Sessional papers online

kindly pleased to obtain admissions for them to see every
thing in your town and neighbourhood that may interest
a foreign traveller.

" I avail myself of this occasion to reiterate to you my
high esteem and regard, with which I have the honour
to be,

" Sir,
" Your most obedient servant.




U^i77>t.Tc.y-'^^



yi77>t^zc,^y^C^^^^^y^ ^'i^iy presents his com-
pliments to Mr. Thomason, and begs him to keep the
enclosed letter tiU Prince Schwarzenberg calls for it.
Chandos House, December 4tb, 1825.

T 2

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1825 « My dear Sir,

" Will you be so good as to remember me
to Mrs. Thomason, and give her the enclosed specimen
of the King of France's hand-writing which I promised
her when I had the honour of seeing her.
** I have the honour to be,
" Dear Sir,
" Your very obedient humble servant.




" Dear Sir,

" Since I left you, after our short inter-
view, I have thought much on your friendly proposal of
a medal, and have experienced alternate doubts, fears,
&c., whether it may not, on my part, be deemed arro-
gance in aspiring to such a distinction ; still, from the
number of pupils I have had, and the probable increase
I may have, on account of your fame and interest, have
become more reconciled to the event ; but the * reverse,'
in my idea, concentrating in the medal, more importance
than the * obverse,* I have turned my mind with some
earnestness on that subject, and, with all submission to
your better judgment ond experience, conceive that
a * female figure,' with light drapery, representing
< Silence,' arms extended in the act of unloosing the
bandage from her lips (rather open), with a visage re-
presentative of *Joy,' her * right foof in the act of
stepping upon a * Globe,' with * Great Britain' indented
as the * first place' of the * discovery ;' would be rather
symbolic of the intention of the medal, with, round the
circle, * Discoverer of the System for the (efiectual) re-



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moval of Impediments of Speech/ Perhaps this may be 1825.
too long ; that I leave to you. Round the head, * John
Broster, F.A.S.E., m.dccc.xxv.' Now, my dear Sir, I
trust no motive, beyond a strict conviction on the pro-
priety of this undertaking, will lead you to the adoption
of it ; and, with great respect and esteem, after so tran-
sitory an interview, permit me to subscribe myself,
" Your faithful friend,

** And humble servant,




"Sj8, Lower Brook Street, Grosvenor Square,
"London, Dec. 4, 1825.'*
" P.S. I write from your inkstand, and I assure you
with the highest approbation of its construction and
comfort I expect to be in my own house next week,
near Grosvenor Place, but address as above if you write.
I have just received your letter, and shall, as soon as I
can, attend to its contents ; but I think this answer for
the present wiU suffice.'*

" Paris, January, 1826.
"Sir,

" When I had the honour of seeing you in
Paris, you were so obliging as to promise me your kind
offices in your country. An occasion now presents itself
and I take the liberty of availing myself of your kind
offer. I have engraved some dies for a medal which
Mr. Hortado ordered of me. As they are to be exe-



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278

1826. cuted in England, where Mr. Hortado is, and knowing
in what perfection everything comes out of your work-
shops, I advised him to address himself to you, Sir, for
the purpose of getting these medals struck. The condi-
tions of our agreement with Mr. Hortado are, that
before I am entirely paid for the dies, fifiy medals are
to be struck with them.

** As I think that your fabrication is performed in the
same manner as ours, the trial may be easily made as
soon as Mr. Hortado will have given you the dies, which
are properly tempered.

" If I dare beg of you, Sir, to send me word when the
fifty medals are struck, it would greatly oblige me. I
should be happy to be of any use to you in this country ;
you may confidently dispose of me ; I shall always be
eager to serve you.

" Be pleased. Sir, to accept my very humble saluta-
tations and the homage of my respects.



Thomason, Esq., Birmingham.'



U^Wnm^



At this period (March), I had been trying, at some
expense, some experiments to produce the efiect of
enamelling on copper. I completed a very large size
metallic bowl, on the outside of which was an historical
coloured device, and the inside was richly gilt and bur-
nished. I found the idea was too expensive to succeed ;
the efiect of this bowl was, however, beautiful, and ap-
peared novel in the arts ; I therefore, for its singularity
and being unique, sent it, through his Excellency Lord



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StroDgfordy with a petition to his Imperial Majesty to 1826.
accept it

" London, the 1st March, 1826.

