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INVENTORY OF THE CHARLES FELLOWS CORRESPONDENCE, 1820-1879
(bulk 1839-1852)
970014
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Table of contents
Title: Charles Fellows correspondence
Date (inclusive): 1820-1879
Date (bulk): 1839-1852
Collection number: 970014
Creator:
Fellows, Charles, Sir, 1799-1860
Extent:
ca. 370 items
(.5
linear ft.)
Repository:
Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Dr., Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California 90049-1688
Abstract: Collection comprises drafts and handwritten
copies of letters, as well as notes and inventories written and received by the
British archaeologist Sir Charles Fellows (1820-1879). The letters and
inventories describe Fellows's expeditions to Lycia, in present day Turkey, and
most particularly, his excavation of Xanthus. Correspondence also concerns the
display of Lycian artifacts at the British Museum.
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Language: Collection material in
English
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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Library Rights and Reproductions
Charles Fellows correspondence, 1820-1879, bulk 1839-1852, Getty
Reseach Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 970014
The collection was acquired in 1997 at Christie's auction, London,
Nov 27, 1996. One letter, from Fellows to Desire Raoul-Rochette dated
1843, was acquired in 1985 (Special Collections accn. no. 850423) and moved to this collection.
Jocelyn Gibbs processed, arranged and cataloged the collection. She
wrote this finding aid. The collection was microfilmed by the repository and a
copy of the microfilm given to the British Museum.
Also available in the repository on microfilm.
Sir Charles Fellows (1799-1860) was an English explorer and
archaeologist, best known for his expeditions in Asia Minor, especially in the
district of ancient Lycia (in present-day Turkey). During his first journey to
this area in 1838, he discovered the ruins of the ancient town of Xanthus. The
publication in 1839 of his journal of this expedition aroused great interest,
particularly at the British Museum, which requested that he bring artifacts
back to England on subsequent voyages. The museum helped arrange a royal decree
(firman) from the Sultan to enable Fellows to take away Lycian architectural
remnants and sculpture. The firman was obtained in 1842 while Fellows was on
his third expedition to the area. At the end of that year he shipped 78 cases
from Xanthus to the British Museum. In 1844 he extracted an additional 27 cases
of artifacts.
Eventually, Fellows's relationship with the British Museum Trustees
changed from one of mutual support to a battle over the design of the display
of Xanthian marbles. Fellows argued that the artifacts should be arranged
according to archaeological principles, and bitterly criticized the display the
sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott produced for the museum.
Fellows published several accounts of his travels and discoveries in
Lycia. In his publication,
The Xanthian marbles (London: John
Murray, 1843) Fellows describes his view of the incidents connected with the
acquisition of the marbles, in order to correct mistaken accounts and rumors.
His other publications include
The Inscribed monument at Xanthus (
1842),
An Account of discoveries in Lycia (
1841), and his first,
A Journal written during an excursion in Asia
Minor 1838
, (
1839).
Scope and Content of Collection
The Charles Fellows correspondence consists of letters, notes,
inventories, and cash accounts, dating from 1820-1879, and including undated
items. All are handwritten in ink or pencil. A few items are handwritten copies
of letters and accounts. Correspondents include people associated with the
British Museum, as well as experts and scholars, some of whom accompanied
Fellows on his expeditions. Fellows's letters are primarily drafts, many to
unidentified correspondents. The bulk of the material dates from 1839-1852. The
few items that date after 1859 (1869-1879) appear to be addressed to Lady
Fellows. One folder contains signatures torn from letters.
Fellows's letters and notes, several written from Asia Minor, detail
his expeditions, the attempt to get permission to ship architectural remnants
and sculpture from Xanthus to London, travel arrangements, discussions with
other scholars, and arrangements with his creditors. Some letters provide an
exchange of information about language and wildlife, especially birds and
insects, in Asia Minor. Inventories itemize the sculpture, building fragments
and other objects excavated from a site (probably Xanthus), list the workers,
tools and equipment.
Letters to and from Fellows, dated after 1842, reflect his dispute
with the Trustees of the British Museum over the display of the Xanthus marbles
at the museum. He argued for an arrangement based on archaeological principles
and against the exhibition design by the sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott. Lists
of accounts and letters reflect cash spent on salaries and equipment during his
expeditions, as well as London book sales and bookbinding costs of Fellows's
several publications, most published by J. Murray. Many letters are from people
associated with the British Museum, including Edward Hawkins, Keeper of
Antiquities; J. Forshall, Secretary of the Trustees; and William Hamilton.
Other correspondents include the photographer William Henry Fox Talbot, the
architect Robert Hesketh, who accompanied Fellows to Xanthus, the Austrian
orientalist Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, the topographer William Martin Leake,
and the English naturalist Edward Forbes.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in one series, organized by date, with
undated items at the end.
Fellows, Charles, Sir,
1799-1860
Talbot, William Henry
Fox, 1800-1877
Westmacott, Richard,
Sir
British Museum
Art—Exhibition
techniques
Sculpture,
Ancient—Turkey
Excavations
(Archaeology)—Turkey—Lycia
Excavations
(Archaeology)—Turkey—Xanthos (Extinct city)
Turkey—Antiquities
Xanthos (Extinct
city)
Correspondence
Fellows, Charles, Sir,
1799-1860
Forshall, Josiah,
1795-1863
Hamilton, William John,
1805-1867
Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph,
Freiherr von, 1774-1856
Hawkins, Edward,
1780-1867
Hesketh, Robert,
architect
Leake, William Martin,
1777-1860
Talbot, William Henry
Fox, 1800-1877