Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner
correspondent
Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson
(Brentwood, England, 1858 - 1908, Sunninghill, England)
Date15 December 1890 - 15 December 1907
MediumInk on paper
Dimensions8 x 22.8 cm (3 1/8 x 9 in.)
ClassificationsManuscripts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberARC.002259
eMuseum ID727758
EmbARK ObjectID24937
Other NumberU27e816
TMS Source ID9143
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis letter accompanied the arrows (U27e821.a-b) that were a Christmas gift to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson, an English army officer turned author and adventurer. Jephson accompanied explorer Henry Morton Stanley on the notorious Emin Pasha Relief Expedition between 1886-1889 and appears to have collected these arrows during his travels in equatorial Africa. While they were originally tipped with poison and used for hunting, Jephson assured Gardner that he had “rubbed the poison off” before presenting the arrowheads to her.
Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson
late 19th century - early 20th century
Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson
20 September 1891
Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson
8 September 1891
Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson
17 June 1892
Arthur Jermy Mounteney Jephson
15 May 1891