Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1471 - 1841 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 album, 44 leaves, paper
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Elizabeth Van de Weyer (née Bates) was from Massachusetts and the only daughter Joshua Bates (1788-1864) of Barings Bank. She comforted Queen Victoria following the death of Prince Albert.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Van de Weyer served as Belgium’s Prime minister from July 1845 to March 1846. However, he lived for the majority of his life in London (17 Fitzroy Square, 50 Portland Place) and Windsor (New Lodge), and held the office of Belgian Minister at the Court of St. James’s under Queen Victoria, an ambassadorial role. Van de Weyer was close friends with Lord Palmerston. In addition to being a member of the Roxburghe Club, Van de Weyer was a founder member of the Philobiblon Society, the Vice President of the London Library, a Member of the Société des Bibliophiles de Belgique and the Head of the Royal Library of Brussels.
Pierre Henri Laurent said of Van de Weyer: 'His manners, taste, and savoir-faire brought him into the vital center of the intellectual, diplomatic, and financial communities. His home became the meeting place of writers, artists, and scientists’.
Archival history
It is likely that Elizabeth Van de Weyer was involved in compiling this particular album of prints and letters. Evidently she collected prints in her own right (see letter from Jared Sparks, album 7/f.31r) and some of the letters in this album were addressed to her mother (Lucretia Augusta Bates) and her father (Joshua Bates).
Many of the items are undated, therefore the date range of the album is taken from items which can be dated to a specific year.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This album contains documents relating to French history from the 15th to 19th centuries, portrait prints and letters relating to American history, autographs of British notables (such as William Wilberforce) and one clipping from a 17th century dutch engraving.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
- French
- Middle French
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Album binding description: 19th century autograph album with interleaved mounts, full-bound in tan-coloured leather. Five raised bands with gilt panel decorations and lettering: “AUTOGRAPHS”. gilt panel and border decorations on upper and lower, gilt roll-tooling on turn-ins. Gilt lettering on upper pastedown: “BOUND BY J. WRIGHT”. All edges gilt.
Note
Many leaves in this album are unused.