Stevenson, Robert Louis

(i) Half-length studio portrait of Stevenson seated, by Notman of Boston, matt silverprint, 152 by 200mm, [c.1887], laid down on mounted, inscribed by the author on the mount to his childhood nurse Alison Cunningham ("To Cummy | from Robert Louis Stevenson"), extremities slightly chipped, discolouring to mount

(ii) Stevenson on the deck of the schooner Equator, cap in hand, between Lloyd Osborne and Fanny Stevenson, with another figure (usually identified as the American Agent Adolph Rick but here identified as Joe Strong) seated and a crew member, taken quayside at Honolulu at the outset of a Pacific cruise, by J. Williams of Honolulu, [24 June 1889], vintage albumen print, 175 by 237mm, mounted, captioned on the reverse of the mount, mount shipped with loss



(iii-vi) Four images of Stevenson and his household at his plantation home of Vailima, Upolu, Samoa, [24 May 1892], vintage albumen prints by J. Davis of Apia, each c.195 by 240mm, mounted, with photographer's blind stamp on the mounts and each with autograph captions by Stevenson naming all the individuals depicted, comprising: group portrait of Stevenson, his family, and household servants, on the steps of the veranda; view of Vailima from the front, with Stevenson leaning on the first-floor balcony and other family and household members on the veranda, labelled "Front of house"; view of Vailima from the side with Stevenson and his wife on the first-floor balcony, also depicting out-buildings and with Vaea mountain in the background, labelled "House and shoulder of Vaea mountain"; view from the veranda showing pasture with animals, including Stevenson's horse Jack, and native bush beyond, labelled "View from front verandah"; mounts chipped, in two cases with some loss at captions, mounts spotted, one photograph with some loss at top right corner, one photograph with stain at right edge 



housed together in a collector's box (275 x 335 x 50mm)

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

AN EXCEPTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF STEVENSON'S TRAVELS. The first photograph is from a studio session from Stevenson's second trip to America, when he was working on The Master of Ballantrae. The four Samoan photographs give an exceptional visual record of Stevenson's final home in the Samoan foothills, "in a deep cleft of Vaea Mountain; some six hundred feet above the sea, embowered in forest, which is our strangling enemy, and which we combat with axes and dollars" (letter to Sidney Colvin, 3 November 1890). These images also depict the family group who lived with him in Samoa: his widowed mother, his wife, her children from her previous marriage, Lloyd and Belle, the latter's husband Joe Strong, and their son Austin, together with numerous local servants who looked after the house and plantation such as Arrick, the "cannibal" who worked as a pantry man. These images bring to life the landscape of Stevenson's South Seas, so vividly described in his letters and late fiction, from the local mountain, which was said to be haunted by a succubus, to his horse Jack, whose fiery temperament is the subject of several letters.

Captions with very similar wording to those found here, although not in Stevenson's hand, are found on another print of the family group at Vailima in an album that belonged to Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson's step-son (now in the Writers' Museum, Edinburgh).