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Royal Menu. - Lunch at the Guildhall.
Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
CORPORATION OF LONDON LUNCHEON AT GUILDHALL to HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN and HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH Upon Their return from Their Tour of Commonwealth and other Countries FRIDAY, 10th MARCH, 1961 The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor SIR BERNARD NATHANIEL WALEY-COHEN. COLONEL RICHARD HOME STUDHOLME, O.B.E., M.A., Alderman. ADAM KENNEDY KIRK Sheriffs. WALTER BASIL HOLDEN Chairman of the Special Reception Committee.
285x210mm. A highly decorated menu in hard cardboard with folded outer cover and 2 folded sheets inside making 4 leaves and eight pages. Top cover. [1] Title page. 1p Guildhall history. 1p Music Programme by the Royal Marine Orchestra. 1p Menu and Wines. 1p Toasts. 2p Names of the Special Reception Committee. 1p Explanation of the cover design. [1] Back cover plain. Inside are 2 folded sheets with Coats of Arms and the precise ceremonial arrangements for the day. All sheets held together with a red and white decorative cord. Housed in a neat marbled cardboard folder with a label on the front cover. A very clean, handsome item of Royal ephemera.
- The Queen and Prince Philip had just visited India, Pakistan, Nepal and Iran. The very colourful water-coloured front cover of the menu depicts impressions of the Commonwealth tour just undertaken. At the top are two drawings of Buckingham Palace and London Airport, depicting points of departure for the tour. In the left panel is the 238 foot Qutab Minar, Delhi, one of the highest stone towers in the world. This is followed at the bottom left, by the Taj Mahal at Agra. On the bottom right we find an impression of Mount Everest in Nepal. In the lower portion of the right panel an image of an Iranian mosque with beautiful Minarets. Lastly above this, two vignettes of Pakistan; Frere Hall, Karachi and the Harbour. On page 2 an essay on the interesting history of the Guildhall. We learn that the Hall and its environs have been consecrated to civic government for more that 1000 years. Two major fires in 1666 and 1941 enveloped the hall. The crypt, porch and mediaeval walls are still original, emerging from the flames without irreparable damage. Each year the Mayor and Sheriffs are elected by the Liverymen after meeting in the Common Hall. In the UK, the Guildhall is one of the most important places of high ceremony. It hosts many important banquets to the Sovereign and Members of the Royal Family, Prime Ministers, Ministers of State and Foreign Leaders. A very interesting document as well as being a menu.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11142

ROYAL MENU.
ON BOARD THE ROYAL YACHT 'BRITANNIA'.
Menu: Filet of Red Snapper Fecampoise. (a single small line) Supreme of Chicken with Wild Mushrooms. Salad. (a single small line) Chocolate and Ginger Mousse. Friday 30th May 1997. Tokyo.
173 x 110mm. A white card with on the top left-hand corner, E11R embossed in gilt with gilt embossed crown on top. On the right side is a very nice copy of a painting of 'Britannia' with three sail boats around her. Underneath is a gilt embossed ribbon with 'H.M.Y Britannia' printed inside. then the menu below that and finally the date and location on the bottom. The menu has rounded corners and the edges in gilt. In very good condition. Housed in an orange marbled cardboard folder.
- The Royal Yacht 'Britannia' was launched 16th April 1953, commissioned 11th January 1954. It was in service from 1954 to 11th December 1997, when it was decommissioned. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660. This menu printed on the final year of the yacht's service is quite rare.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11315

Royal Menus.
Four Royal Menus from various Royal Palaces.
1 -- Two from Windsor Castle. 23rd January and 20th June. 1908. 2 -- One from Buckingham Palace. Friday. November 26th 1982. 3 -- One from Barmoral Castle. 1st September. 1912.
1 -- Two clean but slightly age browned (one a little more than the other) menu cards, edged in gilt with the crest of Edward VII. One is printed and the other is in very small neat hand writing, both in French. 2 -- Very clean menu card, edged in gilt with the crest of Queen Elizabeth. A simple menu printed in French. 3 -- Clean but slightly age browned menu card, edged in gilt with the crest of George V. A simple menu written by hand in light blue ink, and in French. All housed in a cardboard, marbled folder with a label on the front cover.
