Concordia Magazine 2025

Revd James Augustus Hessey in Vanity Fair , no.89, 1874 and Arthur G. Witherby, Dr William Baker in Vanity Fair , no. 804, 190: Carlo Pellegrini

The School Archive holds caricatures of two Merchant Taylors’ Head Masters (Dr William Baker and Revd James Hessey) that were included in the series ‘Men of the Day’ in Vanity Fair, which satirised notable members of Victorian and Edwardian Society between 1869 and 1914. Artists of this series included Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (known as Spy), Carlo Pellegrini (known as Ape) and Arthur George Witherby (known as Wag). 15 Also in the Archive are ‘Men of the Day’ prints of former pupils James Bellamy (son of Edward James Bellamy HM) and the actor Charles J. Mathews. Earlier this year, a previously unidentified portrait was discovered at School. The sitter is depicted wearing a stiff white shirt with a high collar, a black frock-coat and a cravat, complemented by glossy curls — characteristic features of early Victorian fashion ( c 1830s–1840s). Stylistic analysis suggests the subject may have been a young master or former pupil. Notably, this portrait bears a strong resemblance to an archival print of Charles J. Mathews (1803–78), an actor and alumnus of the School. The dating of the attire and hairstyle aligns with Mathew’s age during this period; given his prominence, it is plausible that a portrait of him was later presented to the School. However, owing to the inherent limitations of basing identification on physiognomy alone, the work has been provisionally catalogued as ‘possibly Charles J. Mathews’. 16 A significant development in the School’s research into its portrait collection has been the rediscovery of a painting of the poet Edmund Spenser, one of the earliest pupils under Richard Mulcaster in 1561. The work conforms to the ‘Chesterfield’ portrait type, an established representational style of Spenser, and bears close resemblance to examples held at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and the Senate Library of the University of London.

Portrait of a Gentleman, oil on canvas circa 1839, British School

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Charles J. Mathews circa 1839: from an oil painting by R. Jones