[W. E. Henley, poet who wrote ?Invictus?.] Autograph Manuscript Signed (Holograph) of his poem ?My songs were once of the sunrise?, on letterhead of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, daughter of George du Maurier and mother of the ?lost boys? in ?Peter Pan?.

Henley?s poem ?Invictus?, with its conclusion ?I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul?, is one of the most popular in the English language, and has inspired individuals as diverse as Nelson Mandela and Ron Kray. See Henley?s entry in the Oxford DNB. He was a friend of both Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and J. M. Barrie, and his daughter Margaret inspired the ?Peter Pan? character ?Wendy?. 1p, 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded three times for postage. The letterhead has a thin black mourning border. Henley?s poem featured as the ?Envoy? to his 1901 collection ?Hawthorn and Lavender?. It is twelve lines long. The three stanzas are divided in the holograph by short dashes, and it is signed ?W. E. H.? Without any variations from the printed text, the holograph reads: ?My songs were once of the sunrise: / They shouted it over the bar; / First footing the dawns, they flourished, / And flamed with the morning star. / My songs are now of the sunset: / Their brows are touched with light. / But their feet are lost in the shadows / And wet with the dews of night / Yet for the Joy in their making / Take them, O fond and true, / And for his sake who made them / Let them be dear to you.?