- Looking at these menus, one is immediately struck by; A - The are all written in French including the dates. B - They are all in the same format and size. Considering they span nearly 80 years, it is amazing. This gives a singular impression that things do not change in the Royal Households. Still keeping a tradition of writing their daily menus in French and not English, especially since modern British cookery has developed its own repertoire to such a high level and British chefs now compare with the best France has to offer. Quite rare and interesting items of Royal ephemera spanning two Royal Castles, a Palace and three Monarchs.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10994

ROYAL WEDDING CAKE.
BRIDE CAKE
made by HUNTLEY & PALMERS, LIMITED. for THE LADY ELIZABETH BOWES-LYON on the occasion of her Marriage with H.R.H. THE DUKE OF YORK, K.G. at WESTMINSTER ABBEY APRIL 26TH, 1923. With a finely illustrated border of two intertwining ribbons. The back cover is a little stained and the front cover has a couple of small smudges. Internally very clean.
210 x 172mm. Front cover with fine delicate drawing with the couple's portraits. Above them is the family crests. Underneath the wedding date of 1923. Beautifully delineated with silver and blue. Title page. [1] 2p of The Lady Elizabeth's noble background and her ancestral home of Glamis Castle. A full-page b/w photograph of the huge cake. [1] 9p of description of the tiers of the cake and the symbolism of the decoration. The back page with 2 illustrations of a standing Lion and Lioness. symbolising the couple's Royal connections. Housed in a sympathetic blue and silver marbled cardboard folder.
- Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions from 1936 to 1952 as the wife of King George VI. As George's wife, she was the last empress of India. After her husband died, she was known as Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, the present Queen, Elizabeth II. Born into a family of British nobility, she only came to prominence in 1923 when she married the Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. The couple and their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret, embodied traditional ideas of family and public service. The Duchess undertook a variety of public engagements and became known for her consistently cheerful countenance. In 1936, Elizabeth's husband unexpectedly became king when his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. Elizabeth then became queen. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of the Second World War. During the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. After the war, her husband's health deteriorated, and she was widowed at the age of 51. Her elder daughter, aged 25, became the new queen. After the death of Queen Mary in 1953, Elizabeth was viewed as the matriarch of the British royal family. In her later years, she was a consistently popular member of the family, even when other members were suffering from low levels of public approval. She continued an active public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101 years, 238 days, which was seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret. This brochure of the Queen Mother's wedding cake was following a long Royal tradition of making public the details and pageantry of a Royal marriage, all carefully presented and choreographed. The cake had four tiers. The base Tier 7.5 feet in circumference. The decoration of all the tiers was very carefully inclusive and thought out, to include all the aspects of the couple's nobility and the various strands of ancestry and contemporary obligations. Described here in amazing detail. Very rarely found appearing on the market.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11316

Savoy Hotel. London. - Printed a month before Escoffier joined Ritz.
A framed advert - circa 1890.
Victoria Embankment. LONDON. PERFECTION OF LUXURY AND COMFORT. Artistic Furniture. Shaded Electric Lights everywhere at all hours of night and day. NO GAS. The Finest River and Garden View in London, giving a Panorama of the Thames from Battersea to London Bridge. All the Corridors thoroughly Warmed in the Cold Weather by Hot Water. Suites of rooms on every Floor, with Private Bath Rooms, &c. Sixty-seven Bath Rooms. No charge for Baths. Large and Luxurious “Ascending Rooms” running all night. Top Floor Rooms equal in every respect to the Lowest. Large Central Courtyard with Plants, Flowers, &c. (A black and white finely detailed etching of the Savoy as seen from the Thames.) THE RESTAURANT Open to the Public. Luncheons and Dinners served on the Terrace overlooking the beautiful Embankment Gardens and River. This Terrace is enclosed by glass, and warmed during the winter. In the hot weather, dinners, &c, , are served in the open air. THE ONLY OPEN AIR RESTAURANT IN LONDON. The Restaurant has been organized under the superintendanceof M. RITZ, the well-known Hotel Manager from Monte Carlo, Cannes, and Baden-Baden, and of the popular Maitre d’Hotel “Francois” (M. RINJOUX), of the Grand Hotel at Monte Carlo. Manager of the Restaurant – M. ECHENARD. Chef, -- M. CHARPENTIER. The cuisine rivals the most famous Cpntinental Cafes. For tariff and rooms apply to the Manager of the Hotel, Mr. HERDWICKE.