" Dear Sir,

" Your letter of the 23d ult. was only left at the
Consulate yesterday, and I hasten to inform you that if
the package in question for Lord Strangford is of a size
that a messenger may take charge of it, you may send it
to the Foreign Office in Downing Street, recommending
it to the care of Thomas Bidwell, Esq., at the Foreign
Office. I have seen this gentleman, and he has promised
to forward it with the first messenger. Should the
package, however, he too large for a messenger, and that
it must be sent per ship, you will please to address it to
the care of Mr. Niven Kerr, Turkey merchant, 5, New
Broad Street, London, who is Lord Strangford^s agent.

'' Requesting that you will always please to dispose of
my services without reserve, I avail myself of this oppor-
tunity to assure you of my high regard and esteem, with
which I remain,

** Dear Sir,
' Your most obedient servant,




** Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham.'*

Bushy Park, 27th October, 1826.

" When I had the satisfaction of visiting
your interesting and curious manufactory, about four



It
^^Sir,



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280

1826. years since, I noticed a copper medal struck by Buona-
parte at the time of his intended invasion of this coun-
try. I was informed that the original die was authentic,
and that you had made one from it.

" I have since collected all the crown (five franc)
pieces struck from Louis XVIth's reign to Charles Xth,
including the various States created by the French in
Italy, Germany, &c. (in number thirty-seven), and I
shall not consider the series complete unless I can pro-
cure one of Hercules strangling the Hydra^ in silver^ to
match with the rest. I should be grateful to know what
would be the expense of striking one for me, as I feel
satisfied you will with pleasure add your assistance to
perfect so interesting a collection.

" I always conceived that the coin was really made by
Buonaparte's order, and should feel obliged if you would,
in your answer, authenticate its genuineness.

" My only apology for taking this liberty is a belief
that your attachment to the arts will make you at once
appreciate my wishes and excuse my intrusion.
** I have the honour to be,
« Sir,

" Your obedient servant.




Lt.-Colonel."

" Sir,

" My father having been absent, I have re-
frained from thanking you for your obliging attention to



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my wishes. I find the medal beautifully executed, and 1826.
highly valuable from the anecdote you mention as having
had yourself from Denon.

*^ I have not asked my father respecting the other
part of your letter until I know under what circum-
stances, and by what means, it might be done. His
Royal Highness particularly dislikes sitting for his
picture, and, I fear, a similar operation would be re-
quired for the model you desire.

'' I have no other means of forwarding the money, in
return for the favour you have conferred upon me, but
by a draft.

** I have the honour to be,
« Sir,
^* Your obedient servant.




"Bushy Park, 18th Nov., 1826.''

At this period I finished a pair of medal dies, of the
largest class, to commemorate the foundation of the
London University.

On the obverse was the College or University,
On the legend, round, "Design adopted by the Council
for the University of London, 1826.**
On the reverse — Council.

Hon. James Abercrombie, M.P.
The Right Hon. Lord Auckland.
Alexander Baring, Esq., M.P.
George Birkbeck, M.D.
Henry Brougham, Esq., M.P., F.R.S.
Thomas Campbell, Esq.

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1826. The Right Hon. Viscount Dudley and Ward.

iBaac Lyon Goldsmith, Esq.

Olinthus G. Gregory, LX.D.

George Grote, jun., Esq.

Joseph Hume, Esq., M.P., F.R.S.

Most Noble the Marquis of Lansdowne, F.R.S.

Zachary Macauley, Esq,, F.R.S.

Su* James Mackmtosh, M.P., F.R.S.

James Mill, Esq.

His Grace the Duke of Norfolk.

Lord John Russell, M.P.

Benjamin Shaw, Esq.

John Smith, Esq., M.P.

William Tooke, Esq., F.R.S.

Henry Weymouth, Esq.

John Wishaw, Esq.

Thomas Wilson, Esq.
The legend, "Language, Mathematics, Physics, Men-
tal Science, Moral Sciences, History, Political Economy,
Medical Sciences."



Grand National Medals^ struck off at Sir Edward
Thoraason^s Manufactory.

The obverses containing the likenesses of Earl Howe,
Earl St. Vincent, Lord Duncan, Sir Sidney Smith,
Lord Abercromby, Lord Hutchinson, Lord Nelson, Sir
John Moore, Duke of Wellington, Lord Beresford,
Lord Hill, Sir Thomas Picton, Duke of York, Lord
Lynedoch, Prince Regent, Duke of Cambridge, Marquis
of Anglesea, Napoleon Buonaparte, Lord Exmouth,
George the Third, and Lord Combermere.

1. The Victory over the French Fleet by Lord Howe
offUshant, May, 1794.



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«• The Victory obtained over the Spanish Fleet by 1826.
Lord St Vincent off Cape St Vincent, 14th February,

1797.

