Burne-Jones says he would have written to Price earlier had he not had "too much friendship to pour my sorrows into your ear." He states that Price's last letter came at a time when he was "suffering greater mental troubles than [he] ever remember[s]."

Burne-Jones complains about the postponement of the start of the university term, remarking that he "longed to be back with [William] Morris and his glorious little company of martyrs." Burne-Jones describes a recent evening party he attended and remarks upon the host's impropriety of offering a rose to "Fanny," noting "there is a language of flowers I hear, and you had better make it out, and see what he means."

Burne-Jones tells Price about the time he has spent with his father and an upcoming visit from friends to their family home. Burne-Jones asks Price to let him know the details of his journey so that he can get settled into his room before Price's arrival.

This collection comprises 16 items, including 15 letters from Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones and Cormell Price and 1 autograph envelope from Burne-Jones addressed to Price. The correspondence was written over the course of a decade, between 1852 and 1862. The letters are indicative of Burne-Jones and Price’s long and close friendship and are very affectionate and personal in nature. The letters are rich in detail, with Burne-Jones sharing news of mutual friends, his Oxford lessons, his social life and his artistic and literary endeavors.

The collection gives an account of the early activities of what came to be known as “The Birmingham Set” and Burne-Jones’s letters frequently refer to many of the group’s members, including William Morris (often affectionately dubbed “Topsy”), William Fulton, Charles Faulkner, Richard Watson Dixon, Edwin Hatch and Harry MacDonald. The close friendship held between Burne-Jones, Price and the wider group is evident in a letter dated May 18th, 1856, in which Burne-Jones sketches for Price a heart surrounded by the names of their friends, including many members of the Birmingham Set.

The early publishing and exhibition activities of the group are recounted in Burne-Jones’s letters. The first letter in the collection, dated January 24, 1852, describes Burne-Jones’s agitation to receive articles from Price and Charles Faulkner for a forthcoming publication, perhaps a precursor to THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE MAGAZINE. Discussion of THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE MAGAZINE also features prominently in the correspondence. In one letter (circa 1856 January), Burne-Jones instructs Price to send him a piece of writing for a forthcoming issue while also lamenting the scandal caused by the January issue’s article on the work of Charles Kingsley, a university professor, historian, social reformer, novelist and Church of England priest. The letter goes on to state that William Morris has passed editorship of the magazine on to William Fulford, which Burne-Jones remarks is a “great relief” to Morris.

The post-university activities of the Birmingham Set are also presented in the correspondence. Burne-Jones’s letter of June 28, 1861, announces the foundation of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. by Burne-Jones, William Morris, P.P. Marshall, Ford Madox Brown, Philip Webb and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The letter describes the company’s products as "stained glass, furniture, jewelry, decorations and pictures" and notes that the organization has received many commissions in the short time since its inception.

Also evident in the collection is Edward Burne-Jones and The Birmingham Set’s place within the wider literary and artistic circles of mid-nineteenth century Britain. The letters often demonstrate Burne-Jones’s connection and friendship with prominent figures of the era. For instance, in his letter dated January 24, 1852, Burne-Jones expounds, at great length, upon his love of the influential art critic, John Ruskin, and his delight in receiving a letter from Ruskin, an event which Burne-Jones claims has transformed him into “a reformed character.” Later letters reveal a closeness with a variety of artists, patrons and writers. Burne-Jones’s letter of June 21, 1861, provides a particularly detailed account of the lives of a variety of such figures. In it, Burne-Jones describes the stillborn birth of a child of Elizabeth Siddal and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the death of the Pre-Raphaelite art collector, Thomas Plint, the death of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and the marriage of Valentine Cameron “Val” Prinsep.

The letters abound with contemporary cultural references and accounts of major events in Victorian society. Burne-Jones expresses, at length, his deep love of the poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who he describes as “save Shakespeare only […] the only guide worth following far to dream-land.” In the same letter, Burne-Jones warns Price that he should avoid seeing Chevalier Count George Jones’s “mangling” of Shakespeare and, in another, recommends the work of Edgar Allan Poe (see May 1 and October 29, 1853). The letters also give details about major public events, including the Tooley Street Fire in London and the Victorian superstitions surrounding the Great Comet of 1861 (see June 28, 1861).

The collection chronicles some of the political and academic history of Oxford University in the early to mid-1850s. In a letter dated March 5, 1853, Burne-Jones describes the employment and promotions of various Oxford professors and chaplains and how they relate to the philosophical and ecclesiastical debates of the Oxford Movement. Later, in his encouragement of Price’s application to study at the university, Burne-Jones gives long descriptions about Oxford fellowships and scholarships and how to write “Oxford Latin” (see February 28, 1854).

The long and close friendship between Burne-Jones and Price is reflected in the personal and quotidian events about which Burne-Jones writes to his friend. He sends Price a lengthy description of his infant son’s features and personality and the health and happiness of his family (see February 23, 1862). The letters are full of details and references to Burne-Jones’s father, aunt, friends, social life and the romantic exploits of his and Price’s mutual acquaintances. In one letter, he gives Price an hour-by-hour account of his holiday in the River Wye area. (see January 24, 1852).