with the camera lucida, which he bought in Paris, and which is among the objects given to St. John’s, he thought his difficulties were solved and wrote to Miss Savage, 9 October, 1882: “I have got a new toy, a camera lucida, which does all the drawing for me, and am so pleased with it that I am wanting to use it continually.” To which in 1901 he added this note: “What a lot of time I wasted over that camera lucida, to be sure!” It did all the drawing for him, but it distorted the perspective so that the outlines of the many sketches which he produced with its help were a disappointment.
The camera lucida having failed, his hopes were next fixed upon photography, which, by rapidly and correctly recording anything he felt a desire to sketch, was to give him something from which he could afterwards construct a picture. So he took an immense number of snap-shots, of which many are at St. John’s, but he never did anything with them. Nos. 62 and 63, which were done by Sadler from Butler’s photographs, show how he would have proceeded if he had not had too many other things to do.
It was not until 1896, when The Life of Dr. Butler appeared, that he was able to return seriously to sketching, and by that time he was over sixty and too old to be burdened with the paraphernalia necessary for oils; he therefore confined himself to water-colours.
Some of the pictures in this list were included in the list in The Eagle, vol. xxxix., no. 175, March 1918, and the remainder in the succeeding number, June 1918. In making the present catalogue I have corrected such errors and misprints as I noticed in The Eagle, and I have re-arranged and renumbered the items so as to make them run in chronological order. I have also amplified some of the notes. I have placed the sketches and drawings in order of date because to examine them in that order helps the spectator to realise the progress made by Butler in his artistic studies.
SAMUEL BUTLER
1. Black and white outline sketch: Civita Vecchia, 1854.
Butler went abroad with his family, his second visit to Italy, for the winter of 1853-4. They travelled through Switzerland to Rome and Naples, starting in August 1853, and Butler thus missed the half-year at school. I am sorry that I have not found any more finished drawing made by him on this occasion.
DOUGLAS YEOMAN BLAKISTON
2. Pencil drawing: Samuel Butler, 1854.
Reproduced in the Memoir, ch. iii. On the back of this drawing is the beginning of a water-colour sketch. It was in a book with others mentioned in the Memoir as having been given to Shrewsbury School (I. 44). I have no doubt that the sketch on the back is by Butler, and represents part of the Rectory house at Langar.