I’ve just received an e-mail from someone requesting information about extant photographs of Hilaire Belloc. Since I have not made a systematic study of the photographic record of Belloc’s life, I thought I’d post the e-mail to this site in the hope that some knowledgeable soul might enlighten me, my correspondent and other visitors to this site.

Here’s the text of the e-mail:

Prof. Pearce—

I recently finished reading your excellent biography of Hilaire Belloc, and just wanted to tell you how very much I enjoyed it. I first discovered Belloc about four years ago through some of the reprints offered by TAN Books. One book by Belloc led to another, and in short order I became a huge fan of Belloc, so I was excited to find a copy of your book a few months ago at a local Catholic bookstore. I particularly appreciated the well-paced and highly accessible style of your work, as well as your insightful and honest interpretations of key events in Belloc’s life, and of Belloc’s likely views and feelings on key topics.

My only suggestion would have been to include some plates or photos of Belloc at different ages in his life, and possibly of one or more of his homes or residences through the years.

I’ve tried searching Google for pictures of Belloc, and only a small handful of pictures keep getting found. Is the problem that there are very few extant pictures of Hilaire still in existence? During your research were you able to find any photographic sources? I found one pamphlet on a Web site that had a grainy photo of a young Belloc that he had taken in Rome at the end of his “Path to Rome” journey, but have not found it since…