LITERATURE

Three items (letter, photographic card, and pamphlet), all in good condition. ONE: ALS. 31 December 1954. 1p, 8vo. Signed '(Mrs.) Rita Spurr.' and addressed to 'Dear Mr. Christopher Fry'. She begins by thanking him 'for the very great pleasure & stimulus' which she derived 'during the year that is passed' from his play 'The Dark is Light Enough'.

Both items in good condition, lightly aged, as is an enclosure to the second letter, a photocopy of Lowbury's pamphlet 'A Letter from Hampstead'. ONE: 24 September 1969. 2pp, 12mo. In envelope addressed to Fry at his East Dean home The Toft. He is grateful for Fry's letter praising his collection of poems 'Figures of Light'.

All three items in good condition, with both letters lightly-creased at the foot. ONE: TLS. Signed 'John Mortimer'. 11 November 1995. 1p, 8vo. He was delighted to receive Fry's letter and would 'like to visit a writing group with which you're connected. If I'm free on May 10th I'll come. I'm just waiting to hear about a trip to Florida – so do let the committee write to me. I'll know by then more clearly what I'm doing.' TWO: TLS. Signed 'John', with Mortimer deleting the typed word 'sincerely'. 1 March 1997. 1p, 8vo. He found it 'a delight' to hear Fry's 'lecture at the RSL'.

2pp, landscape 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Begins: 'Dear Christopher Fry, | I am sorry to contradict you, but I showed my co-editor, the poet Rodney Pybus, your poem “For Edmund Blunden”, and we both [last word underlined] feel it should be published, and that we would like to publish it. Please.' In the hope that Fry will agree, he asks him to 'sign and return an acceptance form and send us the biog. note you would like to print alongside the poem'. He continues: 'I do hope you'll agree.

Both 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Written in Whistler's calligraphic hand. ONE: 13 December 1961. He will be 'so pleased' if Fry will accept a copy of his poems, 'which I like to send you because of my admiration for your work, and sense of sympathy with what you express, or create'. TWO: 21 August 1963. 33 lines of text, written following the death of his friend Christopher Hassall.

1p, landscape 12mo. In good condition, folded twice. With envelope addressed to Fry at his East Dean address. Fry has written at the head of the cover of the envelope: 'From Norman Nicholson'. After thanking Fry for his 'good wishes at Christmas', Nicholson continues: 'I, too, am sorry that we have not met, which – unless you are ever in Cumberland – seems less likely than ever, as I am much less mobile since the death of my wife.' He presumes Fry has learnt of his bereavement from Edward Lowbury, 'for I know that you were a friend of his father-in-law's'.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Each page numbered by Fry. An Unsigned document from the Christopher Fry archive. Warm personal recollections, entertaining and evocative. Unpublished.

1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged and creased. Folded once. 'I was hoping you would make a suggestion about price. I had at first thought of asking £5 for each copy, but if you would throw in that copy of my father's book (my own is in pieces) I suggest £12 for the three. Of course I want you to make your profit.' He ends by asking if Hancox would like the books signed.

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and a little grubby. Folded once. Twenty-seven lines of text. Written in a far more ragged style than Bridges's usual calligraphic hand, perhaps suggesting undermined health. Wilson is 'at liberty to quote the verses of mine that you ask for – I take it as a complement [sic]' He thanks him for 'the kind gift of your book, wh I have not had time to read'. Noting that Wilson is 'interested in sacred wells', he states that 'our “Chilswell” is probably not a well.

Pepys's house at Brampton is the subject of an article by Chris Partridge in the Observer, 30 May 2004, which states that 'The first earl, Edward Montagu, was Pepys's cousin and patron, giving him the political clout to further his career in the Navy Office. In 1927 the then earl gave the Pepys House Trust a 100-year lease at a peppercorn rent, and it has been open to the public ever since. All three items in good condition, lightly aged. Drinkwater's second letter and Chappell's draft reply pinned to one another. ONE: Drinkwater to Chappell, 31 May 1933. TLS. 2pp, 4to.

