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Draft manuscript and some typescript poems by John Cowper Powys, including one poem (f. 3) in the hand of Phyllis Playter.

Early poems by John Cowper Powys, some in draft form. They include a poem addressed to Powys's mother (ff. 1-4), one booklet labelled 'Very early poems by J.C.P.' (ff. 5-7), one poem dated August 1904 (ff. 8-9), another inscribed 'Sherborne Abbey - March 18th 1888. J.C.P. aged 16 or 15' (f. 11), and one poem in Latin (f. 19). Together with an envelope bearing a note of its (former) contents in Phyllis Playter's hand.

Sixty envelopes, 1938-1945, 1947, 1950-1951, 1953-1954, 1956-1959 and indiscernible/missing postmarks, addressed to C. Benson Roberts, fifty-seven of which are from John Cowper Powys, two from Phyllis Playter and one (f. 58) from an unidentified correspondent; and twenty-one envelopes, 1958-1961, addressed to Susanne Lane, with one (f. 75) to Cyril J. Lane, from John Cowper Powys. The contents of the envelopes have been removed. These items were purchased with the letters contained in NLW MSS 23493-23498E, 23499D and should be considered as part of that collection.

Miscellaneous items of or relating to John Cowper Powys, comprising printed signed confirmations by Henry Barclay Swete, Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, and Herbert Edward Ryle, Hulsean Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, that Powys attended a course of their lectures during 1892 and 1893, with a note by Powys's father the Reverend Charles Francis Powys; Powys's certificate of rejection from the Army Medical Board, 29 May 1918 (signed by Powys); an envelope inscribed by Powys 'Little Objects of unknown value belong to me' containing various receipts, 1919, a cheque dated 22 May 1919 made out to Powys's wife Margaret Powys, a printed calling card of Mrs T. Oatley Bennett, an envelope containing butterfly antennae (the contents noted on the envelope by Powys), and an undated newspaper cutting detailing accommodation to let; an immigration visa (as nonquota returning immigrant) dated 2 September 1924, which is signed by Powys and displays a photograph of him; a printed announcement of a testimonial dinner held in honour of Powys, 29 May 1929; a prescription note for Powys from Dr Max Einhorn of New York City to Dr C. Thomas, dated 15 March 1930, suggesting a diagnosis of excess stomach acid and possible gastric ulcer; a poem by William J. Williams ('The Catholic') entitled L'Ours' written out in Powys's hand; a watercoloured ink drawing by Powys depicting caricatures of Owain Glyndŵr, Hitler, a sea-serpent (possibly the poet Huw Owen Williams (Huw Menai), whom Powys often depicted in this guise) holding the sword Excalibur, and Powys himself (bottom left); a pocket diary for 1949 containing mainly names and addresses and memoranda, with a photograph on f. 22 inscribed on the back by Powys 'Sammy Clemens great nephew or great cousin of Mark Twain!!'; an address book, with occasional entries also by Phyllis Playter; a caricatured ink drawing of Powys and Phyllis Playter by Powys, dated 29 April 1951; a copy of Blaenau Observed A Broadcast Poem (Dock Leaves Press, 1957) by Raymond Garlick, inscribed 'Raymond Garlick 30:XII:57'; a list written on headed British Museum paper 'For John Cowper Powys, from some admirers of his genius' (comprising Museum staff and University lecturers); an invitation to attend a Buckingham Palace garden party held on 20 July 1961; an address book, with occasional entries also by Phyllis Playter; printed cards 'to his Friends' announcing that Powys would no longer be writing letters 'owing to the Physical and Mental Infirmities of Old Age'; a certificate and related material from the University of Wales, Cardiff conferring (in absentia) on Powys the honourary degree of D.Litt., July 1962; a list of household expenses in Powys's hand, showing that 'stationary & Postage' was the single greatest expense for the period in question; and a typescript copy of a radio broadcast, dated 24 May 1976, entitled A Glastonbury Romance, written and read by P. J. Kavanagh. Together with an undated poem entitled Forum Romanum by Frances Gregg, with whom Powys had a relationship prior to settling down with Phyllis Playter, and two typescript biographical pieces on the novelist, pamphleteer and physician Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (Louis-Ferdinand Céline), one of which is by Powys translator Marie Canavaggia (undated) and the other by 'J. C[?anavaggia], dated June 1962.

Carbon copies of one hundred and twenty-three typed letters (three of which are incomplete), 1916-1919, 1922-1923, 1927-1946 and undated, to John Cowper Powys from the poet Edgar Lee Masters, containing mostly discussions of Masters's own and others' writings and his responses to John Cowper Powys's works, with a reference also to the death of John Cowper Powys's brother Llewelyn Powys in 1939. Some of the copies bear annotations in Phyllis Playter's hand. Also included is a press cutting, dated 24 August 1949, relating to Masters's eightieth birthday and a list of crossed-out dates - probably relating to the sending or receipt of letters - in Phyllis Playter's hand.

