Showing 32 results

Papers, [c. 1893]-1988, of John Cowper Powys, some published posthumously, which include letters, both to John Cowper Powys and to his companion, Phyllis Playter, as well as drafts of works, both published and unpublished, diaries, lectures and essays. The correspondence includes over eight hundred love letters, 1921-1932, from John Cowper Powys to Phyllis Player; some six hundred and forty letters and cards, 1925 and 1935-1955, from Littleton Charles Powys to his brother, John Cowper Powys; some four hundred and fifty letters, 1942-1962, from John Cowper Powys and other members of his family to Gilbert Turner, and some three hundred and fifty letters, 1945-1969, from Turner to John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Player; and over two hundred letters, 1924-1967, from Alyse Gregory, widow of Llewelyn Powys, to Phyllis Playter.

Three address books, [?1930s-?1940s], [1960s-1970s], of Phyllis Playter. Enclosures include name and address labels and cards (including an inscribed address card of Raymond Garlick), memoranda, press cuttings (including obituary notices), photographs, business receipts and a typescript letter, 1971, to Phyllis Playter from Sarah J. Whitfield of the Tate Gallery regarding an offer made relating to the correspondence between Augustus John and John Cowper Powys.

Some two hundred and eighty-four letters, 1901-1960, to Lucy Penny from her parents and older siblings, comprising eighteen letters, 1909-1918, from her father C. F. Powys; fifty-nine, 1911-1914, from her mother Mary Cowper Powys; one hundred and sixty-seven, 1901-1960, from John Cowper Powys (with three from Phyllis Playter enclosed); and thirty-six, 1933-1955, from Littleton C. Powys (with one from his wife Mabel enclosed)

A copy of a typescript account of the love affair between John Cowper Powys and Frances Wilkinson (née Gregg), incorporating extracts from their correspondence, [c. 1912], as well as from the letters of Louis Wilkinson, Ezra Pound and others. The work was compiled with a view to publication by Oliver Marlow Wilkinson, son of Frances and Louis Wilkinson.

One hundred and twenty-two letters, cards and poems (including three photocopies), 1938-1962, from John Cowper Powys, Corwen and Blaenau Ffestiniog, to Evan Roberts (ff. 1-212, 217-219). The two earliest letters, 1938, are written in Welsh (ff. 1-4).
Also included are four letters, 1955-1971, from Powys's partner Phyllis Playter to Roberts (ff. 213-216).

Fifty letters, 1937-1961, from John Cowper Powys (ff. 6-49, 51-60 verso), one letter, 1959, from his companion, Phyllis Playter (f. 50), and six letters and two postcards, 1937-1939 (ff. 62-72), together with an inscribed photograph, 1937 (f. 61), from Llewelyn Powys, to Margaret Moon (afterwards Margaret Newton). Many of the letters contain reminiscences of Montacute, Somerset, childhood home of the Powys brothers, and birthplace of Margaret Moon. Two of the letters from John Cowper Powys (ff. 30-32 verso) are in the hand of Phyllis Playter, writing as his amanuensis. Also included are three letters, 1990, from Margaret Newton to Paul Roberts, editor of the Powys Society Newsletter (ff. 1-5).
The letters contain references to Thomas Hardy (ff. 13 verso, 40 recto-verso, 48), Theodore Dreiser (f. 44), W. B. Yeats (f. 29 verso) and Theodore Francis Powys (ff. 38 verso, 39 verso).

Sixty autograph letters, 1944-1945, 1953-1962, from John Cowper Powys to his typist Mrs Dorothy May Meech, Dorchester (ff. 1-24, 34-37, 40, 43-68, 71-72, 74-77), together with ten letters, 1955-1956, 1960-1961, from Powys's partner Phyllis Playter to Meech (ff. 25-33, 38-39, 41-42, 69-70, 73). The letters mainly concern Powys's works in progress, manuscripts sent to Meech for typing, Mrs Meech's health and that of Powys's relatives, as well as childhood recollections of Weymouth and references to house-hunting in Blaenau Ffestiniog prior to Powys and Playter's move there from Corwen in 1955. Playter's letters are evidently written at times when Powys was too ill or tired to correspond himself. A self-caricature in ink by Powys is on f. 53 verso. Also included is a photograph of John Cowper Powys inscribed to Mrs Meech and dated 20 December 1950 (f. 7).

