| Collection | Victorian Additional Papers |
| Description | The letter begins with a request to Ruland to pass on a letter (not present) to the Prince Consort from Herr Sturz, the former Brazilian Consul General in Berlin (with no indication of its contents).
In a postscript, Stockmar says that he is sending by courier two glass plate negatives of drawings attributed to Raphael in the possession of Savigny, of which there are not yet copies in the Prince Consort's collection. They show an allegorical figure of Justice, the same size as the original, and an angel drawn in red chalk, two-thirds the size of the original. He is also sending two prints of each in a separate package.
In a second postscript Stockmar acknowledges receipt of a letter from Ruland. He promises to write to Droysen at once about Mendelssohn's letter, and thanks Ruland for his help (unspecified). A note by Ruland at the end of the letter records that he replied on 22 March thanking Stockmar.
It is assumed that 'Mendelsohn' [sic] may refer to the composer Felix Mendelssohn, although he died in 1847, because of his acquaintance with the Prince Consort. Professor Droysen was a distinguished German historian known to Princess Victoria, who had translated a pamphlet by him (see Dearest Child, p. 80). Johann Sturz appears to have been dismissed from his post because of his opposition to Brazilian treatment of immigrants from Europe, which may perhaps have been the subject of his letter to the Prince Consort. |