Fourteen letters, 1940-1962, to John Cowper Powys from Faith Powys (née Oliver), second wife of John Cowper Powys's brother Albert Reginald (Bertie) Powys. Enclosed with one letter is a note to John Cowper Powys from Faith Powys's son Oliver Powys, and there is a note to Phyllis Playter on the dorse of another letter. The letters contain mostly family news, including a proposed memorial for Bertie Powys at St Andrew's Church, Winterbourne Tomson, and one letter of 29 December 1940 vividly describes an air raid over their home in Cheltenham. The envelopes bear the names of the correspondents in the hand of Powys biographer Morine Krissdottir.

Twenty-five letters and two telegrams, 1922-1939, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, with a reference to the death of John Cowper Powys's dog, known as 'the Very Old', in 1939. The telegrams announce the deaths of Gertrude's and John Cowper Powys's father, Charles Francis Powys, in 1923, and of their brother, Albert Reginald (Bertie), in 1936. Enclosures comprise woodcuts made by Gertrude (ff. 24-6, 35), one letter to Gertrude from Helen [?Bussy], one letter to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude and one letter to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude's and John Cowper Powys's sister, Philippa (Katie) Powys. Ink drawings by Gertrude depict Charles Francis and Bertie Powys (f. 2 verso) and a caricatured head (f. 37 verso).

Twenty letters and one postcard, 1944, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, with references to the Second World War and its effects. Enclosures comprise five letters to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude, one letter to Gertrude from Alyse Gregory, and one letter to Gertrude from Joan [---?].

Twenty-five letters, 1942-1943, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, with references to the Second World War and its effects. Enclosures comprise four letters to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude, and two letters to Gertrude's and John Cowper Powys's sister Philippa (Katie) Powys from Yvonne Mackenzie, containing the latter's response to John Cowper Powys's Owen Glendower (1940).

Thirty-six letters, 1947-1948 and undated, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, including the death of Margaret, wife of John Cowper Powys, in February 1947, the marriage of Gertrude's and John Cowper Powys's nephew Peter Powys Grey and Barbara Tyler ('Ty') in 1948, and the death of 'Aunt Emily', possibly a maternal aunt of Gertrude's, also in 1948. Enclosures comprise six letters to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude, two letters to Gertrude from Marjorie C. Ingells (one of which refers to the death of Elizabeth, wife of Gertrude's and John Cowper Powys's brother Littleton, in 1947), one note to John Cowper Powys from his brother William Ernest (Willie) Powys, and one letter to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude. On f. 97 is an ink drawing by Gertrude of her cats.

Twenty-six letters, 1940-1941, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, with references to the death of poet and writer Frances Gregg in April 1941, and to the Second World War and its effects. Enclosures comprise three letters to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude, one letter to Gertrude from Yvonne Mackenzie, and one letter to John Cowper Powys from his and Gertrude's sister, Philippa (Katie) Powys, in which she refers briefly to the death of the writer Virginia Woolf in March 1941.

Twenty-two letters, 1951-1952, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, including Gertrude's response to a piece for radio broadcast by John Cowper Powys relating to their brother Llewelyn Powys ('Lulu'), who died in 1939, and to reading John Cowper Powys's novel Porius (published 1951), and Gertrude's and her sister Philippa (Katie)'s memories and reflections on their mother, Mary Cowper Powys. There is an ink drawing by Gertrude of 'Mr Kent' [?her brother Littleton Charles Powys's landlord] on f. 19. Enclosures comprise three letters to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude, two letters to Gertrude from her sister-in-law Elizabeth (wife of her brother William Ernest ('Willie') Powys), two letters to John Cowper Powys from Katie Powys, and one letter to Phyllis Playter from Katie Powys. Written at the head of the final letter in this collection is a note signed 'J' which reads: 'This is our Gertrude's last letter she must have died soon after writing this.'

Thirty-eight letters and one postcard, 1945-1946 and undated, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, with references to Socialism and to the end of Second World War hostilities in the summer of 1945. Enclosures comprise a series of cartoons featured in the Daily Sketch, two letters to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude, two letters to John Cowper Powys from his sister Philippa (Katie) Powys, and one letter to Katie Powys from her niece Isobel Powys Marks. F. 95 contains a note by Powys biographer Morine Krissdottir.

Thirty-seven letters and two postcards, 1949-1950, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Gertrude Powys, containing mostly personal and family news, with a reference to the death of 'Aunt Harriet' [?Phyllis Playter's aunt] in 1949. Enclosures comprise five letters to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude, one letter to Phyllis Playter from Gertrude's and John Cowper Powys's brother Littleton Charles Powys, one letter to Gertrude from her sister-in-law Elizabeth (wife of her brother William Ernest ('Willie') Powys), and one letter to Minnie Playter, Phyllis Playter's mother, from Gertrude. There is a painted-in ink drawing of flowers by Gertrude on f. 43 verso and an ink drawing, also by Gertrude, of her sister Lucy's house on f. 68.

