486 PEBSONALIA : 1898-1906 



Among his other interests, that in Wedgwood ware con- 

 tinued undiminished in his later years. It was the interest 

 of the connoisseur rather than the collector pure and simple. 

 As he tells W. E. Darwin (July 6, 1900) : 



We now make all our marriage presents in Wedgwood 

 plaques, chiefly ' the Hours ' or * the Muses ' framed and 

 glazed, and you would hardly believe how much they are 

 prized, and how distinguished they look amongst the fish- 

 slices, paper-knives, salt-cellars and egg-spoons of the bridal 

 gifts. 



More than this, the beautiful plaques included many 

 portraits of great men of the past. These cameos, with their 

 historic significance, their memorial to genius as well as their 

 artistic perfection, appealed to him beyond all. He would 

 record the discovery of any which he had not seen before, and 

 if given a photograph of the rarity, offer a copy to W. E. 

 Darwin or Lord Eedesdale, his 'fellow enthusiasts, or send his 

 duplicates. The absence of such portraits he found a blemish 

 in an otherwise magnificent show of Wedgwood ware in 1905. 



It was a show of Jasper Ware and copyists' skill in 

 reproducing and adapting classical figures, &c., but a score 

 or two of Wedgwood's common cups and saucers, teapots, 

 and such articles would have better shown the genius of 

 the man in adapting these to their uses and as being faultless 

 in modelling, ornamentation, and all the best attributes of 

 manufacture and material. So would a collection of medal- 

 lions and busts have shown his appreciation of learning and 

 genius and great services rendered to the country. (To 

 ; W. E. Darwin, August 24, 1905.) 



A private collection offered for sale in 1907 which ' swarms 

 with cameos and portraits I never saw before ' fills him with 

 proportionate enthusiasm and regrets that he must not commit 

 the extravagance of buying it. 



When these memorials had slipped out of memory, his 

 rare knowledge found happy use in reviving them. Thus in 

 1900 he corresponded with Etruria about the Herschel cameo. 

 Having found by chance that neither Miss Herschel nor her 



