[Arthur Beresford Pite, English architect.] Twelve Autograph Letters Signed and one Autograph Note Signed (all 'Beresford Pite') to Sir Henry Trueman Wood and G. K. Menzies, Secretaries, Royal Society of Arts, on his Cantor Lectures on Town Planning.

The thirteen items are in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. All but one bear the purple oval stamp of the Royal Society of Arts, and most are docketted. Totalling 10pp., 4to; 3pp., 12mo. The earlier letters are addressed to Wood and the later ones to Menzies. The first letter (14 August 1915), in which Pite proposes becoming a member of the Society, is the only one not to concern the course of lectures. On 7 June 1916 he asks if 'the subject of Town Planning, which owing to the operation of the Act of 1909 has increasing importance could be included in the Society of Arts series of Cantor Lectures', adding that Wood is 'probably aware of the increasing literature of the subject and that the Royal Institute of British Architects as issued directions to providers & advice to architects on town planning procedure. | The subject presents many aspects to the Student and in practice divides itself between the Surveyor <?> and architect and naturally has many aspects of public interest and urgency.' He proposes to submit a syllabus, 'on the Architecture of Town Planning past & present', stating that he has been 'for many years a member of the Town Planning Committee of the R.I.B.A. & [has] lectured on the subject at the L.C.C. School of Building'. On 12 June 1916 he writes that he is enclosing 'a syllabus of a course of 5 lectures on Town-Planning', the 'historical aspect' of the subject being 'a large & important one', and ' this comparative study of achieved results' being 'important side by side with present day problems'. On 25 September 1916 he accepts Wood's 'proposals [...] to deliver a course of four lectures on "Town Planning" to be given weekly from January 29 next'. Among topics dealt with in the rest of the correspondence are the submission of manuscripts and authorship rights.