One of my enduring regrets is that I did once have a photograph of Mrs Sharpe, found by chance in book bought from the family of an old collector, the same volume also with a Christmas card and poem from Will Edmunds, the compiler of Pointers and Clues to the Subjects of Chinese and Japanese Art. It was a photograph of Mrs Sharpe and another lady enjoying a summer afternoon in a garden. I decided to donate this to a fun auction, where it was bought by Virginia Atchley. Following Virginia’s passing and the very untimely death of her daughter Susan, it is now doomed to never be seen again.

Meaning of the Month:

Baku: A mythical beast that devours bad dreams. It has an elephant’s head and a trunk.