247 x 177mm. A one page light brown advertisement for the Savoy Hotel, London. Circa 1890. A small part of the top right hand corner missing. A small chip missing on the side. Not affecting the text. Nicely mounted and framed in a fine gold frame with a 2” cream coloured cloth mount. The whole measuring 415 x 325mm. Overall very nice condition. A very rare item of ephemera.
- The facts behind this Savoy Hotel advertisement are very interesting and can be dated quite accurately. The names and the places are all extensively recorded in the numerous biographies of Escoffier and Ritz. It starts with a very persuasive and intelligent entrepreneur named Richard D’Oyly Carte who had built and opened the Savoy Theatre between the Strand and Thames embankment, London. It was the most modern theatre in London with the newly invented electric lighting. The theatre was very popular and D’Oyly Carte wisely realised that the theatre-goers needed a nearby place to dine after the performances. The land behind the theatre was known as the old ‘Savoie Mannor’. A sloping field overgrown with weeds and littered with bottles that looked out upon the coal wharves, barges and general flotsam of the Thames Embankment. D’Oyly Carte purchased the land, drew up plans for a hotel and started construction on 1884. The Savoy Hotel was opened on the 6th August, 1889. It was extremely popular in the beginning but D’Oyly Catre noticed that the clientele numbers had started to drop after three months. It was obvious that the food was not up to scratch nor the management capable of dramatically improving the needed standards. Lilly Langtry was a good friend of D’Oyly Carte. She urged him to approach Cesar Ritz the famous hotelier, to take advantage of Ritz’s fame after he had established and managed some of the most luxurious hotels in the world such as the Ritz Hotels in London and Paris, also the Grand Hotel in Rome, the L’Hotel Salasamaggiore in the province of Parma etc etc. Ritz also had a longstanding partnership with Auguste Escoffier who managed the kitchens of those famous hotels. Both of them were dedicated to the highest standards, and they were as famous as the establishments they served. Ritz was initially opposed to going to England as he and Escoffier were already very committed and busy. D’Oyly Carte paid him handsomely just to visit and in 1889 Cesar stayed in and inspected the Savoy. On returning home he told his wife the food was terrible and weather was worse. Equally, he was very excited about the wealth of the clientele and the beauty of hotel. In January 1890 Cesar signed a contract to manage the Savoy Hotel. His first task was to convince Escoffier to come and manage the Kitchens and Restaurants. The manager of the restaurant, M. Echenard, (at the bottom of the advert) was a Master of Wine and became Cesar’s assistant. Another name at the bottom is the Manager of the Hotel – Mr. Hardwicke. He proved unable to keep the initial business nor manage the Hotel as it needed to be. Another name is the Chef. M. Charpentier. Before coming to the Savoy he had worked for Rothschild but did not have the notion to run a large restaurant with a’ la carte menus. The Prince of Wales complained that the cooking was as dull as Windsor Castle’s. Escoffier finally accepted the position of Maitre Chef de Cuisine and started in the Kitchen on April 1890. It was not without drama. There was very bad feeling about the dismissals and when Escoffier walked into the kitchen on his first day he found everything destroyed. To save the day he asked his friend Louis Peyre who managed the Kitchens of the Charing Cross Hotel to help. Peyre supplied everything that day and gave Escoffier time to organise the kitchen for the next day. As the advertisement also has Ritz’s name on it as the manager of the Restaurant, it must have been printed between January 1890 (probably on Cesar’s initiative) and April 1890, sometime just before Escoffier started.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11189

Soyer. Alexis Benoit Incorporating all of Soyer's new ideas.
Reform Club's new kitchen plans.
An article from the fourth annual volume of 'The Builder' magazine of 1846. With Illustrations and full specifications for all aspects and equipment of the new Kitchen at Reform Club, Pall Mall, London.
1846. 330 x 212. 4 sheets of a 5p article (one double sided). 340-344. 3 pages printed from the 'The Builder' magazine archive. First and second pages 340/1,is the full spec. for the arrangement of the kitchen and equipment. Second page 342, is drawings of individual large pieces of equipment and a full open plan of the whole kitchen. Page 343, a full overhead drawing of the kitchen, plus five main pieces of kitchen equipment. Page 344, the last page of Soyer's description of the key elements of the whole Kitchen, plus a list of reference points based on the Architect Mr Barry's drawing of the kitchen as specified by Soyer. Housed in a decorated hand-made cardboard folder with a label.
