Autograph letter signed by illustrator Richard Doyle to Tom Taylor 1851

DOYLE, Richard (1824-1883). Autograph letter signed to his former Punch colleague Tom Taylor, joking about his late rising and declining an evening at the theatre. 17 Cambridge Terrace, Hyde Park, Tuesday, June 30, ’51 [1851].
 
Single sheet, written on the first side only, 180 x 115 mm. Old folds and light toning, with remnants of blue paper at the corners of the reverse; otherwise very good.
 
In this letter, Doyle accepts Taylor’s explanation of an unspecified “Saturday’s transaction”, but mockingly objects to his suggestion that it was unusual for Doyle to be awake at ten in the morning: “I fling back the imputation with scorn and indignation. I deny it in the strongest language the rules of the ‘House’ will allow.” He then explains that he cannot accompany Taylor to see Rachel on Wednesday, being engaged to dine at Greenwich and unlikely afterwards to be “in a proper frame of mind for French tragedy on getting into town.” He nevertheless remains open to being “coaxed and cajoled” with a ticket for another evening.
 
An excellent association letter between two members of Punch, written only a year after Doyle resigned from the magazine. Taylor had joined Punch in 1844 and worked alongside Doyle during the latter part of his celebrated period as one of its principal illustrators; he would later become the magazine’s editor. The easy familiarity and mock indignation of the letter reflect a friendship that continued after Doyle’s departure.