William SIMPSON (1823-1899), Sir George GROVE (1820-1890), Alfred H. 'Hajj' BROWNE, and others. "Kissing", an apparently unpublished manuscript and printed compilation by Simpson on the subject of kissing (in all its forms), with an original hand-painted gouache decorative ‘title’; other autograph manuscript contributions from Simpson, Grove, Browne and others; together with transcriptions of others work by Simpson, and printed extracts. [No place, but ?London]: [1882-]1883[-1887].
Octavo. 49 pages in all, includes 9pp. autograph manuscript , quarto, signed by Simpson; 2pp. als from Grove to Simpson, concerning the book; 2pp. als from Father A. Richardson; 2pp. from Browne to Simpson; various manuscript transcriptions by Simpson of others’ work. Original red buckram, Simpson’s Tibetan device / monogram blocked in gilt on the upper cover, titled ‘Kissing’ in gilt on the spine. Provenance: William Simpson (compiler and bookplate).
A superficially frivolous subject is here treated with respectful seriousness by Simpson and his collaborators: the makings of a scholarly monograph is the result. William Simpson (28 October 1823 – 17 August 1899) "is widely-known known today as the war artist whose first-hand depiction of the Crimean War helped bring home the reality of that ill-managed campaign to the British public. His were the surrogate eyes of Empire in many Victorian military adventures, and he reported faithfully and, indeed, sometimes disapprovingly, on what he saw: "wherever shot and shell and ugly sword-blades are about, there he is sure to be", wrote the Glasgow Baillie of him in 1878, for Simpson was the first of the Victorian "Special Artists" whose primary focus was war, a group which has now yielded place to war correspondents and cameramen. But Simpson was more than just a War Artist — his artistic stock in trade encompassed both the military and civil achievements of a world in which the British Empire was at its peak. Simpson was a Scot and proudly independent, and although attendant upon a culture in which jingoism was the dominant paradigm, he had a rare understanding of, and empathy with, many cultures other than his own. As such, he became one of that curious breed of peripatetic Britons who thrived on desolate places and exotic peoples — a breed which included the likes of Richard Burton, Mary Kingsley, David Roberts and David Livingstone. In the process, he acquired a knowledge of religion, history, ethnography, archaeology, architecture and linguistics which marked him as a true polymath." (Adrian Lipscomb).
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