- The Reform club was completely refurbished and opened its doors on 24th May 1836 at Dysart House 104 Pall Mall. Special attention was paid to the kitchens, which were designed to the specifications of the brilliant and charismatic chef Alexis Soyer who had been hired in 1837. The restaurant, traditionally known as the 'Coffee Room' runs the entire length of the building overlooking the garden at the back. The gallery is reached by a remarkable tunnel-vaulted staircase, again inspired by Italian models. The Library, the Smoking Room and the Card Room lead off the Gallery. 'The Builder' is one of the United Kingdom’s oldest business-to-business magazines, launched in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed 'Building' in 1966 as it is still known today. 'Building' is the only UK title to cover the entire building industry. Even tho this is only 2 original pages of 5 with the other 3 printed straight from the 'The Builder' online archive, it is still a very rare and informative article about Soyer's famous kitchen that even had a visit from Royalty. Soyer the supreme self-publicist wasted no time promoting it. Many of his ideas and inventions in the new kitchen were ground-breaking, typical of his lifelong eclectic drive and energy.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11263

SOYER. ALEXIS BENOIT Very rare; also with a very relevant letter signed by Soyer.
A FINELY DECORATED TRICORN PRATTWARE BOTTLE FOR 'SOYER'S RELISH'
Made by F.& R. Pratt & Co. A special limited edition Prattware bottle ordered by Messrs Crosse and Blackwell. With the shape and design to Alexis Soyer's specifications.
ITEM # 1 - n/d circa the 1850's. 195mm tall x 110mm wide. Decorated on three sides. Side 1: The famous portrait of Soyer in his trademark cocked beret, painted by his equally famous wife Emma Soyer [nee Jones]. There is an 6mm very slightly raised flake on the base under Soyer's portrait, but not detracting. Side 2: The Fish-market. Side 3: The Poultry-woman. There is a very fine 1.5" heat crack to the glace. on the lower part of the neck. Beautifully painted and decorated with raised ceramic piping in green, maroon and gold. A few gold lines on the neck are very slightly worn. ITEM # 2 - A one-page letter folded in half with the script on 1/4. 8vo. Signed by Soyer. It has presumably been written by a secretary in a lovely cursive script at the Reform Club Pall Mall, dated April 17th 1848. It starts; Dear Sir I am sure you will be delighted to offer your fair readers something to sharpen their appetites and please their palates, I therefore by your acceptance of a sample of my last culinary production and hope if it should meet with your approbation that you will recommend it as a favourite relish to amateurs of good living. I am most truly yours A. Soyer. It has then been folded again and addressed to the Lady's Newspaper. At some point it has been sealed for delivery. Now kept securely in a marbled cardboard folder. Both items housed for preservation in a very solid clam-shell box: 270 x 200 x 146mm. Quarter maroon morocco with tips. Spine with raised bands and two green morocco labels with gilt lettering. Green cloth sides. The interior with padded dark green felt cushioning. Everything in very good condition.
