Ruskin gave the bulk of the manuscripts of Modern Painters to George Allen on 16 May 1885 when staying at Orpington. Five years later, on 9 March 1900, Allen admitted to Alexander Wedderburn that he had them, and on 21 September 1900 Wedderburn told Charles Eliot Norton about the scheme for the Library Edition of The Works of John Ruskin (see Cook and Wedderburn). The tension between Allen and Cook and Wedderburn can be gauged from this statement by Allen:
During an interview with Mr. Wedderburn and Mr. Mackrell today (Feb. 19th. 1901) at 156 Charing Cross Rd. - my sons William and Hugh being present - Mr. Mackrell said to my sons that when he drew up any publishers agreement with Mr. Ruskin in 1887 he knew that I had these manuscripts, as I had told him so adding that they were in my warehouse at the time. I emphatically deny both these statements as I never told him of any manuscripts in my possession he said they were in my warehouse whereas they never were in my warehouse. (Manuscript note by George Allen, private collection.)
Allen sold the manuscripts to Pierpont Morgan for £5,000 in the early years of the twentieth century (see sale of manuscripts of Modern Painters to Pierpont Morgan, Allen manuscript).