Letter to G. K. Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts, dated January 17, 1925
Homestead, Hindhead, Surrey, England: Alfred Fernandez Yarrow, 1925. Original manuscript, typed letter signed. Single sheet, typed on one side. The format is approximately 8 inches by 10 inches. It is date stamped on 19 Jan. 1925 by the Royal Society of Arts. The letter is typed on the author's stationery with minor notations. The contents read: My dear Mr. Menzies, I have your letter of the 15th. as the meeting in connection with the Soane Museum take place on Wednesdays, I should be very pleased to accept the appointment as Trustee. I remain, Yours sincerely, A. F. Yarrow. George Kenneth Menzies first became associated with the Royal Society of Arts when in 1908 he was appointed Assistant Secretary. In 1917 he succeeded Sir Henry Wood as Secretary, and held that position until 1935. Sir John Soane's Museum is a house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects and a large collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and antiquities that he acquired over many years. The museum was established during Soane's lifetime by a private act of Parliament, Sir John Soane's Museum Act 1833, which took effect on his death in 1837. The act stipulated that on Soane's death, his house and collections would pass into the care of a board of trustees acting on behalf of the nation, and that they would be preserved as nearly as possible exactly in the state they were at his death. The museum's trustees remained independent, relying only on Soane's original endowment, until 1947. Since then, the museum has received an annual Grant-in-Aid from the British Government. Sir Alfred Fernandez Yarrow, 1st Baronet, (13 January 1842 – 24 January 1932) was a British shipbuilder who started a shipbuilding dynasty, Yarrow Shipbuilders. Yarrow was born of humble origins in East London. After serving an apprenticeship in nearby Stepney, he opened a yard – Yarrow and Hedley (a partnership) – at Folly Wall, Poplar on the Isle of Dogs in 1865 to build steam river launches. Yarrow's stern wheel steamers, designed with a shallow draft suitable for river navigation, were used in the early stages of the 1884 Nile Expedition. Yarrow ventured into military vessels from the early 1870s, building torpedo boats for the Argentine and Japanese navies, among other customers. Then in 1892 he built the first two destroyers for the Royal Navy: Havock and Hornet of the Havock class. He struck up a strong friendship and correspondence with Lord Fisher ("Jackie Fisher"), and subsequently Yarrow Shipbuilders became a lead contractor for the Royal Navy for smaller, but almost always fast, boats. By this time, the Hedley partnership had been dissolved (1875), and the company was known as Yarrow & Co. Yarrow's strong naval engineering capabilities and inventive mind were behind a number of inventions designed to drive ships ever faster, and in 1912 he was appointed to the Royal Commission on Fuel and Engines. Long after he died, the shipyard remained famous throughout navies of the world for building smaller fast vessels. He was honored in 1922 as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Alfred Fernandez Yarrow, Royal Society of Arts, George Kenneth Menzies, Member, Fellow, Entrepreneur, Shipbuilder, Soane Museum, Trustee
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