Eight letters, 1957-1961, from John Cowper Powys, Blaenau Ffestiniog, to Miss Marjorie L. Gay, Edinburgh, together with two letters, 1960, 1964, from Phyllis Playter, Blaenau Ffestiniog, to Miss Gay.

An autograph letter, 9 October 1947, from J[ohn] C[owper] Powys, Corwen, to an admirer George X. Basarab, Madera, Pennsylvania, thanking him for sending birthday greetings.
The letter is illustrated with a self-portrait sketch, showing Powys reading Basarab's letter.

Three letters, September-October 1954, from John Cowper Powys, Corwen, to Mr [Henry] Evans Jones, [of Edward Jones & Son, solicitors], relating to his and Phyllis Playter's purchase of 1 Waterloo, Bethania, Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Letters of John Cowper Powys to Evan Roberts. The original 1949 group consists of 2 bundles: 246/1-16 (1939-1946) and 246/17-28 (1939-1949). The following letters were subsequently added to the file from subsequent accessions: 246/29 (John C. Powys, 7 Cae Coed, Corwen, 19 October 1938) from the September 1951 group; 246/30-59 (August 1937-October 1952) from the 1952 group; 246/60-72 (January 1941-November 1953) from the October 1955 group; and 246/73-81 (November 1941-September 1952) and 246/82 (Phyllis Playter, 1 Waterloo, Blaenau Ffestiniog, 8 October 1955) from the August 1956 group.

Photocopies, [20 cent., last ¼], of eleven letters from John Cowper Powys to various recipients, comprising a letter, [June 1894], to [W. A. J.] Archbold, requesting a lecturing post (see Stuart Marriott and Janet Coles, 'John Cowper Powys as University Extension Lecturer, 1898-1909', Powys Journal, 4 (1994), 7-50 (pp. 8, 36-37)) (2 photographs); a letter to Phyllis Playter, [16 November 1929]; a list of the characters in A Glastonbury Romance, sent to Marian Powys, 28 May 1931; a letter to Ella Young, 29 May 1933; a letter to Marian Powys, 15 March 1936 (2 copies); five letters to Béla Hamvas of Budapest, Hungary, with one to his wife Katalin Kemény, 1946-1947 (see John Cowper Powys and Katalin Kemény, 'Six Letters to Béla Hamvas and Katalin Kemény', Powys Journal, 3 (1993), 157-176); and a letter to Katie Powys, [n.d.] (from the original at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin).
Also included are typescript extracts from ten letters from John Cowper Powys to Frances Gregg and Louis Wilkinson, dated 22 August-1 September 1912 (probably relating to the preparation of The Letters of John Cowper Powys to Frances Gregg, ed. by Oliver Marlow Wilkinson and Christopher Wilkinson, 2 vols (London, 1994-1996)).

Ninety-two letters and cards, 1938-1960, from John Cowper Powys to C. Benson Roberts and his wife Jane, most of which have been published as Letters from John Cowper Powys to C. Benson Roberts, edited by the recipient (London, 1975); together with a letter and card, 1940, from Phyllis Playter, John Cowper Powys's companion, and two letters, 1954, from Littleton C. Powys.

Some one hundred and seven letters and cards, 1953-1956, from John Cowper Powys to Dinah White, whom Powys addresses as 'dear adopted daughter'. The letters, some of which are illustrated with Powys's ink drawings, mostly refer to family, health and literary matters, in particular the declining health and death of his son Littleton Alfred Powys and White's role as his carer, the deaths of his brothers T. F. Powys and Littleton C. Powys and the health of his brother William (Willie). There are also references to John Cowper Powys and Phyllis Playter's move from Corwen to Blaenau Ffestiniog in 1955, and their new neighbours Raymond Garlick and his family; and to Cowper Powys's progress with his novel The Brazen Head (published 1956).

