Snelus was an original member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1869, and from 1889 onwards until his death he was a vice-president. His most important contributions to the ’Journal' of the Institute were those on 'The Removal of Phosphorus and Sulphur in Steel Manufacture' (1879) and on 'The Chemical Composition of Steel Rails' (1882).
He was an enthusiastic member of the volunteer force from 1859 till 1891, when he retired with the rank of hon. major and with the officer's long service medal. He was one of the best rifle shots in the country, being for twelve successive years, from 1866, a member of the English Twenty, and during that period gained a greater aggregate than any other member of the team. He carried off the first all-comers' small-bore prize at Wimbledon in 1868. He was also a keen horticulturist.
Snelus died at his residence, Ennerdale Hall, Frizington, Cumberland, on 18 June 1906, and was buried at the parish church, Arlecdon, Cumberland.
In 1867 he married Lavinia Whitfield, daughter of David Woodward, a silk manufacturer of Macclesfield, and had three sons and three daughters. Two of his sons (George James and John Ernest) became mining engineers, whilst the third (Percy Woodward) is an electrical engineer.
[Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1907, 78 A., and Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1906, i. 273.]
SNOW. [See Kynaston (formerly Snow), Herbert (1835–1910), canon of Durham and classical scholar.]
SOLOMON, SIMEON (1840–1905), painter and draughtsman, born at 3 Sandys Street, Bishopsgate Without, on 9 Oct. 1840, was the youngest son of Michael Solomon, a Leghorn hat manufacturer, by his wife Kate Levy. His father was a prominent member of the Jewish community in the City of London. His elder brother, Abraham Solomon [q. v.], and his elder sister, Rebecca (d. 1886), both made art their profession. The sister, who subsequently developed like Simeon an errant nature and came to disaster, schooled him in Hebraic history and ritual. After steady education he, while still a boy, was admitted to the Grower Street studio of his elder brother, Abraham Solomon, and there his talents quickly asserted themselves.
Before he was fifteen he entered the Royal Academy schools, and in 1858 he exhibited at the Academy 'Isaac offered.' This was followed in 1860 by 'The Finding of Moses,' and by the 'Musician in the Temple' in 1861, 'The Child Jeremiah' in 1862, 'Juliett' and 'Isaac and Rebecca' in 1863, and 'A Deacon' m 1864. To the same period belong ten early drawings of Jewish festival ceremonies which prove the artist's devotion to his own faith and people. Eight designs for the 'Song of Solomon' and the same number for 'The Book of Ruth' (reproduced, like most of his work, by Mr. Hollyer) well attest his capacity and sentiment. Solomon also tried his hand at illustration for books and magazines. An etching in a 'Portfolio of Illustrations of Thomas Hood' (1858) and work in 'Once a Week' (1862) and for Dalziel's 'Bible Gallery' (1881) have importance.
Solomon's scriptural painting, which was marked by Pre-Raphaelite sincerity, poetic feeling, and beauty of colour and design, attracted attention. Thackeray credited the 'finely drawn and composed "Moses" with a great intention' {Roundabout Papers, 1860, 'Thorns in the Cushion'). The leaders of the Pre-Raphaelite school acknowledged his promise, and he early came to know D. G. Rossetti and Burne-Jones. The latter prophesied that his genius would soon prevail (cf. Life of Burne-Jones, i. 260). A charming humour, of which his art shows no sign, gave him abundant social fascination. Another early associate was Algernon Charles Swinburne, who became one of his warmest admirers and constant companions. Through Swinburne he made the acquaintance of Lord Houghton, and visited Fryston. Under such influences Solomon abandoned Hebraic themes for classical subjects, such as his 'Habet,' which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1865, and his 'Damon and Aglae,' in 1866. His delightful 'Bacchus' (exhibited in 1867, now in Lady Lewis's collection) brought enthusiastic laudations from Walter Pater. Other work of his evoked poetic elucidation. Swinburne's poems 'Erotion' and 'The End of the Month' were both inspired by Solomon's drawings, and three sonnets of John Payne owed their origin to the like source. His classical tastes were reinforced by visits to Italy. He was at Florence in 1866 and at Rome in 1869 with Mr. Oscar Browning. On the second occasion he wrote a mystical effusion, 'A Vision of Love revealed in Sleep' (privately printed, 1871 ; enlarged and published later in the same year). To the 'Dark Blue' in July 1871 Swinburne contributed 'Notes' of extreme praise
