Images courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum: Greece and Rome Archives, Original Letters; sender: J. W. Williamson; recepient: A.S. Murray, 1895-1900.

I have recently been researching the background a J.W. Williamson as he was closely associated with the British Museum during the 1890s as their archaeological alongside his business interests on Cyprus. He also organised commercial archaeological excavations on the island during the previous decade and, in association with his partner Charles Christian, sold antiquities to the BM throughout this period. Apart from knowing that he was born in Smyrna in 1856, and some details of his business interests gleaned mainly from the Cyprus State Archives and some published references in the 1880s (in his newspaper), I knew little of his specific background.

The Kitchener connection of J.W. Williamson is interesting as he was involved in the archaeology of the Island, including the foundation of the Cyprus Musseum, in the early 1880s (as part of the Survey of Cyprus). I wonder if this is one source of inspiration of J.W. Williamson’s own activities, as detailed in the letters above sent to the director of the British Museum.

Thomas Kiely, Cyprus Curator, Department of Greece and Rome, The British Museum, 2011