Showing 46 results

A holograph poem, [?1950s], entitled 'Birds in Winter' by B[erta] R[uck], written in red ink and accompanied by a pen, ink and watercolour drawing by Ruck, depicting an airman holding a bird.
The poem is written on the back of a sheet of Ruck's notepaper, headed 'From Berta Ruck Aberdovey Merioneth North Wales'; Ruck lived in Aberdyfi from 1939 until her death.

Cerdyn post, 3 Rhagfyr 1952, oddi wrth [y Parch.] Gwilym R. Tilsley, Bae Colwyn, at Miss [Sara] Roberts, JP, Trelan, Pwllheli, yn diolch iddi, ar ffurf englyn, am ei chroeso. = A postcard, 3 December 1952, from [the Rev.] Gwilym R. Tilsley, C[olwyn] Bay, to Miss [Sara] Roberts, JP, Trelan, Pwllheli, thanking her, in the form of an englyn, for her welcome.

Two typescript letters, 1953-1955, from Vernon Watkins, Pennard, to poet and publisher John Lehmann, the first, 13 November 1953, concerning the death of Watkins's close friend Dylan Thomas four days earlier (f. 46), the second, 8 August 1955, concerning his foreword to Dylan Thomas, Adventures in the Skin Trade (London, 1955) (f. 47).

Two letters, 16-18 November 1953, from [the Rev.] S[ydney] B[owen] Williams, Vicar of St Martins, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, to Dr [Daniel] Jones, concerning arrangements for Dylan Thomas's funeral. Thomas died in New York on 9 November 1953 and would be buried in Laugharne on 24 November.

Llythyr awyrbost, 28 Gorffennaf [19]53, oddi wrth y dringwr mynyddoedd Charles [Evans], yn Kathmandu, Nepal, at y Parch. Robert Evans, Derwen, yn rhoi adroddiad yn y fan a'r lle o fywyd bugeiliol y Sherpa brodorol ym mhentref Khumjung, Nepal. Evans oedd dirprwy arweinydd y cyrch ar Everest ym 1953, a arweiniwyd gan John Hunt; ysgrifennwyd y llythyr deufis ar ôl ymgais aflwyddiannus Evans a Tom Bourdillon i gyrraedd y copa ar 26 Mai 1953, tri diwrnod cyn esgyniad Tenzing a Hillary. = An air mail letter, 28 July [19]53, from the mountaineer Charles [Evans], in Kathmandu, Nepal, to the Rev. Robert Evans, Derwen, giving an eyewitness account of the pastoral life of native Sherpas in the village of Khumjung, Nepal. Evans was deputy leader of the 1953 British Everest expedition, led by John Hunt; the letter was written two months after Evans's unsuccessful attempt to reach the summit of Everest with Tom Bourdillon on 26 May 1953, three days before Tenzing and Hillary's ascent.

Llythyr, 14 Mawrth 1957, oddi wrth [yr Athro] Thomas Jones, Adran y Gymraeg, Coleg Prifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth, at [Thomas Emyr] Pritchard (1927?-2018), athro'r Gymraeg yn Ysgol Botwnnog, sir Gaernarfon (ac yn ddiweddarach yn athro ar y bardd Alan Llwyd), yn trafod rheolau gramadegol. = A letter, 14 March 1957, from [Professor] Thomas Jones, Department of Welsh, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, to [Thomas Emyr] Pritchard (1927?-2018), Welsh master at Ysgol Botwnnog, Caernarvonshire (and subsequently teacher to the poet Alan Llwyd), discussing Welsh grammar.

Autograph letter, 13 December 1958, from Caitlin Thomas, Catania, Sicily, to [Henry] Meulen, editor of the journal of the Personal Rights Association and advocate of free banking, conveying her low opinion of her late father, Francis Macnamara.

Llythyr, 24 Chwefror 1963, oddi wrth Emyr Llew[elyn] Jones, Llandysul, at ddisgyblion chweched dosbarth Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech, yn eu mysg William H. Owen, i ddiolch am eu llythyr yn cefnogi ei safiad, ar ôl iddo danio ffrwydryn ar safle adeiladu argae Tryweryn ar y 10 Chwefror. Cafodd ei arestio yn fuan wedi'r digwyddiad, a'i ryddhau ar fechnïaeth ar y 21 Chwefror. = A letter, 24 February 1963, from Emyr Llew[elyn] Jones, Llandysul, to sixth-form students at Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech, including William H. Owen, thanking them for their letter supporting his action in detonating an explosive device at the construction site of the Tryweryn dam on 10 February. He had been arrested soon after the incident but was released on bail on the 21 February.
Mae'r llythyr hefyd yn trafod safbwynt Plaid Cymru a Gwynfor Evans tuag ato, ac yn cymeradwyo'n llwyr eu penderfyniad i ymatal rhag ei gefnogi yn gyhoeddus. = The letter also discusses the stance of Plaid Cymru and Gwynfor Evans towards him and fully endorses their decision to refrain from supporting his actions publicly.