Eleven letters, 1938-1940, from John Cowper Powys to the writer Harlan Cozad McIntosh (1908-1940), containing detailed comments on a draft of the recipient's novel, This Finer Shadow (New York, 1941) (ff. 8-34 verso); and twelve letters, 1938-1942, from the same to McIntosh's wife, Jane Hardy, a New York literary agent (ff. 3, 35-58 verso). Also included are a manuscript copy of Powys's foreword to the novel, and carbon copies of three letters from Jane Hardy: two, 1938, to Powys (ff. 1, 5), and one, 1966, to Powys's literary agent, Gerald Pollinger (f. 59).
The letters contain references to Edwin Muir (f. 8 verso), James Hanley (ff. 10 recto-verso, 12 verso, 13-14 verso, 15 recto-verso, 47, 48 verso, 57) and John Redwood Anderson (f. 58 verso), and to the death of Llewelyn Powys (ff. 33 verso-34).

Fifty-one letters, 1937-1955, from John Cowper Powys to Iorwerth Peate.
Most of the letters were published in John Cowper Powys, Letters 1937-54, ed. by Iorwerth C. Peate (Cardiff, 1974).

Letters from the files of Laurence Pollinger, literary agent for John Cowper Powys, including one hundred and twenty letters, 1944-1962, from John Cowper Powys, and forty-eight letters, 1945-1964, from his companion Phyllis Playter, many of which were written after Powys's death; together with carbon copies of Pollinger's replies and letters from other members of the Powys family.

Some fifty-six letters, 1945-1961, from John Cowper Powys to the poet Marjorie Tilden encouraging her to persevere with her writing; together with two letters from Littleton Powys to Miss Tilden, and about sixteen from Lord Dunsany and Lady ? Dunsany discussing and praising her work.
There are also copies of extracts from some of the letters presumably in the poet's own hand and two volumes of her poetry Songs and Sonnets (1942), and Star Crossed (1947 and 1966) for which J. C. Powys contributed the foreword.

Seven letters and Air Letters, [?January 1946], 22 September 1947-10 May 1948, from John Cowper Powys, Corwen, Merionethshire, to actor, theatre director and writer Reginald Pole, in New York City, Denver, Colorado, and West Hollywood, mostly concerning Pole's unpublished novel, 'To An Unknown God', and Powys's attempts to facilitate its publication in Britain or America (ff. 1-6, 9-12).
The letters contain advice on literary agents and publishers (ff. 2 verso, 9-10 verso), a detailed discussion of the novel (ff. 3-6 verso), a self-portrait cartoon (f. 9 verso), references to Romain Rolland's 'Jean Christophe' novels, to which Pole's novel is compared (ff. 10-11), and the text of an open letter, or 'blurb', to publishers concerning the novel (f. 12 recto-verso). Also included are two envelopes, one incomplete (postmarked 21 November and 1 December 1947), for which the letters are absent (ff. 7-8); a typescript copy, with emendations, of the open letter (ff. 13-14) and an alternative typescript introduction to the novel (f. 15). The letters are variously signed 'Jack', 'Jack the Ripper', 'John C.P. ', 'Jack not the Ripper' and 'JCP'; the letter dated 18 October 1947 (ff. 3-6) is unsigned and may be incomplete. The first letter (f. 1) has an envelope in the hand of Marian Powys, having presumably been forwarded by her.

Some thirty letters, 1951-1960, from John Cowper Powys to Ron[ald] Hall, [?Coventry and Exeter] (ff. 1-61), three of which are incomplete (ff. 5, 11-13) and seventeen of which are in the hand of Powys's companion Phyllis Playter, as his amanuensis (ff. 14-57). The letters, some of which include line drawings by Powys, refer mainly to literary topics, including Powys's own works in progress, and to health and family matters. There are references throughout to Henry Miller. Also included are typescript transcripts of the letters, [?2000s] (ff. 62-93).
Extracts from the first two letters (ff. 1-4) were published in John Cowper Powys, Letters to Henry Miller, introduction by Ronald Hall (London: Village Press, 1975), pp. 13-14.