Letter from the Marquess of Lansdowne to Sir George [?Maude] giving permission for his Raphael picture to be photographed.

Lord Lansdowne writes that the Prince Consort is welcome to have his 'little Raffaelle' picture photographed, and offers to have it done by a photographer named Gibbons who is working for him. Gibbons thinks that the unevenness of the wood panel will make the picture difficult to photograph but is willing to try, and Lansdowne will let him do this unless HRH wishes to send his own photographer. He adds that he has an original sketch by Raphael for one of the heads in the cartoons. The identity of the addressee is not clear as his surname is not mentioned. From the letter, it could be assumed that he was a member of the Prince Consort's household, but there was no Sir George in his household and only Sir George Maude in Queen Victoria's household at this time. Gibbons may have been from the firm of Gibbons of Bristol.