A letter, 14 March 1964, from the novelist Richard [Vaughan], Talley, Carmarthenshire, to the actor Emrys [James], concerning the BBC television series Moulded in Earth, then in production, in which James was appearing as Edwin Peele (it was first transmitted on BBC Wales, 5 April-24 May 1964). The series adapted Vaughan's novel Moulded in Earth (London, 1951) and its sequel Son of Justin (London, 1955) (f. 67 recto-verso). Vaughan also discusses the whereabouts of some of his manuscripts and the commencement of work on a new novel (f. 67 verso).
Also included is a postcard, [?1990s], from Emrys James's widow, the author Siân James, to Tony [Curtis] giving him the Richard Vaughan letter (f. 68).

A letter, 12 December 1964, from Vernon Watkins, Pennard, to the poet and editor Neville Braybrooke, in which he discusses 'The Beach of Falesá', the recently published adaptation by Dylan Thomas of R. L. Stevenson's novella (see Dylan Thomas, The Beach of Falesá (New York, 1963)), as well as his recent work and his visit to Seattle the previous Spring.

Llythyr, 18 Gorffennaf 1966, at William H. Owen oddi wrth y bardd Gerallt Lloyd Owen, yn trafod y syniad o ddechrau comic yn y Gymraeg i blant hŷn yn dwyn y teitl Yr Hebog. Bu'r ddau yn gyfeillion yn y Coleg Normal, Bangor, 1963-1966 (f. 71). = A letter, 18 July 1966, to William H. Owen from the poet Gerallt Lloyd Owen, discussing the idea of starting a comic in Welsh for older children entitled Yr Hebog. The two men were friends as students at the Normal College, Bangor, 1963-1966 (f. 71).
Ceir hefyd ffotograff o'r criw ffrindiau coleg a dynnwyd rhywbryd ar ôl i Gerallt ennill y gadair yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd 1965 (yn sefyll, o'r chwith i'r dde: William Henry Owen, Dyffryn Ardudwy, William Lloyd Davies, Melin-y-Wig, Trefor Bertram Owen, Llanberis, a Walter Glyn Davies, Amlwch; yn y canol, yn cael ei gario: Gerallt Lloyd Owen; yn eistedd: Edward Morris Jones, Llanuwchllyn) (f. 72). = Also included is a photograph of their circle of college friends, taken following Gerallt's victory in the chair competition at the 1965 Urdd National Eisteddfod (standing, left to right: William Henry Owen, Dyffryn Ardudwy, William Lloyd Davies, Melin-y-Wig, Trefor Bertram Owen, Llanberis, and Walter Glyn Davies, Amlwch; centre, carried aloft: Gerallt Lloyd Owen; sitting: Edward Morris Jones, Llanuwchllyn) (f. 72).

Letter, 15 November 1968, from Kyffin [Williams] in Gaiman, Patagonia, to his friend the painter Gwyn Brown and her husband Harry, Tegfryn [Art Gallery], Menai Bridge, Anglesey, containing observations on the scenery and people, the weather, the challenging conditions for painting and the difficulties of communicating in Welsh and Spanish.
Williams was in Patagonia from October 1968 to early 1969 on a Fellowship awarded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. The letter was published in David Meredith and John Smith, Obsessed: The Biography of Sir Kyffin Williams (Llandysul, 2012), pp. 134-5.

Llythyr, 30 Ionawr 1969, yn llaw'r awdur Llydewig Pêr Denez (wedi ei llofnodi 'Fel Arfer') at Gerald Morgan ('Gerallt'), ynglŷn â thriniaeth egr dros hanner cant o ddynion a gwragedd Llydewig a gawsant eu harestio, carcharu a'u holi o dan amheuaeth o gymryd rhan yng ngweithgareddau'r Front de Libération de la Bretagne (FLB). = A letter, 30 January 1969, in the hand of the Breton writer Pêr Denez (signed 'Fel Arfer') to Gerald Morgan ('Gerallt') concerning the harsh treatment of over fifty Breton men and women recently arrested, incarcerated and interrogated on suspicion of involvement in the activities of the Front de Libération de la Bretagne (Breton Liberation Front; FLB).