3. The Victory obtained by Lord Duncan over the
Dutch Fleet off Camperdown, October 11, V797.

4. Sir Sidney Smith. Acre defended, Buonaparte re-
pulsed, Syria saved. 20th May, 1799-

5. Sir Ralph Abercromby — Egypt, 21st March, 1801.

6. Lord Hutchinson — delivery of Egypt from the
French, 31st August, 1801.

7. The Scottish Soldier in his Military Accoutrements.

8. The Genius of the Ocean planting the Britbh Flag
of Power at Bombay — ^Captain Dance, 1804.

9- Lord Nelson's Victories over the French at the
Nile, 1st Aug., 1798 ; over the Danish Fleet at Copen-
hagen, 2d April, 1801 ; and over the combined French
and Spanish Fleets off Trafalgar, 21st October, 1805.

10. Death of Sir John Moore at Corunna, l6th Jan.,
1808.

11. The Arrival of the British Army in the Peninsula
to assist in expelling the French from Portugal, 1808.

12. The Battle of Vimiera and the occupation of
Lisbon, 11th September, 1806.

13. Passing of the Douro and the defeat of Soult,
11th May, 1809.

14. Victory of Talavera, 28th July, 1809.

15. Passing the Lines of Torres Vedras, 1810 — the
Duke compared to the Roman General Fabius.

16. Victory of Albuera, 17th May, 1811.

17* The Fort and Bridge at Almarez destroyed, Nov.,
1811.

18. Badajos taken by Storm, 6th April, 1812.

19. Battle of Vittoria, June 21, 1812.



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1826. 20. The Battle of Salamanca, and the entrance of
Lord Wellington and the Army into Madrid on the 12th
of August, 1812.

21. Battle of the Pyrenees, 2d August, 1813.

22. Presentation of the Colours to the Military Col-
lege by the Queen, 12th August, 1813.

23. Capture of St Sebastian, 7th Oct., 1813.

24. Surrender of Pampeluna, 31st. Oct., 1813.

25. Battle of Toulouse in France, and Capture of the
Town, 10th April, 1814.

26. The Repose of Hercules, 1814.

27. England gave Peace to the World, 1814.

28. Treaty of Paris, 30th May, 1814.

29* Visit of the Allied Soyereigns to England, 6th
June, 1814.

30. Entry of the English into Hanoyer, 24ih Oct,
1814.

31. Flight of Napoleon from Elba and his landing in
France, 1st March, 1815.

32. The Bull, the common animal of the Netherlands,
and the peculiar buildings of Brussels denote the British
Army in the Netherlands, 1815.

33. Charge of the Marquis of Anglesea on the 18th
of June, 1815, at Waterloo.

34. Battle of Waterloo, 18th June, 1815.

35. The English Army enter Paris, 7th July, 1815.

36. Surrender of Napoleon to Captain Maitland, 15th
July, 1815.

37. Napoleon sitting pensiyely on the Island of St.
Helena, 18th Oct., 1815.

38. The Ionian Islands deliyered up to England by
the Emperor of Russia, 5th November, 1815.



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89. Reduction of Algiers, August, 1816, by Lord 1826.
Exmouth.

40. Religion, Integrity, and Constancy have steered
Britannia through all her dangers, 1817*

41. Lord Combermere — Capture of Bhurtpoor, Jan.,
1826.



" Horse Guards, January 13, 1827. 1827.
" Dear Sir,

*^ I have just received the handsome medal

which you have had the kindness to send to me, com-

memoratiye of the late Duke of York, and I beg of you

to accept of my best thanks for this mark of kind and

respectful attention.

** I remain, dear Sir,

** Yours sincerely,




" Edward Thomason, Esq., Manufacturer,
Birminghanu"

*' Bushy House, Jan. 14, 1827.
"Sir,

**In answer to your letter of the 11th inst, I
have been directed by the Duke of Clarence to assure
you tiiat he is very sensible of your attention on the
present occasion. His Royal Highness is pleased further
to observe that the medal is a good likeness, and appears
to be well and neatiy executed.
" I am, Sir,

** Your obedient servant.




To E. Thomason, Esq., Birmingham.''

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1827.



286

presents his best compliments to Mr. ThomasoUi and
begs to thank him for his kind attention in sending him
a silver medal of his late Royal Highness the Duke of
York.

