without it, the editors, the King and eventually the bookâs readers would have no way of knowing whether a letter was important, irrelevant, or potentially scandalous.
The
dramatis personae
of the letters comprised an immense assembly. Victoria lived for eighty-one years, from 1819 until 1901. She corresponded with (and about) other members of the royal family, courtiers and aristocrats, as well as politicians, churchmen and representatives of the military, the universities and the arts; there were letters from manufacturers and magnates, Chartists, Lords and the lowliest villagers; and there were many letters from female relatives, friends, aristocrats and colonials. Even though the book would only include letters written before the death of the Prince Consort in December 1861, older and more recent history still had to be considered: the letters referred to members of earlier generations, and the sensitivities of their descendants also had to be taken into account. Benson and Esher therefore needed a thorough knowledge of who was who.
Sometimes, however, identifying her correspondents proved impossible. Although Victoria and Albert were first cousins and shared one branch of their family tree, that of the Saxe-Coburgs, there had been seven children in their parentsâ generation, all of whom married and produced children. On Victoriaâs Hanoverian side, her grandfather, King George III, had fifteen children, five of whom had produced legitimateoffspring. There were also many illegitimate offspring, some of whom had been given positions at court and in the army and hence needed to be identified by the editors. Although Victoria herself had an encyclopaedic knowledge of her own and othersâ genealogy, it soon became apparent that few members of the royal family in 1905 knew the names of their many great-uncles and great-aunts, or their numerous descendants. Childers consulted the College of Arms with some success: his visit led to an up-to-date Royal Pedigree being compiled. Several times he went to great lengths to ascertain the identity of someone named in Victoriaâs correspondence, only to discover that the name referred to a pet!
There were also to be illustrations, prepared by John Murrayâs brother, Hallam. Planning for these began simultaneously with the editing. As early as March 1904, Benson and Hallam drew up an âexhaustive list of all possible illustrations for Vol. 1 â people mentioned in letters &c &câ. Hallam was keen to have photographs made of portraits of these people promptly, as he was exploring various new technologies for their reproduction. He was particularly interested in a new method of producing plates that would maintain the quality of the reproduction over a print run of five thousand copies. Benson wrote to Esher:
Saw Hallam Murray ⦠He showed me some new copper-plates, by a new process. He is going very carefully into the question as to whether it will be well to use it. It is much more expeditious & much less expensive than the old â and the pictures he showed me are admirable . He is going however to get more specimens, & I will submit them to you â¦
In his diary for the same day, Benson was more exuberant:
Hallam showed me a new copperplate process. It has always before needed to be inked and pressed by hand . This does it by machinery. He told me that if they would adopt it, it would save £4000 in this book alone!!! That shows what a scale we shall work on â¦
The men were all impressed by the various tints that were becoming available, ranging from âold brownsâ to âwarm brownsâ to âhotter brownsâ. In a climate of rapid technological development, the possibilities seemed endless.
Selecting the illustrations brought more trouble for Benson. After consulting Esher, he sent a list of possible subjects to Lionel Cust, keeper of the Kingâs pictures and director of the National Portrait Gallery,