Queen Victoria’s album of drawings will join many of her other works in the royal collection. It was supposed to sell at Charterhouse Auctioneers in Sherborne. The lot was valued between £5,000 and £10,000. But the family that owns the sketches agreed with the Royal Collection Trust, a charity that manages the royal collection. The BBC reports it.
The drawings were discovered by Leta Smith, who served as Royal Archivist at Windsor Castle from 1924 to 1957.
The album cover shows the monarch’s monogram below the crown. The inscription inside reads: “On board the steamer Le Petit Parisien on Lake Bourget on April 11, 1885.” The book will now join more than 4,000 works of art by the monarch in storage at St James’s Palace in London.
The book contains pencil and watercolor works of Queen Victoria dated 1885. She painted dogs, trains, mountains, lakes, and a view of Frogmore Cottage, which is historically the home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Charterhouse spokesman Richard Bromell said they were instrumental in returning the album to the owners, and that Ms Smith’s family is very pleased to have the book in the collection. They will receive a reward.
Previously, Hansons Auctioneers in London auctioned off two paintings of Queen Victoria, who ruled Britain from 1837 to 1876. The auction ended on January 28. The timing of the paintings’ creation is attributed to the period when the Queen was on the Isle of Wight.