January 18, 1827.

has had the honour of laying at the King's feet Mr.
Thomason's medal of his Royal Highness the late Duke
of York. His Majesty was graciously pleased to express
his sense of Mr. Thomason's dutiful attention.
Royal Lodge, Windsor, 18th January, 1827-

In consequence of the death of his Royal Highness the
Duke of York, who held the high appointment of Com-
mander in Chief, his Majesty immediately conferred
that honour on the Duke of Wellington, and in a letter
written by his Majesty, and addressed

•* To Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, Com-
mander in Chief of his Majesty's forces, the great and
distinguished General who has so often led the armies
of the nation to victory and glory, and whose high mili-
tary renown is blended with the history of Europe.
*^ By his Majesty's command,

" Henry Torrens, Adj. Gen.
" Horse Guards, Jan. 22, 1827.'*

This appeared in the Gazette of Jan. 22, and the
same evening in the Courier paper, which arrived in



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Birmingham on the following morning at eight o'clock. 1827.
The short and pithy letter of the King gratified all loyal
people. The Courier paper came into my hands in
about a quarter of an hour after its arrival. It imme-
diately struck me that my die-sinkers could, in seven
hours, put a copy of this letter of the King on a reverse
die, to correspond with the fine obverse die which I had
lately made of the Duke, and that it should arrive at
Apsley House at eight o'clock in the morning. All was
bustle in the medal department, die-sinkers standing in
readiness with hammer and tools, changed their seats
every ten minutes, during which time the obverse side
of the medal was being pressed in silver, leaving the
reverse for the last blow.

The reverse die was finished at six o'clock ; the die
hardened and lapped by seven. The fine two-and-a-
quarter inch medal was finished at half-past seven, and
the packet for the Duke placed in the mail guard's pos-
session at quarter before eight, and a present to the
guard to drive by Apsley House, and deliver the packet.
This was done, and the Duke utterly astonished.
" What I in forty-eight hours, the King's appointment
is struck upon imperishable metal, and placed in my
hands. How can this thing be ? I comprehend — quick-
ness of conception, rapidity of thought, the division of
labour." The circumstance was communicated to
George IV., to whom I sent a medal. His Majesty
remarked, " This is worth recording."



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1827.



S88

"Haverfield, Jan. 30th, 1827.




presents his compliments to Mr. Thomason, and is much
ohliged to him for the medal which Mr. Thomason was
so kind as to send him. The Duke will be much obliged
to Mr. Thomason if he will send him another medal of
the same material, and one made of bronze.

** Mr. Thomason, Church Street, Birmingham.''



Sir,



'London, January 31, 1827.



" In answer to your letter of the 17th inst., I
have to inform you that the box containing a vase for
the Emperor Nicolas (which did not arrive until three
or four days before my departure from St. Petersburgh),
was left, together with the letter addressed by you to his
Imperial Majesty, at the house of Count Nesselrode, the
Minister for Foreign Afikirs.

"Mr. Disbrowe is now acting as his Majesty's
Minister Plenipotentiary at St Petersburgh, and I shall
advise you to request that gentleman to ascertain from
Count Nesselrode whether the box and letter have been
presented to the Emperor.

" I am. Sir,

" Your obedient servant,




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289

" Mint Office, 6th Feb., 1827- 1^27.
" Dear Sir,

** I have had the pleasure to forward your
application for a set of the new coins to the Master of the
Mint, whose order, under his own hand, is required
before we can deliver the specimens. I have annexed
my recommendation to the application, knowing you
have a collection, and have mentioned to Mr. Wallace
the science and judgment you possess about the numis-
matic art As soon as the order is obtained you will be
informed, and the coins may be delivered to your agent
on paying the value at the Mint

" Believe me, dear Sir,

" Very truly yours,

'' Edward Thomason, Esq."

" Park Lane, Friday evening,

Marches, 1827-
"Sir,

" On returning to town this morning I found the

very handsome and well-executed medal you have been

good enough to present to me. As a member of the

Council of the London University, I should have been

gratified by such a merit of attention from any quarter ;

but it gives me still more satisfaction as coming from one

of the most spirited and ingenious manufacturers of the

town of Birmingham, in the credit and prosperity of

which I take so strong an interest.

" I am. Sir,

" Your obliged and obedient humble servant,



Sf'.tu.^^^,



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290

1827. " March 28, 1827.

"Sir,

" There will be required 100 Corinthian capitals
for the Palace at Buckingham House — the model will be
that of the capitals on the inside of the Pantheon at
Rome, and the diameter of the columns at the base will
be sixteen inches. The abacus and bell of the capitals
will be statuary marble, and the leaves, scrolls, and other
ornaments of the capitals, will be of metal firmly fixed to
the statuary bells. If you are disposed to send in pro-
posals for executing them, and will send the price for the
capitals complete, except the marble, and a specimen of
the metal, should the metal be approved by the King,
and the price in competition be the most reasonable, I
shall be induced to recommend the adoption of them.
" I am. Sir,

" Your obedient servant,




**E. Thomason, Esq.*'

"Birmingham, April 11, 1827.

