- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
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Letters of Walter de la Mare, 1927-1956
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Description:
The collection consists primarily of letters by De la Mare to Olive C. Jones, his secretary during the 1930s and, later, editor of Methuen's children's books. Included are 192 autograph and typed letters, notes, and postcards. The earliest letter in the collection is actually from Colin de la Mare, written on 5 Oct.1927, on his father's behalf, giving Ms. Jones the train schedule for her first visit to Taplow to meet De la Mare on 8 October 1927. De la Mare's first letter (13 Oct. 1927) is a request that Jones begin work on Monday the 31st. The subsequent letters concern all manner of personal and professional matters including De la Mare's work, answering correspondence, local and family news, his own and Jones's health, research projects, travel plans, Jones's editorial advice, her contribution to the production of anthologies De la Mare was compiling, mutual friends, the Second World War, book reviews, old age, books De la Mare is reading, his ideas on writing, and many other subjects.
Also present are a few letters relating to De la Mare written by other correspondents, including R. N. Green-Armytage, Elfrida de la Mare, and E. N. Saxton (signed "N"), a qualified nurse who helped bring De la Mare back to health after a stroke in the late 1940s and subsequently became his friend and companion during the last years of his life; a TLS from Olive Jones to De La Mare; two "Book Token" Christmas cards inscribed by the poet; a copy of the Order of Service for "The Burial of Walter De la Mare O.M., C.H., 1873-1956" held at St. Paul's Cathedral, 28 June 1956; and "Alas," an autograph poem by De la Mare, 10 lines, n.d.
Collection History
- Archival Appraisal Information:
No appraisal information is available.
Access & Use
- Access Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions for Reproduction and Use:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
- Credit this material:
Letters of Walter de la Mare; Walter de la Mare Letters to Olive C. Jones, C0917, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
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Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (mss): Box 1