THE PRICES OF AUTOGRAPHS AND THEIR VARIATIONS
William Upcott and his contemporaries—Sale prices 1810-1910
Letters are the soul of trade.—James Howell (1595-1666).
William Upcott, the conscript father of modern autograph-collecting, was born in 1770, and lived until 1845. He was the natural son of the painter Ozias Humphry, the maiden-name of whose mother he assumed. His own mother was Dolly Wickens, the daughter of an Oxford tradesman. From his father he inherited a taste for antiques of every description, as well as a valuable collection of miniatures, pictures, and engravings. The life-story of Upcott is told with unusual detail in the "Dictionary of National Biography."[74] While acting as an assistant to the well-known booksellers, Evans of Pall Mall and Wright of Piccadilly, he attracted the attention of Dean Ireland and other literati. He was appointed Assistant-Secretary to Porson at the London Institution in 1806, and on his death continued to occupy the same post under Maltby. Mr. H. R. Tedder tells us that "every inch of the walls in his rooms, whether at the London Institution or in his subsequent residence, was covered with paintings, drawings, and prints, most of them by Gainsborough or Humphry, while all the drawers, shelves, boxes, and cupboards were crammed with his [autograph] collections." Upcott spent the evening of his useful life at 102, Upper Street, Islington, naming his house "Autograph Cottage." In 1836 he published privately a catalogue of his MSS. One of his greatest finds (and they may be counted by scores) was the discovery of the MS. of Chatterton's "Amphitryon" (now in the British Museum) in a cheesemonger's shop. He never married. There is a capital portrait of Upcott engraved in March, 1818, by T. Bragg, after a drawing by W. Behnes. My copy of it is inscribed in minute but peculiarly clear handwriting, "Presented to his much esteemed Friend and fellow-traveller Mrs. Robert Nasmyth of Edinburgh. William Upcott," London Institution, August 26, 1833. By his side is a cabinet of medals; in his hands a volume of "Topography," and on the table a deed on which one at once recognises the sign-manual of Queen Elizabeth.
It is impossible to over-estimate the value of the work done by Upcott in providing sources of reliable information for future generations of historians. In my own collection is the following interesting letter of this collector, written nine years before his death:—
Autograph Cottage, Upper St, Islington
Sep 19 1836
Dear Sir,—When you favoured me with a visit to take a hasty glance at my collection of autographs I was much pleased to find that you were gratified by the inspection. I expressed a wish, which I still entertain, that this collection—a labour of more than 25 years—should be placed in the hands of those who could appreciate its value either in a Public Library, or with a private individual of acknowledged taste.