Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1815–1881), Dean of Westminster. Secretarial autograph note written from the Deanery, Westminster, dated 1 June 1867, acknowledging in the name of himself and Lady Augusta Stanley the receipt of “two packets of photographs of the interior & exterior of the Abbey &c.” sent by the photographer Frederick York.
This is not in Stanley’s hand. The script is the neat, rounded, formal clerical hand typical of Victorian secretarial correspondence, and the third‑person formula (“The Dean & Lady Augusta Stanley beg to acknowledge…”) is characteristic of official Deanery acknowledgments. Stanley’s own handwriting was notoriously illegible and does not resemble this tidy office hand.
The “Mr. York” referred to is Frederick York (1823–1903), the London‑based commercial photographer known for architectural and stereographic views, including Westminster Abbey. York was not an Abbey official; he operated independently, supplying photographic material to institutions, clergy, and collectors.
Full transcription: Deanery, Westminster. June 1/67 The Dean & Lady Augusta Stanley beg to acknowledge with many thanks the two packets of photographs of the interior & exterior of the Abbey &c. They are so successful & form so interesting a series of views which Mr. York has been so good as to send.
A clean, legible example of Deanery correspondence linking the household of the Dean of Westminster with a noted Victorian photographer of architectural subjects.
Condition as photos. Guaranteed Original. All items can be returned for a full refund if found to be not as described.
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (Dec 1815 – Jul 1881) known as Dean Stanley, was an English Anglican priest and ecclesiastical historian. He was Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he was the author of a number of works on church history. He was a co-founder of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
Frederick Arlington Viler York (1823 – 1903) was an early 19th-century photographer, active first in Somerset, England, and from 1855 to 1861 in Cape Town, Cape Colony, modern-day South Africa. In February 1861, he received the first carte-de-visite camera in South Africa as a present from H.R.H. Prince Alfred. Upon return to the United Kingdom in 1865, he established the business York & Son in Notting Hill, London, specialising in the manufacture of lantern slides.
PROVENANCE:
One of c.2,500+ items once from the collection or dealer stock of Winifred A Myers (Autographs) Ltd, St Martins Lane, London, evidenced by the quantity of Myers pre-printed envelopes and paper folders and the general ‘presentation’ of the items, many having Myers identification notes in pencil.
Winifred Alice Myers (1909 - 1985) served as ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers Assoc) president, 1950-1952. See the ABA website for an extended article on Myers. Myers left her business, in 1985, to Ruth Shepherd, who traded from home until 2004.
Complete with digital .jpg CoA - as photo - for you to print if needed
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