- - This bottle originally contained "Soyer's Sultana Sauce" and marketed by Messrs. Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell as "Soyer's Relish", The whole design is definitely in keeping with the style of Soyer's 'a la zoug-zoug' predilection. (To understand what this means, see item #10991 on this site) and read George Augustus Sala's very interesting description of Alexis Soyer's eccentric design and style bias. Soyer manufactured his first piquant sauce; "The Lady and Gentleman's Sauce", in 1848, priced 2s 6d. He also marketed it himself [see image # 6 below]. The letter was addressed to the editor of the 'Lady's Newspaper'. Soyer was an inveterate self-promoter and obviously had a full quota of marketing skills as well. Due to his own efforts, the Relish was extremely popular and he intended to keep the recipe to himself but he was typically very busy with other pursuits. He agreed to a meeting with Crosse & Blackwell. Finding the terms offered for the recipe to be very advantageous, he sold it to them. Then in August 22nd, 1850 [ref: Lon. Metropolitan Archives #MA/4467/A01/003. Declaration of Goods Quality] he brought out "Soyer's Relish". From its inception, it was well patronized above and beyond expectations. Because of its great popularity, Crosse and Blackwell commissioned a limited amount of this very special bottle from F. & R. Pratt & Co. Whilst Felix Pratt was the commercial driving force behind the business, the artist was Jesse Austin who joined Pratt in the early-1840's. He was an accomplished water-colour artist and engraver and in nearly 40 years produced over 550 poly chrome prints used to decorate the now well-known small pot lids manufactured for many types of potted food-stuffs. Pratt’s first under-glaze, polychrome pot lid was made in 1847 and was a scene titled ‘Grace before Meals’. Austin’s subjects included royalty, famous people, city scenes. (The portrait of Soyer here is a copy of the famous image painted by his well-known artist wife, Emma Soyer nee; Jones, now hanging in the Nat. Portrait Gallery, London). This portrayal of the life and times of Victorian England is one of the reasons for the popularity of the pot lids today. Austin also made miniature water-colour copies of famous paintings that also appear on Prattware. Although the pot lids have become well known, the engravings were also used on the pots themselves, on plates and on other domestic earthenware manufactured by the business. It is this good-quality domestic pottery that is termed ‘Prattware’. So good were the engravings that the pot lids and Prattware rapidly became a collectible and the first exhibition was apparently held in 1897 only three years after Felix Pratt’s death. Cauldon Potteries Ltd acquired Pratt & Co in 1933 and continued to issue reproduction pot lids under the F. & R. Pratt name using the original Jesse Austin engravings and the practice was continued up to the 1960s by the various owners of the Pratt name. It is not known how many of these exotic and unusual tricorn 'Soyers' Relish' bottles were produced and sold, but one that came up for auction on July 2004, sold for four times the projected price. A very collectable object with the very rare signed letter pertaining to the bottle and it's past contents.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11296

Soyer. Alexis Benoit - A rare item of ephemera
An invitation card to the Dublin Soup Kitchen, signed by Soyer.
The cardboard invitation measures approx. 2"x3" It states: Soyer's Model Kitchen. For the Poor. Royal Barracks Esplanade. Admit (in manuscript [??] Jones) & Family. to the opening on Monday 5th April 1847. at half past 2 oClock. Within a simple decorated line border. Soyer's signature in blue ink at the bottom right hand corner.
Also enclosed are a two interesting articles copied from Irish newspapers, reporting on Soyers soup kitchens. Housed in a neat cardboard, marbled folder with a label on the front cover. An extremely rare item of Soyer ephemera.
- George Augustus Sala, on meeting Soyer in the Hungerford Market recalls, -- He wore a kind of paletôt of light camlet cloth, with voluminous lapels and deep cuffs of lavender watered silk; very baggy trousers, with lavender stripes down the seams; very shiny boots and quite as glossy a hat; his attire being completed by tightly-fitting gloves, of the hue known in Paris as 'beurre frais' — that is to say, light yellow. All this you may think was odd enough; but an extraordinary oddity was added to his appearance by the circumstance that every article of his attire, save, I suppose, his gloves and boots, was cut on what dressmakers call a "bias," or as he himself, when I came to know him well, used to designate as "à la zoug-zoug". He must have been the terror of his tailor, his hatter, and his maker of cravats and under-linen; since he had, to all appearance, an unconquerable aversion from any garment which, when displayed on the human figure, exhibited either horizontal or perpendicular lines. His very visiting-cards, his cigar-case, and the handle of his cane took slightly oblique inclinations. This explains precisely why this invitation card on offer here is such an odd shape; it is "à la zoug-zoug". After the Soup Kitchen Act was introduced on January 25th 1847, Soyer was invited by the Government and funded by private subscriptions, to go to Ireland during the winter of 1847 while the Great Famine was raging. The Soup Kitchen was set up on the banks of the Liffey in front of the Royal Barracks, Dublin. The wooden dining room was forty foot long by thirty feet wide. Soyer's soup was cooked and served from a 300 gallon boiler that looked like a traditional steam engine. It also had an oven at the end to bake one hundred-weight of bread at a time. The soup bowls were stuck to the table and the spoons were chained to the bowls. One hundred ate their soup with relish (according to the newspapers) then left when a bell rang, followed by another hundred who came in for their soup and piece of bread. The food was also conveyed by vehicles to distant outlying areas, for infants, the sick and the aged. Newspapers report that on the day of opening the Kitchens to the poor, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and other notables were invited to view the Kitchens and Dining room. This invitation card is for one of those guests on that occasion. This Gala opening also caused some outrage in some newspapers, due to the undignified way the poor had to eat the soup in front of the privileged Guests. Never the less Soyer's kitchen was successful and his services were retained by the Relief Commissioners. In the midst of much publicity, Soyer opened a number of 'model' Kitchens in Dublin. Under the Act, soup kitchens were to be established in each of the electoral divisions. By July 1847, 1,850 Soup kitchens were in operation feeding over 3 million people throughout Ireland. Soyer, long gone by this time, received a beautiful snuff box amid great fanfare before his departure.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10991

Soyer. Alexis Benoit Rare; signed twice.
