Letter from William Gilpin, Vicar's Hill, to Sir George Beaumont, 1801 December 2 : autograph manuscript signed.

Saying that he is glad that Beaumont has brought his wife Margaret back safe from the "rocky regions of Conway" (in North Wales); referring to a sketch of a Speaker of the House of Commons which Beaumont has retrieved (see MA 1581.54 for further information about this item and its travels) and saying "I suppose you can hardly imprison him, & send him in a frank. I fancy the better way will be to case him in a piece of stiff paper on both sides, with a scrap of silk paper in the middle; & to send him, at your leisure, directed to me, to Messrs. Cadell & Davies, booksellers in the Strand"; describing a catalogue of his drawings with a section at the end on "portrait-landscape"; saying "on which subject, in your letter to me from Conway, you say so many clever things, that I have tacked your sayings to mine, as you put lace on a coat"; mentioning that he sent a message through a friend asking for Beaumont's permission to do this, but, as he hasn't heard from him, he suspects the message never reached Beaumont; adding that he cannot remember which friend he sent the message through, "but I suppose it was through Col. Mitford, as I believe he has the shortest memory"; asking Beaumont's advice about when and how to sell his drawings and other possessions, whether now or after his death; asking about auctions and auctioneers; saying that a friend "used to tell me, that scribbling a little in books & drawings would make them more sought after [...] therefore I have scribbled in several books; & likewise on papers pasted behind single drawings"; writing "I beg pardon for giving you all this trouble: but your goodness leads me on; & I shall leave the poor children of Boldre-school to thank you"; mentioning that his brother is etching three plates for his catalogue and that Cadell & Davies have promised to publish it for free, so that he hopes to make money for the school from the sale of the catalogue alone.