Dear Richard
It was interesting to see your recent message on the C18 mailing list 
about developments on the Web. I still have to cope with quite basic 
learning in that area, and even at that it is hard to find the time 
for searching. A colleague of mine may soon be in touch with you, as 
he mentioned to me the other day his interest in the Lewis Walpole 
Library. You have heard of him, I know, as I was waving his recent 
book around when I was in Farmington myself: Professor Brian 
Maidment. He has done a lot of work on graphic prints, and is 
currently extending his studies of Regency prints on social themes. 
Brian intends to give a paper at a conference in Yale next September, 
and was asking me if it was feasible to go up to Farmington for a 
couple of days and look into the resources which the library might 
have for his purposes. He doesn't drive (a dedicated cyclist) but his 
partner might go with him, and she does. In the longer term, if his 
chronological range is not outside the library's holdings, he is 
thinking of looking into whether he might be a suitable person to 
apply for a fellowship at the Lewis Walpole. He's an excellent 
scholar and a *very* nice and only over-modest man. I told him that 
it was often possible to rent the apartment next door and to work in 
the library conveniently that way. I don't know if changes have been 
made since I was there that would affect this. If you could help him 
in any way with his enquiries, I would be very grateful, and it would 
be a service to someone who is producing valuable work and promoting 
the use of print evidence. I don't know if you have any standard 
information which you might send out to him, in which case his 
address is Department of English, Media and Theatre Studies, 
University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH. His 
email is [log in to unmask] He will be in touch soon, in any 
case, I imagine.
Pat and I were over in Princeton a few weeks ago (of course it seems 
longer). My paper, on corruption in the Walpole administration, was 
very well received, to my relief and delight. It was the first time 
that I have been able to use some of my researches at Yale in a piece 
for publication: the first fruits. Apart from my brief excursion 
Stateside, it has been just departmental administration and hassle; 
long days and an ever-mounting in-tray. Real life, I suppose. In the 
spring of 2000 (only just over a year now!) I have a sabbatical 
semester in which I hope to make serious progress on my Walpole 
biographical study. I am trying to arrange my fugitive research 
moments so as to clear the decks of all my prior commitments, so that 
from August 1999 onwards I am purely going to concentrate on Walpole. 
I can't tell you how I am looking forward to the prospect of research 
and writing, away from the constant stream of minute but 
time-consuming irritations.
It would be good to hear how you all are, if you have time to keep me 
in touch. I hope you are comfortably hunkered down for the winter to 
come.
All good wishes
Philip

Dr. Philip Woodfine
Department of History
University of Huddersfield


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