Four Autograph Letters Signed (all 'C. Morley Knight.') from Captain Charles Morley Knight to Charles Edward Fagan (all 'Fagan'), Secretary of the British Museum, discussing Trustees (Sir Archibald Geikie; Lord Rosebery; Maryon-Wilson; Rothschild).

All four items in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Totalling 16pp., 12mo. On four bifoliums. In addition to being one of the Trustees of the British Museum, Knight was, as one of the proprietors of Knight and Porteus of Argentina, owner with his partner Colonel John James Porteus (1857-1948) of 'the largest herd of red Aberdeen-Angus in the world' (TImes, 24 April 1939), which was sold after his death. ONE: On letterhead of the English Club, Buenos Aires. 18 November 1910. 4pp., 12mo. Docketed 'Wrote 20 Dec. 1910.' The letter begins: 'I have just got a letter from Kenyon who says that at last the King has resigned but that he doesn't know who will be put in to fill his place. But he fancies that Geikie [Sir Archibald Geikie (1835-1924), Scottish geologist] will be elected to the Standing Committee, in order to strengthen the Natural History representatives, which certainly is a laudable reason & no doubt he may be useful if strong enough, but he looks to me to be lamentably weak. Then he says also "because of the services he has lately done to the Museum." So I have written that I hope this does not mean the letter writing, as anything so feeble it is impossible to imagine. "To get a Trustee to report on the other Trustees publicly, wd: be quite too funny if it were not so tragic..." Outsiders who take enough interest to care think it grotesque. But possibly the Standing Committee do not consider themselves in the same category as the rest of the Trustees & so Geikie is really not a Trustee but an outsider.' He discusses the public perception of the case, before turning to the weather in Argentina. 'Ernest Gibson has just been dining with me & he has had a terrible time & is in the worst part of the drought, nothing like it since 1876 he says.' TWO: 8 May 1912. 4pp., 12mo. The letter begins: 'If you see any of the Trustees do try & persuade them to scratch out Ld: Rosebery at several meetings on Saturday & put in my name or Haworth. The great thing is to get rid of the useless people any how. | If you shd: see the Ld. Chief Justice ask him to talk about it at the meeting or any one else of importance.' The rest of the letter relates to 'the Geographical dinner', to which Knight wishes to go with Fagan and 'Blame': 'He did not say if he wd. have a guest but I will have my partner Porteus.' THREE: 16 February 1912. 4pp., 12mo. Begins: 'I heard from Maryon-Wilson & he had a letter from Dawson regretting that he was in any way annoyed & thought it was a subject for congratulation. And so it is if he had only had the civility just to mention it earlier. He also said he did not think he A. M-W took any interest in such matters, and that legally there was no ownership to human remains.' FOUR: 17 March 1913. He is sending 'a receipt for the Books duly signed [...] They are just what I wanted.' He hopes Fagan is 'not too overworked with all the numerous conundrums including the <?> Show'. He has 'written to Revd: F. Annesley asking him if he will be down for the May meeting & if so to put in C: Bentinck instead of Poynter. I am sure that is a good plan, I will try & get others to do it also. I am only sorry that W. Rothschild will not be there to assist in this scheme.' Postscript: 'Sir W Harcourt is sure to be put in instead of Lord C.'