"Well, Gaffer [his early friend Mr. Wells, artist] I see there will be no peace till I comply; so give me a piece of p…"

"Hawkey - Hawkey [Mr. Fawkes of Farnley Hall, North Yorkshire, close friend of Turner] - come here - come here! Look a…"

"In our variable climate where [all] the seasons are recognizable in one day, where all the vapoury turbulence involve…"

"My dear Sir, [Mr. Trimmer] - I lament that all hope of the pleasure of seeing you, or getting to Heston, must for the…"

"Dear Jones, - Two months nearly in getting to this Terra Pictura, and at work; but the length of time is my own fault…"

"My dear Chantrey, - I intended long before this (but you will say, Fudge) to have written: but even now very little i…"

"Dear Jones.. [I] give you some account of.. ..the last sad ceremonies paid yesterday to departed talent gone to that …"

"Chantrey [good friend of Turner] is as gay and as good as ever, ready to serve: he requests, for my benefit, that you…"

"I have appointed you [ his friend, the sculptor Francis Chantry ] one of my executors. Will you promise to see me rol…"

".. [I] reprobate the mechanically systematic approach of drawing.. ..so generally diffused. I think it can produce no…"