Ladies and gentlemen,
When we decided to have Phil write about my grandfather’s Tillinghast sketches, I never expected the uproar that has followed. To me they’ve been a wonderful piece of my family heritage which I was shown by my father when I was a boy growing up.
The cause of the controversy was how I told Phil that he was bound to only reveal the things that he did. I know that some have had a hard time believing this, but its because there is an ongoing legal issue at the moment involving my mother’s estate. Unfortunately, the answers to all of your questions are in the documents that I cannot legally share until it is over and neither can Phil. Believe me when I say that he is aching to do so.
What I can do is what I’ve now asked Phil to do, that is, to wait and not to comment any longer. There are simply too many questions that can’t be answered until the legal issues end. It is unfair to Phil and me and even you, to attempt to provide half answers when the whole ones will provide the answers being sought.
I will also say this, my grandfather’s collection is a good deal larger than these 2 sketches. Some on here are aware of some of the others, but these most certainly are not all of them. I look forward to when I can come back on and discuss and provide the answers to the questions about the Tillinghast sketches and others that I’m hoping to share on here.
One important point, Phil is a dear friend and has been for a long time before I ever began sharing our family’s treasure with him. He hasn’t deserved either the criticism or the much worse attacks on his honor that have been leveled on here and that is my fault. Others, not involved in any way other than peripherally, have also had near slanderous things said about them for no better reason than that their name was mentioned. Regardless of what one may think as to the veracity of my family’s claim, those are things that are wrong and should not be part of a serious conversation and debate. I sincerely hope that when I return that it will not happen again.
I would also like to thank Ran for letting me on this site and for putting up Phil’s essay regardless of the reception it received. I will see you down the road…
Kindest regards
Ian Scott-Taylor