On one side of square of paper cut from a 12mo leaf. In fair condition, aged and lightly creased. Folded twice. Reads: 'For Coals and the School | With Lord Tennyson's | Compliments and best Wishes | May 1 / 85'. Presumably 'the School' is the Blue Coat School at Aldworth, and it seems that Tennyson was sending a cheque for the purchase of 'Coals', possibly as part of a tradition.

[12]pp, landscape folio. Sewn with red thread. The words 'The Big Grey Man' on cover and title-page in red ink, rest of pamphlet in black ink. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. A 48-line poem, in eight six-line stanzas, spread over three rectos, signed at end 'Richard Rowley.' Inscribed on title-page: 'Mrs. Brown. | With best wishes for Christmas | from | Mr. & Mrs. R. V. Williams. | 1942.' Six bucolic illustrations reproduced from woodcuts by Annesley, including one on cover. Colophon on recto of last leaf, with printers' slug on otherwise-blank reverse.

Proctor was a much loved individual in literary circles, from the days of the London Magazine to the mid-Victorian period, in which he was the dedicatee of both Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair' and Wilkie Collins's 'Woman in White'. His reputation as a poet was international: he was thought highly of by Pushkin. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse. The letter reads: 'Dear [Harris?] | Pray tell me where [?] I can have some conversation with you about some patients of the name of [Lealer? Lester?], whom you know.

1p, 12m. In good condition, lightly aged. Linklater writes that he is enclosing, as requested, his own copy of 'The Devil's in the News'. He asks Ashmore to 'consider the play your own property for the next six months', and to 'take any profit you can from it'. He does not expect royalties. Ashmore is 'at liberty to make any minor alterations, additions, or subtractions' that he may 'consider advisable'. The letter concludes: 'This is my only copy, and I shall be glad if some day you will return it.'

On 17 x 12 cm leaf of thickish paper, removed from 'The Meredith Birthday Book'. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Scratchy signature, underlined. In one of three printed boxes of red rules on one side of the leaf, the other side bearing quotations from George Meredith for the days 25 to 27 April.

One page, 12mo, bifolium, fold marks, grubby, some staining, text clear and complete. "Dr Freinds Complements wait upon Mr Garth. If Colonel Cracherode has executed the two Deeds he begs the favor of Mr Garth to deliver them to his Servant the bearer." A Google snippet view (from The Genealogist) discusses a situation in which Cracherode and Dr Robert Freind are executors, perhaps in a family will.

The letters are in fair condition, lightly aged and worn, except for the third, which is damp-stained with closed tears at head and foot. The book is in fair condition, without dust wrapper. All four letters are signed 'W. H. Davies.' The first three are addressed to 'Mr Harris', and the last (an ANS rather than an ALS) to 'Mr Fry'. Each is 1p, 12mo. Letter One: 23 March 1928; Malpas House, Oxted. After reading his poem, Davies states, 'I begin to think you ought to take some step towards publishing, as soon as you have enough material.

Piece of paper, 14 x 7.5cm, signature on reverse of marbled paper, perhaps endpaper of book, and an ownership signature. Good condition.

[12]pp, 8vo. Paginated to 14, but twelve pages on six leaves, comprising half-title, title and eight pages of text. Sewn into raspberry printed wraps. Title with engraving of the church, duplicated on front cover. Internally in fair condition, with slight creasing, but with blue ink (or wine?) stain at foot of outer edge of front cover. Bloomfield & Mendelson A46, which states that the edition was printed in November 1963 and limited to 250 copies, 'sent out to a number of personal friends whose names were mainly suggested by Mrs. MacNeice'. In this case, from the library of Christopher Fry.

2pp, 12mo. On a bifolium of grey laid paper, with fleur-de-lys 'J M & Co' watermark. In good condition, lightly aged, with creases from having been neatly folded three times, and stub adhering to edge of blank second leaf of bifolium. The item derives from the collection of a notable nineteenth-century autograph collector, Lord Houghton, a friend of both Taylor and Norton.

1p, 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Folded once. Signed 'Rafael Sabatini'. After thanking her for her letter of sympathy, he notes: 'In the past I have had plenty of cause for complaint, but nothing quite so flagrant.' He has been 'avenged by the Press, which described the unutterable scenario from which the film was made in terms similar to those which I employed when I requested that my name be removed from the “author credits”'. He ends with good wishes to her 'laudable enterprise'.

