Shelfmark
MS 319
Author
Title
Eleven letters between Cyril Connolly, Robert Vanderbilt and Columbus O'Donnell Iselin regarding the prospective sale of 'The Rock Pool' autograph manuscript.
Publication, distribution, etc.
London ; Lewes ; New York, 1960.
Physical description
11 letters, 5 leaves and 1 postage receipt ; 28 cm.
Organization and arrangement of materials
Arranged sequentially.
Note
Devised title.
Note
A collection of autograph and typescript letters exchanged between Cyril Connolly (1903-1974), literary critic and writer, Robert Vanderbilt, bookseller, and Columbus O'Donnell Iselin. The letters are about the prospective sale of the autograph manuscript of Connolly's 'The Rock Pool' to Iselin. The sequence of letters reveals details about the exchange, and how the deal eventually fell through.
Note
The letters are with a typescript entitled "Connolly books and manuscripts', possibly identifying Connolly material already in the Iselins' collection, and the postage receipt returning the manuscript to Connolly dated 23 January 1961. Also included is a photocopied article from 'The Book Collector' (spring 2011) by John Saumarez Smith entitled 'Cyril Connolly as Manuscript Dealer', which describes this sequence of letters in detail.
Formatted contents note
Contents: 1: Cyril Connolly to 'Mr Holliday', ALS, 22 June 1960 -- 2: Robert Vanderbilt to Connolly, TL (copy), 5 July 1960 -- 3: Vanderbilt to Iselin, TL (copy), 5 July 1960 -- 4: Iselin to Vanderbilt, TLS, 7 July 1960 -- 5: Vanderbilt to Iselin, TL (copy), 8 July 1860 -- 6: Connolly to Vanderbilt, ALS with envelope, 14 or 15 July [1960] -- 7: Vanderbilt to Connolly, TL (copy), 21 July 1960 -- 8: Iselin to Vanderbilt, TLS, 27 July 1960 -- 9: Vanderbilt to Connolly, TL (copy), 1 August 1960 -- 10: Connolly to Vanderbilt, TL ALS, 12 December 1960 -- 11: Vanderbilt to Connolly, TL (copy), 30 December 1960.
Provenance
From the papers of Robert Vanderbilt. Gift of John Saumarez Smith, accompanied by a notecard to Michael [Meredith] dated 3 Fabruary 2015 presenting the letters. The original gift did not include the letter from Connolly to Vanderbilt dated 14 or 15 July 1960 (item 6), which was given subsequently, ca. 2017.
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Identifier
B38000