Seventeen letters, 1958, to John Cowper Powys from John Redwood Anderson, several of which contain comments on John Cowper Powys's novel Homer and the Aether (1959), and three of which include notes to John Cowper Powys and to Phyllis Playter from Anderson's wife Gwyneth Anderson. Enclosures comprise a letter to John Cowper Powys from Gwyneth Anderson, typed copies of poems by John and Gwyneth Redwood Anderson, and a typed copy of a translation by John Redwood Anderson of No XXVI of Les Heures d'Après-midi by Emile Verhaeren. There are notes in John Cowper Powys's hand on f. 77 verso. Also included are typescript drafts (ff. 78-82) of part of John Cowper Powys's novel Homer and the Aether (1959), together with a typescript copy of Anderson's own prose translation of Chapter III of Homer's Iliad (ff. 83-90).

Three letters, 1962-1963, to John Cowper Powys from John Redwood Anderson, one of which includes a note to Phyllis Playter from Anderson's wife Gwyneth. Enclosures comprise one letter from Anderson to Phyllis Playter and typed copies of poems by Gwyneth Redwood Anderson (f. 15). Also included are advertising flyers (ff. 1-3) for Anderson's book While the Fates Allow (1962), a typescript English translation of Iorwerth Peate's review of While the Fates Allow (published in Y Cymro, 10 August 1962) (ff. 7-9), a letter, 1963 (ff. 16-verso), from Anderson to Gerard [ ? ] following the death of John Cowper Powys, and two photographs (ff. 17-18) of Anderson.

Twelve letters, three postcards and one illustrated Christmas card, 1928, 1945-1946, 1951, 1954-1955, 1957 and undated, to John Cowper Powys from John Redwood Anderson, several of the letters containing comments on drafts of John Cowper Powys's novel Homer and the Aether (1959). Two of the letters contain poetry lately written by Anderson, and three of the letters include notes to John Cowper Powys and to Phyllis Playter by Anderson's wife Gwyneth. Also included is an inscribed photograph of Anderson (f. 4), an inscribed printed copy of Anderson's To the Dyfrdwy, the River I Love (London, 1951) (ff. 6-13), and a typed copy of a poem by Anderson entitled To John Cowper Powys: A Reply in Gratitude (ff. 54-56).

Eighty letters, 1971-1973, to Francis Llewellyn Powys from Laurence Pollinger Ltd, literary agents, London, concerning the publication and translation of, and copyright, literary copyright, royalties, etc. relating to, the works and other papers (eg letters) of John Cowper Powys. Most of the letters are signed by Laurence Pollinger. Some rough arithmetical calculations are written on the reverse of some of the letters in Francis Llewellyn Powys's hand. Enclosures include copies of letters, 1971, 1973, to Phyllis Playter from Laurence Pollinger, a copy of a letter, 1973, to Laurence Pollinger from Phyllis Playter, and a copy of a press review of Essays on John Cowper Powys ([ed. Belinda Humfrey, 1972]). Four of the letters contain references to an alleged incidence of plagiarism (ff. 44, 46-8, 71, 78). Also included are two letters, 1971, 1972, to Francis Llewellyn Powys from the author Malcolm Elwin, a letter, 1973, to Francis Llewellyn Powys from Anthony Ward of K. A. Ward, publisher and bookseller, Essex, and an undated draft letter to 'Miss M' (possibly Yvonne Muller of Laurence Pollinger Ltd) from Francis Llewellyn Powys.

Eighteen letters and seven postcards, 1950-1952, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Lucy Penny, containing mostly family news, including the death of their sister Gertrude in April 1952 and Lucy's purchase of the cottage at Mappowder (accompanied by a flyer announcing the sale of the cottage by auction). A note from Lucy's and John Cowper Powys's sister Philippa (Katie) Powys is included in one letter and there is also an enclosed letter from Lucy to Phyllis Playter. One of Lucy's letters, dated Christmas Eve 1952, is written from Allington Sanatorium, Bridport. Included as part of this correspondence and filed within an envelope are five undated letters and one undated postcard to John Cowper Powys from Lucy which pre-date the death of Gertrude Powys but which cannot be placed with any certainty within the chronology of the collection.

Twenty-one letters and two postcards, 1923-1945, to John Cowper Powys from his sister, Lucy Penny, mostly containing family news, including the death of Lucy's husband, Hounsell, in February 1945, Lucy's accounts of time spent in Kenya with her brother and sister-lin-law William (Willie) and Elizabeth Powys, and the marriage of Lucy's daughter Mary to Gerard Casey in November 1945. There are also a few references to and observations on wartime activities. A note in Mary Penny (later Casey)'s hand is written across the top of one letter dated 1923. Also included are one enclosed letter to Lucy Penny from her sister Philippa (Katie) Powys and one enclosed letter to Phyllis Playter from Lucy. Included as part of this correspondence and filed within an envelope are three undated letters to John Cowper Powys from Lucy which pre-date the death of Lucy's husband, Hounsell Penny, but which cannot be placed with any certainty within the chronology of the collection.