Written by Soyer, whilst in the Crimea.
"Scutari Barrack Hospital, Constantinople. 26th April 1855. My Dear Sir I am happy to inform you that since the last time I had the pleasure of shaking hands with you, I have employed my time with the greatest success and no doubt inform the receipt you will have heard thro the public press of the rapid progress I have made – I have now left for a few days the great Barrack Hospital of Scutari for Kullalee, where my services are also required - I shall shortly proceed to Balaclava. I have not yet presented my accounts which I need hardly say far exceeds the amount advanced me by the Government, having brought with me two cooks from Paris, besides my Secretary, but will do so very shortly – A Soyer - I apprehend W. Hilton, the Purveyor in Chief is the gentleman to whom I shall have to apply – With the highest consideration I have the honour to be yours very ably. A Soyer. ___ Croome Esquire."
1½ pages of Soyer's light script written while in the Crimea. Signed at the bottom of the first page, including the extra half page postscript with the second signature. Measuring 13 x 7½ inches with folds‚ in good clean condition‚ with an integral blank leaf. The letter housed in a slip inside a handsome folder with red marbled paper and label.
- The Crimean War was a military conflict fought between October 1853 and March 1856, in which Russia lost to an alliance of France, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia. Alexis Soyer (1810 – 1858)‚ the French chef who became the most celebrated cook in Victorian England, enhanced his reputation by his involvement in the welfare of the wounded soldiers in the war. His reputation was already assured as he had also worked to alleviate the suffering of the Irish poor in the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849)‚ and towards their relief, he contributed a penny for every copy sold of his pamphlet 'The Poor Man's Regenerator' (pub; 1847). During the Crimean War‚ Soyer went to the Crimea at his own expense to advise the army on cooking more nutritious and healthy food. Later he was paid his expenses and wages equivalent to those of a Brigadier-General. In the North Wales Chronicle of Saturday May 5th 1855, in a quite full account written by Soyer himself and sent to the paper, we learn that he opened his large kitchen on the site of a previous Turkish kitchen, on Easter Monday at the huge Barrack Hospital in Scutari. Present was a number of Ladies and Gentlemen who tasted the new diet, compared to dishes alongside of the old diet. It was a huge success. In the article, Soyer expresses a fulsome gratitude to Florence Nightingale for her good organisational skills and help in providing him with all the materials he needed to start the Kitchen. (It is recorded elsewhere however, that she did not much appreciate Soyer and his efforts, openly criticising him). Soyer's work was very successful; it started to save countless lives that otherwise, before his efforts, would have been lost. The mortality rate alone at Scutari's Barrack Hospital was 100 soldiers and upwards daily. An unimaginable toll. Florence Nightingale's well documented, heroic nursing standards were not enough. However much Nightingale was put out by the flamboyant Soyer, the pragmatic synergy between their differing aspects of care; medical combined with a nutritious balanced diet was crucial. In the "Memoirs of Soyer" written and published 1859, by his two secretaries, F.Volant & J.R.Warren, they inform us that the death rate was putting such a strain on the hospital staff, that the bodies were just rolled up in their bed blankets and buried in mass pits. Soyer also provided the new diet at Balaclava, and at three institutions at Kullalee, and was very well supported there by Lady Stafford, having been previously interviewed about his Catering needs by her husband, Lord Stafford. At that time also, Soyer was waiting for his soon-to-be-famous new model camp-stove which was capable of cooking continuously for 200 soldiers every three hours. One can only imagine the magnitude of effort there. Soyer himself did not escape unscathed. His two secretaries also write that Soyer himself, due to overwork, fever and severe dysentery over a long period of time nearly died. Interestingly, he was saved by the intelligent ministrations of a very young 21 year old doctor, Mr Ambler. Despite, at first, large misgivings about the young Dr Ambler, he quickly revived Soyer with a diet of iced drinks, a little solid food and a daily quantity of eggs beaten up with port wine. For the rest of his time in the Crimea, the young doctor became a very good friend and companion to an extremely grateful Soyer. Finally, at the end of the Welsh newspaper article is a wonderful praising statement by Brigadier General, Commanding Troops - W. Pauley, where he fully approves of the way Soyer has taken the usual provisions, re-arranged the proportions and made such a difference with the simple act of cooking. As all Soyer’s personal papers were burned just after his death, then this extremely rare and pertinent letter, could only have come from the aforementioned Mr Cromme’s extant estate.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11244

Soyer. Alexis Benoit - Selling his wife's paintings.
