- Creator
- Yeats, Jack B. (Jack Butler), 1871-1957
- Call number
- Berg Coll 24888
- Physical description
- .1 linear feet (1 folder)
- Preferred Citation
- Jack B. Yeats letter to John Quinn with mock patent of nobility, Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
- Access to materials
- Request an in-person research appointment.
Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957) was an Irish painter and illustrator. He was the younger brother of the poet William Butler Yeats. John Quinn (1870-1924) was a corporation lawyer in New York City, and a noted private collector and patron of the arts. The collection comprises a letter (1 page) from [Jack B. Yeats] to "My Well Beloved John Quinn," written in the person of King Edward VII at Windsor, 1903 August 24, with an enclosed mock patent of nobility (1 page, folio). Both items are executed entirely in black ink, with the signatures "Edward" written upside down. Drawn at the top of the letter is a mock coat of arms, showing a unicorn and a lion with a straight razor shaving a pint, and the motto "Shave qui peut." The writer advises Quinn where "the artist fellah with whom you passed through my Western Empires" (Yeats himself) can obtain a patent similar to the one enclosed. The mock patent, made from a legal indenture form printed in Dublin by Hely's, Limited, is partially covered with pasted paper bearing Yeats's humorous bestowal of a knighthood on John Quinn of Broadway. A red wax seal attached to a green ribbon is affixed to the document
Administrative information
Custodial history
Ownership by descent from Julia Quinn Anderson, sister and heir of John Quinn.
Source of acquisition
Purchased from James Cummins Bookseller, 2019
Key terms
Names
- Anderson, Julia Quinn (former owner)
- Quinn, John, 1870-1924 (correspondent)
- Yeats, Jack B. (Jack Butler), 1871-1957 -- Friends and associates.
- Yeats, Jack B. (Jack Butler), 1871-1957 -- Correspondence.
Subjects
Occupations
Material types
Using the collection
Location
Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American LiteratureStephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Third Floor, Room 320