a firm of London solicitors.
I would suggest that this letter confirms the speculative date of the previous one. Mr. Ellis was a publisher and bookseller to whom Buchanan owed money and Andrew M. Stauffer’s essay, ‘Another Cause for the “Fleshly School” Controversy: Buchanan Versus Ellis,’ published in the Journal of Pre–Raphaelite Studies (Vol. 11 (2002): 63–67) sheds some light on the dispute. Towards the end of April 1867, Ellis wrote three letters to Buchanan concerning his account:

23rd April, 1867:

Sir - In reply to your letter recd this morning, I beg leave to remind you that I have not yet recd the three books you said you wished to return viz. Old Bailey Chronicle, Fabliaux. 3vols and the vol of Old Romances If you will return these at once, I will then take a bill at two months in settlement of my account. I shall be obliged by an answer by return of post.

25th April, 1867:

Sir, I write once more to say that I have not yet recd the three books you talk of returning, though there is ample time since you got my letter yesterday morning. Unless I have these three books returned at once I shall demand immediate payment for the full amount, including them, And if you oblige me again to put the matter in my lawyers hands I shall leave it to them to settle it with you.

27th April, 1867:

Sir, As I have received no reply to my last two letters, I now write to say that I have again placed the matter in the hands of my solicitors, and must request that any communications you have to make may be through them.

Presumably the Brothers Dalziel agreed to Buchanan’s request to pay Ellis’s bill, at least in part, since there is then a two year gap before Ellis sets his lawyers on Buchanan again, in January 1869.]

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There is only one mention of the Brothers Dalziel in Harriett Jay’s biography of Buchanan:

‘Encouraged by the success of his translations from the Danish, published under the title of “Ballads of the Affections,” and consisting for the most part of renderings from the “Danske Viser,” Messrs. Dalziel had offered him four hundred pounds for his next book of poems, on the condition that they might issue it, as they had issued the “Ballads,” with illustrations. This they did, and the volume, containing some of his best work, was published under the title of “North Coast and other Poems.” I fancy that the work failed for one reason or another to show a profit to the publishers, such original poetry as it contained being quite out of the way of those who buy expensive illustrated books. The poems which it contained, however, were magnificently noticed by the Press.’ (Chapter XV, p.153).

And two mentions of Buchanan in The Brothers Dalziel: a record of fifty years’ work in conjunction with many of the most distinguished artists of the period, 1840-1890 by George and Edward Dalziel (London: Methuen and Co., 1901) (available at the Internet Archive):

     “Strahan is a man of great taste, both in literature and in art. We were indebted to him for introductions to a number of highly-gifted young Scotch artists. ... Strahan also introduced us to Robert Buchanan, who kindly helped us in some of our “Fine Art Books,” concerning which we will speak later. (p.158)

     ‘It was in our connection with Good Words that we first came in contact with Robert Buchanan, who was at that time coming right to the front as a popular poet. At our invitation he was induced to write and procure verses to the set of pictures by Fred Walker and others, which were published as “Wayside Posies,” and for which he gave us much beautiful work. After this we made arrangements with him to produce an illustrated book, to be called “North Coast and Other Poems,” which afforded plenty of scope for pictures of varied kinds. Commencing with “Meg Blane,” a strong dramatic story of the sea is fully illustrated by A. B. Houghton and Thomas Dalziel. “An English Eclogue” has a fine example of G. J. Pinwell; the same may be said of “The Battle of Drumlie Moor,” and of the illustrations to “The Ballad Maker” and “Sigurd of Saxony.” Houghton’s pictures to “The Northern Warning” and to “The Saint’s Story” are all powerful works. There are also two very fine drawings by William Small from the truly pathetic story of “The Exiles of Glen Oona.”
     “Ballad Stories of the Affections” was always a favourite book with us—the fine old ballads giving such an opportunity for pictures of an imaginative, poetic character. Two of Pinwell’s—“Maid Mettelil” and “Young Axelvold”—are of exceeding beauty. Of A. B. Houghton’s those for “Signelil, the Serving Maiden,” and that for “The Two Sisters” are amongst his best. J. D. Watson has some good pictures, and those by J. Lawson illustrating “Aage and Elsie” are strong dramatic work. As to our own drawings, which are numerous, we will only say that we loved the subjects, and had much pleasure in making the drawings.’ (p.234-236)

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