Ashmolean acquires 'intimate' letters by Sir Edward Burne-Jones

One letter to May Gaskell features the "fat man", one of many cartoon characters created by Burne-Jones

"Intimate" letters from British Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones to his "close friend" May Gaskell have been acquired by an Oxford museum.

The collection at Oxford University's Ashmolean features 200 letters, many of them illustrated with cartoons.

They were found in an "old chest of drawers" by Mrs Gaskell's great grand-daughter, Josceline Dimbleby.

The artist met the married Mrs Gaskell in 1892 and they wrote to each other up to five times a day.

'Phlumbudge'

Burne-Jones lived from 1833 to 1898 and was a British artist and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement

The museum said the letters recount "his innermost thoughts and feelings and feature a cast of humorous characters, fictitious and real".

They were acquired for £200,000 with support from arts grants and private donations.

Mrs Dimbleby said: "My discovery of so many intimate and often witty letters from Burne-Jones to my great grandmother May Gaskell, forgotten for decades in an old chest of drawers, was one of the most exciting moments in my life."

She added: "The letters revealed a passion that made it hard to think of this friendship as platonic."

The letters feature a series of cartoon-like tales with characters such as the "fat man" and the artist himself, caught in mishap and misadventure.

The collection also includes Burne-Jones' letters to Mrs Gaskell's daughter Daphne, who was six when she met him.

They are written in phonetic spelling and include animals and several mythical beast creations such as the "Phlumbudge" and "Flapdabble".

The letters will add to the collection of drawings by Burne-Jones bequeathed to the Ashmolean by Mrs Gaskell in 1939.

Following conservation, they will be made available to students and scholars of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

They will also be published online. Burne-Jones lived from 1833 to 1898.