MR. TUCK PRESENTS A PORTRAIT OF WEBSTER TO DARTMOUTH

Mr. Edward Tuck's perennial interest in the College finds further evidence in his recent gift of a remarkably fine portrait of Daniel Webster.

The history of the picture is extremely interesting, curiously linked as it is with the early days of what later became a great industry of the United States. In the early '30s Charles Goodyear invented and patented the process of vulcanizing rubber. In the business established on the basis of these patents he associated with himself his brother, Henry B. Goodyear, who was the active business man of the firm. In due course law suits arose over the validity of the Goodyear patents and the two brothers employed Daniel Webster to defend their interests. This the great lawyer so successfully accomplished as to win the firm friendship and admiration of his clients, who requested him to sit for his portrait, the present picture, which was painted by Pope, in Boston, about 1850.

The Goodyears lived in New York until 1858, when they moved to New Haven, where Charles Goodyear died in 1864. The picture remained in New Haven until 1868 when Henry B. Goodyear with his family moved to Heidelberg. It was in the latter city until 1873, when it was taken to Paris upon the removal of the family to that city. On the death of Henry Goodyear in 1879 it was taken to the residence of a family friend, Dr. Bing, in Paris, where it was kept until 1900 when Harry, son of Henry B. Goodyear, took it to his residence in Asnières.

It was here that Mr. Tuck's attention was called to the portrait. Moved by its fine quality as well as by its romantic history, Mr. Tuck arranged with Harry Goodyear for the purchase of the picture, which, after he had had it cleaned and varnished and its oldtime frame repaired, he forwarded to the College,

News of its coming leaked out in Boston, and when the packing box in which it had been shipped was opened at the custom house, a considerable body of critics was present to view it. Their unanimous decision was that the Pope portrait is the finest of Webster likenesses. A reproduction will be published in a future issue of THE MAGAZINE.