" Sir,

" In compliance with your esteemed permis-
sion, I have the pleasure to forward you by this day's
coach (the carriage paid), a box containing five speci-
mens of the acanthus leaf, &c., part of a Corinthian
capital composed of three different colours, and although
they are not of the size you require and mention, they
may do as specimens of the sculpture and workmanship
for your approval.

" Presuming that you will require everything for the
Palace finished in a superior style of workmanship, I



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have done these patterns to that end. On the hack of 1327.
each piece will he attached a long screw with a hur to
screw each piece to the hell of the capital and ahacus.

** I understand from your note that the model of the
capital is to he the same as those inside of the Pantheon
at Rome, and that the hell and the ahacus are to he of
marhle, and that it is the ornaments only that I am to
send a calculation of; that is, for the scrolls, leaves, and
other ornaments adapted for a capital whose columns at
the hase are sixteen inches in diameter.

" I will undertake to make the one hundred capitals,
with the exception of the marhle hell and ahacus, at
eighteen guineas and a half each.

" If I am so fortunate as to ohtain your order, you
may depend on the strictest attention to the execution
and quality.

**I am,

"Sir,

" Your very ohedient servant,

"E. Thomason.
" John Nash, Esq.'*

"6, Sackville Street, 25th May, 1827.

" My dear Sir,

" I hope very soon to see you on my way to

Ireland, and shall he glad to witness an improvement in

the great hranch of our manufactures with which you

are connected.

*• My dear Sir,

" Yours, faithfully.



**E. Thomason, Esq.*'
u 2




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1827. His Royal Highness the Duke of Saxe Weimar, in
1825 and 1826, travelled through the United States,
and I understood he was present at the completion of
the Grand Canal, uniting the Erie with the Atlantic
The American Government employed their hest artist
in medal engraving to engrave a pair of medal dies (of
small size, ahout one inch and a quarter in diameter)
to commemorate this important undertaking, which was
accomplished towards the end of the year 1825.

The Duke, on his return, landed at Liverpool, and
called upon me as he passed through Birmingham, and
was so obliging as to present me with one of the American
medals. His Royal Highness was well aware of the
inferiority of the workmanship, both as to the execution
of the dies and the making of the medal ; but it was the
best their artist could do. As so important an event was
worth recording upon a medal, I had a pair of dies
engraved, about four times the size, by one of my first
artists, the allegory/ of the medal being exactly a fac-
simile of theirs. On the Obverse was a River God
encouraging Neptune for a time, whilst he conducted
him to the River Erie — the Legend^ ** Union of Erie
with the Atlantic.'* On the Reverse was the Eagle
standing upon, and in the attitude of protecting one-half
of the Globe. A ship at a distance^ — an escutcheon
with the sun rising out of the water, and in a garter the
word Excelsior. The Legend — " Erie Canal, com-
menced 4th July, 1817, completed 26th October, 1825.**

The Americans were delighted with this production,
and seemed to acknowledge, without jealousy, the vast
distinction between English and American artists.

As the Marquis Wellington married the widow of



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Robert Patterson, Esq., I sent a present of one to her 1827.
Excellency, hence the reply of Lieut-Colonel Shawe.

is desired to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Thomason's
letter addressed to the Marchioness Wellesley, together
with a beautiful medal, struck at his manufactory, in
honour of the successful completion of the great work by
which the navigation of Lake Erie is united with the
Atlantic Ocean.

Her Excellency is extremely obliged to Mr. Thoma-
son for his attention in sending her the medal destined
to commemorate that interesting event.

Dublin Castle, 15th June, 182?.

** South Audley Street, July 5th, 1827.
" Dear Sir,

" I fear I shall have appeared very negli-
gent in not having before written to you to acquaint you
with my father^s opinion respecting the copy you pro-
posed to make of " the Waterloo Vase." I did not,
however, forget my commission, but spoke to him of
it soon after my return to town, and I am sorry to say
that I am afraid it will not do just at present. My
father, of course, cannot but feel complimented by having
his works (and especially a work of such magnitude and
importance as that under consideration) multiplied ; but,
independent of other circumstances, he feels that it would
not be quite correct to permit any copy to be made of it
until his Majesty's opinion should be taken, in case he
should be indisposed to have repetitions of it sold. I do
not, for my own part, see how any objection can be made

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1897. in that quarter, especially when the copy would he made
under the immediate superintendence of one so celebrated
in such things as yourself, and to whom we already owe so
much for so fine a copy of one of the finest vases in the