| Collection | Victorian Additional Papers |
| Description | Gruner begins by asking Becker to convey his congratulations to the Prince Consort on the birth of Prince William of Prussia. With regard to photographing the drawing of the Massacre of the Innocents ascribed to Raphael, Gruner believes he has already mentioned that this is not in the Royal Museum in Dresden, but it is the private property of Queen Maria. He is seeking permission for it to be photographed and hopes this will be forthcoming soon, although the Prince will have to pay the costs. He has also tried to find out about the drawing owned by Countess Riesch, but the family is away from Dresden until mid-February; he will report back as soon as they return.
Gruner refers to two sketches of Madonnas purportedly by Raphael of which he sent photographs to Becker. These he says were actually drawn by Professor Hübner, really as a joke to lead connoisseurs astray. He concludes by asking Becker if a [photographic] print of the drawing of Alexander before Roxana in the Windsor collection could be made for Goethe's grandson, who particularly loves it.
Goethe's grandson Wolfgang Maximilian von Goethe held a Prussian diplomatic post in Dresden at this time. |