Letters from William Blake Richmond to members of his family

136 items

The letters come from every point of Richmond's adult life, some aspects of which are particularly well documented. His residence in Italy in the 1860s features strongly, as does travel generally. In later life the letters are addressed from Beavor Lodge, Richmond's home in Hammersmith (now demolished) and are more domestic in nature. Richmond characteristically focuses predominantly on his own experiences, opinions and emotions but the later letters provide ample coverage of his relationships with his children and details of their early careers. Herbert and Ernest in particular achieved a high degree of eminence in their respective fields and the letters carry aditional significance for this reason. The final letters usually contain Richmond's responses to the affects of the first World War, recording the german bombing campaign and revealing rather violent prejudices against pacifists.