For the context of the letter see Pamela M. King's 2007 paper 'Twentieth-Century Medieval-Drama Revivals and the Universities', which states that at the time of the writing, there was in Canterbury 'to be a new play by Robert Gittings about St Alphege and the Danish invasion entitled Makers of Violence', and that at the Pilgrim Players in Norwich planned to put on, at the church of St Peter Mancroft, a production of Fry's 'Sleep of Prisoners'. 2pp, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with a little light damp spotting. Folded once.

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper with central spike hole. Folded twice. Begins: 'My dear Mr. Tinsley, | I see that you are not going to use my article “We Women,” & I want it so much, to form the basis of a set of articles! - & I have no copy.' She notes that it is 'generally the case with regular workers, that the Editors return the rejected MS' and explains that she has 'destroyed the first rough draft', exclaiming: 'I do hope it is not lost!' She asks him to either tell her if it is lost, so that she may 'know the worst', or if it is not lost, '& is not to be used'.

1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, folded twice. He does not have a copy of his book 'Flying Eggs', but intends 'to order a few. Since computerization, ordering is a longwinded business, but there's reasonable hope they'd arrive before the Christmas post.' He gives instruction concerning payment and postage. He makes a suggestion if McPherson should 'at any point in the future [be] tempted to buy my first book of short stories, PENNINE TALES' (go for the paperback which is cheaper and 'much better edited').

All three 1p, landscape 12mo. All in good condition, lightly aged. ONE: 9 December 1974. He thanks him for 'the invitation […] But as I'm teaching full-time here now, this would be very difficult to arrange as far as schools visits would be concerned. (I asked the Arts Council to take my name off the schools list, but they don't seem to have done so).' He suggests a 'reading during the holiday break, perhaps. One aimed principally at adults, I mean.' The 'London Poetry Secretariat/Arts Council link-up' might 'provide some kind of subsidy'.

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded twice. The female recipient is unidentified, but would appear to be the editor of a magazine, enquiring after the progress of a 'paper' Ellis has agreed to write on 'Java Sparrows'. Ellis explains that she has 'begun a better story in the Child's department which it is consequently necessary to finish first', to appear 'in the number for June', but that 'your paper shall certainly come next'. The handwriting is not altogether straightforward, but Ellis appears to say here that 'stories will not always [write?] up when [necessary?]'.

See Sewell's entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, landscape 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. The letter reads: 'My dearest Annie | Eliza tells me you wanted a copy of the French Book. I am so glad I happen to have one by me. - for I want you to have it from me. Please accept the book with love. | Yours very affly | Elizabeth M Sewell | Bonchurch. July 13th. 1868'.

An interesting communication from one noted twentieth-century English-language poet to another, and of additional significance as a V-Letter written in the year of publication of Shapiro's first successful collection, the Pulitzer Prize winning 'V-Letter and Other Poems' (1944). (See Diederik Oostdijk, 'The Wartime Success of Karl Shapiro's V-Letter' (2006).) The present item is a V-Mail [Victory Mail] letter: a 13.5 x 11 cm photograph print of an autograph letter bearing the censor's stamp.

De la Mare's definitive answer to the oft-asked question regarding the meaning of his best-known poem - and also one of the most celebrated English poems of the twentieth century - 'The Listeners'. 1p, 4to, in good condition, lightly aged, folded twice. After thanking her for her 'kind letter', he adds: 'I am afraid you may not find my answer to your question a very satisfactory one.

[3] + 222pp. With additional page carrying two figures to be inserted in the text (the first a 'Bezel', the second two cartouches). Each page on the recto of a separate leaf. Autograph emendations throughout, including additional text on reverse of one leaf. Housed in grey-card punch-hold binder. The typescript and leaf of illustrations are in good condition, on lightly aged thick paper, the three pages of prelims are on creased and worn thin paper; the binding is heavily worn. Typed label on cover (pasted over other labels) from 'Apex Literary Agency, 293 Grays Inn Road, W.C.1.