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Letters from Walter de la Mare to Jon Wynne-Tyson

 Fonds
Identifier: Coll-2918

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This fonds consists of four typed letters signed from Walter de la Mare to Jon Wynne-Tyson, all dated 1953, together with carbon copies of the replies from Wynne-Tyson.

  1. Typed letter signed from Walter de la Mare to Jon Wynne-Tyson, Twickenham, 9 September 1953: "how well I recollect a little difficulty that occurred over a brief but obscure rhyme which was contributed to Enquiry. I had no notion of course that John Galsworthy had transluminated what was ‘a bit obscure’. Do let us meet some day... meanwhile if you’d care to send the two books you mention by post they shall be safely returned and without delay These next few weeks are made difficult by a good many engagements and my having lately been less well again...”, suggesting that they meet in about three weeks, “things ought to be clearer then, and some of the imperative things to do, heaven helping, done!...", 2 sides oblong 8vo.
  2. Typed letter signed from Walter de la Mare to Jon Wynne-Tyson, Twickenham, 16 September 1953: De la Mare confirms the meeting and asks "if this address will be easy to find... Apart from a car, I think the best route is to Richmond Station... The stopping place is Crown Road. Montpelier Row is immediately on your left... Do tell me then if Gawsworth’s remark to Cox was viva voce!...", 1 side oblong 8vo.
  3. Typed letter signed from Walter de la Mare to Jon Wynne-Tyson, Twickenham, 9 October 1953: De la Mare thanks him "for sending me without a day’s delay, your copy of The Enchanted April. One only has to dip for a moment or two to realise what one will find in the well. Its author was a great friend of Katherine Mansfield, wasn’t she? And the other day an Australian friend came to tea with me who knew the whole family. It won’t, I gather, be any sort of a bother if I keep the book for some little time. I did so much enjoy that little tea party, but regret... that so much of it was in the form of a monologue and in a voice I know only too well. Years ago a friend gave me a book containing beautiful reproductions of details in nearly all the well-known pictures of Breughel, with a preface written by the Custodian of the Breughel Gallery... fascinating and it is astonishing that so many minute fractions of his big pictures should be pictures in themselves. Bosch I don’t know well - not thoroughly... though reference is made to him by the Midget, Miss M. in an old novel of mine that appeared in the early twenties..." and returning some books, 2 sides oblong 8vo.
  4. Typed letter signed from Walter de la Mare to Jon Wynne-Tyson, Twickenham, 12 October 1953: "Mrs Little will certainly bless your name (though with my usual promptitude I nearly sent it off to another visitor - the glove I mean)... Do at any time send me any book if you would like me to put my name in it...", 1 side oblong 8vo.

Also includes one original envelope, and carbon copies of the replies from Wynne-Tyson to De La Mare, which extensively fill in the background to the letters, in the reply to number 3 he writes "Unmistakably voce and very viva...", 8 sides A4, 9 St Anne’s Close, Highgate, September to October 1953.

Dates

  • Creation: September - October 1953

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Open. Please contact the repository in advance.

Full Extent

11 Sheets

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased in July 2025. Accession no. SC-Acc-2026-0035.

Processing Information

Catalogued in April 2026 by Aline Brodin, using information provided by the seller.

Related Names

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Letters from Walter de la Mare to Jon Wynne-Tyson, September - October 1953
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

https://library.ed.ac.uk/heritage-collections
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379