A letter handwritten & signed by Soyer.
to an unidentified correspondent, detailing two items in a catalogue of paintings [not present].
2 pages. 8vo. Full cream coloured sheet 228 x 182 mm. Folded 115 x 182 mm. A full sheet folded in half with a slight split at the bottom of the fold. It is in a very clear and legible condition. Dated Nov. 23rd 1857. Soyer writes “Dear Sir I beg to send herewith a calogue of my paintings you will find the Two sent you marked Nos…. & … In centre, or rather between the two you might insert “Youth & Age” & describe them in the usual place viz. At the bottom as per catalogue – I remain Dear Sir Yours faithfully A Soyer.“ Housed in a very fine handmade slip case with a label on the front cover.
- The Wikipedia entry for Emma [Jones] Soyer is worth repeating here, to help put the letter in a context. To quote -- The daughter of a Mr. Jones who died in 1818, she was born in London in 1813, and was carefully instructed in French, Italian, and music. At a very early age she became a pupil of F. Simoneau the painter, who in 1820 married her mother, Mrs. Jones. Finding that Emma had talents for drawing, Simoneau ultimately devoted the whole of his time to her instruction, and before the age of twelve she had drawn more than a hundred portraits from life with surprising fidelity. On 12 April 1837 she married Alexis Soyer the cook. She now turned her attention to portraits in oil, and, with her master, traveled in the provinces and gained great popularity. Upon her return to London she produced 'The Blind Boy,' 'The Crossing Sweeper,' 'The Bavarians,' 'Taglioni and the Kentish Ceres.' In 1842 she completed her last work, 'The Two Organ Boys.' She also showed two paintings at the 1842 Paris Salon ('L'aveugle de la tour de Londres' and 'Portrait de M. Soyer' - Nos. 1729-30). Her portrait famous of Soyer was also engraved by Henry Bryan Hall. On 29–30 Aug. 1842 she had complications with her pregnancy, owing to fright produced by a terrible thunderstorm, and she died the same night at her residence near Charing Cross, London. She was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London on 8 September, where her husband erected a sumptuous monument to her memory. Between 1823 and 1843 fourteen of her pictures were exhibited at the Royal Academy, thirty-eight at the British Institution, and fourteen at the Suffolk Street Gallery (Graves, Dictionary of Artists, pp. 130, 221). In June 1848 one hundred and forty of her works were exhibited at the Prince of Wales's bazaar, under the name of Soyer's Philanthropic Gallery, on behalf of the Spitalfields soup kitchen, and a catalogue was printed. Among these pictures was 'The Young Savoyards Resting,' a work that obtained for Madame Soyer the name of the 'English Murillo.' Two of her paintings - 'The Jew Lemon Boys' and 'The English Ceres,' were engraved by Gérard. In Paris, where many of her pictures were exhibited, her reputation stood higher than in her native country - unquote. The paintings to which Alexis Benoist Soyer (4 February 1810 – 5 August 1858) refers to, are most likely those created by his late wife. This letter is written less than 9 months before his death and fifteen years after Emma’s. He must have inherited all of her artistic output and possibly had a catalogue printed to sell them. Indications are that Soyer was not careful with money. This makes sense as he left only £1500 at his death. A rum distiller called David Hart succeeded in taking all the cash and Soyer's personal papers in lieu of an unpaid debt. He destroyed all the papers and notes. Because of that short-sighted and selfish action, any signed or manuscript notes in Soyer's hand are extremely rare. Only rare letters like this one here, owned by a third party are likely to come onto market.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11234