Autograph Letter Signed ('Mark Batten') to J. Samson, Registrar, Royal Society of Arts.

One page, quarto. Very good, with staple holes in one corner. He thanks Samson for his letter 'about the enquiry from the Esso Petroleum Company concerning a sculptured commemorative tablet. I should be pleased to take part in any limited competition for this project and could carry out the work this year if I were commissioned to do so within the scheme of my existing commitments.' The context is explained by an accompanying photocopy of a carbon of a typed letter (one page, quarto) of 5 May 1960 from Samson to the sculptor Professor R. Y. Goodden saying that the RSA has 'received an enquiry from the Esso Petroleum Company for the names of two or three good sculptors and designers who would be willing to undertake a commission in connection with their new oil refinery at Milford Haven. | What they require is a commemorative tablet, perhaps four foot square, which would be incorporated in the entrance hall of the administrative offices'. Docketing at the head of the carbon reveals that the contestants were Goodden, Batten, Dora Gordine and David Wynne. The winner was Gordine, whose 7' x 5' bas-relief, entitled 'Power', was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1960.