31 May 1873

Reverend van Gogh to Theo

[…]

We have had a nice letter from Vincent. He is living in the outskirts of London and in the mornings, at 8:30 he goes into the city in a little steamer, which takes him an hour, he dines in town and comes home at seven. His lodgings are quite expensive, but he doesn't yet know what his salary will be. So far he likes it very well, and Uncle Cent has seen to it that he met some people.

[…]

[Mother] …Let that be your greatest joy and care, then you will become clever and reliable and make yourself indispensable, and this way you will have chosen the best way to be spared from temptations that you will certainly meet just like any other boy, and you remain our crown and our honour and our joy, just like Vincent, who had great satisfaction. Aren't you glad he does so well; he had so much pleasure in Paris, he had dinner with the Cailloux family, and he found the interior of the gallery splendid. Who knows if you may not work there too, some time in the future.

[…]

Our Vincent wrote that he had bought a top hat; you cannot be in London without one.

2 July 1873

Reverend van Gogh to Theo

[…]

He [Vincent] gets ninety pounds, 1,080 guilders a year, yet he has to be economical because of the high cost of living there; his boarding house and his dinner cost him 890 guilders a year. He is very happy with the firm. He is not quite used to his work yet, but the tone of his letters is one of satisfaction.

25 August 1873

Reverend van Gogh to Theo

[…]

Vincent is doing well in London. We get cheerful letters. He has moved in order to live more economically, as his former boarding house became too expensive, and he had found a good one for 180 guilders a year less.