ELGAR

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, landscape 12mo. On bifolium of grey paper. The letter is complete, on what appears to be the upper half of a 4to bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with stamp, postmark and remains of autograph address on reverse of second leaf, with traces of mount. Signed ‘J A Fuller Maitland’. Begins: ‘Dear Sir / Very many thanks for your book, the second copy of which has just come. I shall hope to be able to come & hear your lecture on a subject which is especially dear to me.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Signed ‘H. P. Greene’. Truly atrocious handwriting. Apparently addressed to ‘Dear Miss Salt’, and beginning: ‘I’ll be proud.’ He gives a date which will ‘suit me best’, and asks to be informed ‘if there is anything special [?] like [?]’.

He asks Streatfeild to advise him in a matter 'which speaks for itself'. He reports that 'poor Lady Elgar is greatly distressed – and not without reason – at the treatment of the two great oratorios'. Phillips does not 'quite see what is to be done in the way of protest', although he finds that the 'statement that they “fail with audiences &c” is certainly false in fact, [last three words underlined] and therefore almost libellous'. Phillips considers 'the rest […] a matter of opinion. Perhaps even more false and absurd is the statement, or opinion, that they appeal only to the intellect.

2pp., 4to. In fair condition, on aged, worn and creased paper. Written in a hurried, difficult hand. He begins by saying he was 'just thinking' of him, 'and wondering!' He then invites him to dine the following Sunday in the 'usual way'. He continues: 'No, I didn't write about H. H. . There was a <?> ordinary notices in the D[aily]. T[elegraph]., but by whom written I can't say. I didn't really know enough about him.' He is 'going with Mr. Crawshay to the Elgar performance: it appears the new things are wonderful.

1p., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, with light signs of age. He is enclosing a cheque for two guineas towards 'The Frederic Fund', and writes that he had 'the pleasure of often meeting Mr Harold Frederic at the Savage Club some years ago'. He was 'deeply grieved to hear of his sad & untimely end'. He hopes enough money will be collected to be an 'appreciable help to his widow & children'. The letter relates to a celebrated Victorian scandal. In 1884 Frederic had come to England with his wife and five children as the London correspondent of the New York TImes.

The collection as a whole is in good condition on aged paper. ITEM ONE: 90-page typescript headed 'II | ANTECEDENT', beginnning 'It has become a commonplace of musicology, at least in this country, that the first two decades of the Twentieth Century show an immense increase of creative activity in the composition of works of music by an astonishingly rich group of their [sic] young composers.