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LevelFonds
Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure)MS138
TitleLetters to John Smith, art dealer
Extent5 items
Date1837-[mid-19th century]
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MS100-199\MS138_T.jpg

DescriptionLetters to John Smith [art dealer] of 'Mister Smith and Son', London, from various people including his son William. Letters relate to business and a legal dispute relating to the sale of a picture which the purchaser believed was from the collection of Sir Joshua Reynolds but was thought to be a copy.
Access ConditionsAccess to all registered researchers.
CopyrightPermission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.
LanguageEnglish
Finding AidsA catalogue of this collection is available on the online archive catalogue. Click on the Finding Number to display the summary contents list of the catalogue and to view the full catalogue. A paper copy is also available in the Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections Department.
Access StatusOpen
Creator NameSmith, John (1781-1855), art dealer
Administrative HistoryJohn Smith (1781-1855) was an art dealer based in London. For around seventy years John Smith’s firm acted as a leading London dealer. His customers included the Prince Regent (later George IV), the Duke of Wellington, Lords Bute, Lansdowne and Northwick, Sir Robert Peel, Sir Charles Bagot, Ralph Bernal and William Beckford, as well as members of the Baring, Hope and Rothschild banking families, and the firm dealt in works by such artists as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Rubens. Internal evidence indicates that Smith's home address was Turnham Green.

Sources: letters to John Smith, art dealer; Dutch and Flemish Art in Museums Worldwide website accessed 27 November 2014 from: http://www.codart.nl/news/953/
Custodial HistoryFound in Barber Fine Art Library, Apr 1998. The original provenance of this deposit is unknown
Archival NotePapers arranged and described by Margaret Roper, November 2014, in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; and in-house cataloguing guidelines.
Associated MaterialsNational Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, Archon Code: 72 (Letters of John Smith, his sons and their customers; Smith firm's business book)
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