Joseph Mallord William Turner

Turner’s black ink inscriptions on this page, made with the book turned to the right, refer to dates in the autumn of 1830, and assuming that they were not made nearly a year after that, they suggest that this sketchbook was first in use in late 1830 or early 1831. Turner also used the sketchbook for practice or research relating to the life drawing class at the Royal Academy before he took it on tour in 1831 (see folio 3 verso; D25529). The figures are likely to be cheque numbers (15840, 19604, 19605, 19606 [or ‘8’], 1637) with their amount (19, 100, 500 guineas) and dates (4 October, 22 October and 30 August). The inscription is transcribed below.

Beneath the inscriptions, drawn in pencil and with the sketchbook inverted from its usual orientation, are a series of serpentine lines and scribbles. Finberg has interpreted these are trees,1 though they could equally represent flames or smoke.