Copi carbon o lythyr teipysgrif, 17 Chwefror 1971, oddi wrth Yr Athro Melville Richards, [Coleg Prifysgol Gogledd Cymru, Bangor], at E. T. Jones, Clerc Cyngor Dosbarth Gwledig y Fali, [sir Fôn], yn ymateb i ymholiad ganddo ynglŷn â tharddiad yr enw 'Valley'. = A carbon copy typescript letter, 17 February 1971, from Prof. Melville Richards, [University College of North Wales, Bangor], to E. T. Jones, Clerk of Valley Rural District Council, [Anglesey], in response to his enquiry concerning the origin of the name 'Valley'.

A holograph copy, [1971], of David Jones's poem 'A, a, a, Domine Deus', signed 'D.J. c. 1938 & 1966'. The manuscript contains a few minor variants to the final published text, most notably the substitution of 'signum' for 'symbol' (line 5). A substantial marginal note relates to 'certain motifs & the title'.
The poem is written in black ink with the title and certain words in red ink. An early version of the poem was published in the essay 'Art and Sacrament', in Catholic Approaches, ed. by Elizabeth Pakenham (London, 1955), pp. 143-182 (p. 181), and collected in David Jones, Epoch and Artist (London, 1959), pp. 143-179 (p. 179). In its final form it first appeared in Agenda, 5.1-3 (Spring-Summer 1967), 5, and was collected in David Jones, The Sleeping Lord and Other Fragments (London, 1974), p. 9.

Llythyr, 29 Tachwedd 1975, oddi wrth y bardd R. S. Thomas, Aberdaron, at Helen Thomas, disgybl ysgol yng Ngresffordd (f. 84). Mae’n trafod anghenion beirdd ifanc wrth ddatblygu arddull ac yn rhoi ei farn ar newyddiadurwyr, mewn ymateb i erthygl amdano yn y wasg, o bosib 'The Enigma of Aberdaron' gan Byron Rogers (Daily Telegraph Magazine, 7 Tachwedd 1975, tt. 25-26, 28-29). = A letter, 29 November 1975, from the poet R. S. Thomas, Aberdaron, to Helen Thomas, a school pupil from Gresford (f. 84). He comments on the needs of young poets learning their craft and gives his opinion on journalists, in response to an article on him in the press, possibly Byron Rogers's 'The Enigma of Aberdaron' (Daily Telegraph Magazine, 7 November 1975, pp. 25-26, 28-29).
Ceir hefyd gyfieithiad Saesneg o'r llythyr, mewn llaw anhysbys (f. 85), ac amlen hunan-gyfeiriedig a yrrwyd gan Helen Thomas gyda'i llythyr gwreiddiol (f. 84a). = Also included is an English translation of the letter, in an unknown hand (f. 85), and a self-addressed envelope presumably sent by Helen Thomas with her original letter (f. 84a).

Llythyr, 22 Awst [1976x1979], oddi wrth Rachel Bromwich, Bethesda, at Mr [David] Jenkins, [Penrhyn-coch, sir Aberteifi], yn trafod rhai lleoliadau yng ngogledd sir Aberteifi ac iddynt gysylltiad â Dafydd ap Gwilym, yn arbennig 'Melin y Prior' a 'Bwlch y Maen'. Aeth Jenkins a Bromwich ar daith tywys o amgylch yr ardal wythnos ynghynt; ganed Dafydd ap Gwilym, mae'n debyg, ym Mrogynin, Penrhyn-coch. = A letter, 22 August [1976x1979], from Rachel Bromwich, Bethesda, to Mr [David] Jenkins, [Penrhyn-coch, Cardiganshire], discussing certain places in northern Cardiganshire associated with the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, in particular 'Melin y Prior' and 'Bwlch y Maen'. Jenkins had given Bromwich a tour of the area the previous week; Brogynin in Penrhyn-coch was Dafydd ap Gwilym's probable birthplace.

Autograph letter, 24 February 1981, from Kyffin Williams, Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, to 'John', requesting his advice on how to acquire and prime new canvasses now that John has retired. The recipient may be John Reynolds of Highgate, supplier of materials to the artist.

Two letters, 19 April 1981 and 21 May 1993, from the artist Kyffin Williams, Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, to Elin [McGorran], who, as a student of Fine Art at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, in 1981 was writing a dissertation on Williams.
Williams refers to McGorran's recent visit to interview him for the dissertation (f. 32) and discusses the antagonism of some members of the Welsh art establishment towards him (f. 33). Williams includes a self-portrait sketch in ink, depicting himself on horseback 'on a sheep station … in the Australian Outback' (f. 33 verso).

Postcard, dated 1 May 1981, from Leopold Kohr, Salzburg, to Drs Ann and Glyn Rhys, Ystrad Meurig, Dyfed, concerning their invitation to a ceremony later that month to award Kohr with the 'Golden Ring' of the province of Salzburg.
Glyn Rhys refers to the award in his autobiography Were Those the Days? (Llandysul, 2003), pp. 178-179.