Letter-book

Letter-book containing copies of twenty letters from Ralph N Wornum and his brother Alfred Nicholson Wornum to their father Robert Wornum . They were written between April 1834 and May 1835 and were copied and edited by their sister Catherine Nicholson Wornum. Ten letters from Ralph were written from Munich and describe his journey through Belgium and Holland to Munich and his visits to churches, galleries and museums in pursuit of his studies on art. He includes comments on pictures he has seen, those he has copied and on his own development as an artist. The letters also contain: details of his travel and living arrangements, conditions, currency, climate and accommodation, as well as his notes on philosophy, religion, poetry and the character and social mores of the people of Munich. One of the letters is written to his friend Frederick Perigal. The letters also contain references to various other friends and family including Baron Kreüsser, his grandmother in Kentish Town, London, his uncle John and brother Alfred. Ten letters written by Alfred were sent from New Brunswick and Montreal in Canada and Stockworth and Buffalo in the United States. They concern the possibility of the Wornum family emigrating and establishing a religious settlement and include references to religion in particular the New Church and the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg. Alfred's letters also contain details of climate, agriculture, trade and currency, housing, the American people ("Yankees"), French settlers, social classes and wild life