Description:

Stevenson Robert 1850 - 1895 Robert Louis Stevenson signed photo taken between "Treasure Island" and "The Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".

Sepia colored albumen photographic print of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) after Sir Percy Florence Shelley (1819-1889). Signed "Robert Louis Stevenson" and personally dedicated to Will Hicock Low (1853-1932) verso. In very good condition, with some uneven darkening. Photo mount edges are weakened and repaired at bottom left and right corners. Will Hicock Low has dated the photograph and monogrammed it "WHL" verso. Photograph (sight size) measures 5.25" x 7.625".

The circa 1885 photograph depicts the Scottish author in a heroic pose. Stevenson stands in ¾ profile draped with an amorphous cloak concealing everything but one corner of a stiff collar. The poet's longish hair is tucked behind his ears. Signed and inscribed on board mount verso: "Robert Louis Stevenson, to Will H. Low. from phot. of Sir P. Shelley Bart". Will H. Low's date and monogram appear just underneath Stevenson's inscription.

This photo shows Robert Louis Stevenson around the time that he published his poetic "A Child's Garden of Verses", third full-length novel "Prince Otto", and second short story collection "More New Arabian Nights: The Dynamiter". He had published the commercially successful "Treasure Island" two years before, and was hard at work on "The Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Kidnapped", both published in 1886. During his short life and writing career, Stevenson produced a prolific volume of work including novels, short stories, poems, essays, and travel accounts. He worked alone and collaborated with other writers.

Robert Louis Stevenson had a wide circle of European and American friends that included sculptors, writers, poets, journalists, essayists, and historians. Sir Percy Florence Shelley, 3rd Baronet of Castle Goring, was one such friend. Shelley was the son of writers Sir Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) and Mary Shelley (1797-1851). This landed gentleman of impressive literary heritage was also an amateur photographer. A photo of Stevenson in similar dress taken by Shelley can be viewed on the Robert Louis Stevenson website, Gallery tab, 1850s-1880s [ http://robert-louis-stevenson.org]. Stevenson dedicated his 1889 work "The Master of "Ballantrae" to Shelley and his wife Jane Gibson (1820-1899).

Another Stevenson intimate was Will Hicock Low, an American painter. Robert Louis Stevenson dedicated Poem XI, "Youth now flees on feathered foot ... " of his 1887 poetry collection Underwoods, the epilogue to The Wrecker (1892), and this photograph to Will H. Low. The American artist wrote about Stevenson in "A Chronicle of Friendships: 1873-1908."

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