ENID

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. In fair condition, but lightly discoloured, with a large rectangle of sunning covering most of the lower part, and a neat crease at bottom right (not affecting the signature, which is partially sunned). Annotated in pencil by a later hand on the reverse. Betjeman’s handwriting is bad, so the following reading is tentative. ‘Dear Lady Jones, / I meant to write to you long ere this to tell you how grateful I was to you & Sir Roderick [Jones, her husband] for letting us [house?] this prize in your capacious drawing room.

See her entry in the Oxford DNB, which describes how she accepted Max Reinhardt's offer ‘to play the Madonna in a mime play, The Miracle. This was first staged in the USA from November 1923 to the following May, and again for the following three autumns and winters. It toured Europe in 1927, and London and the provinces in 1932; the last performance was in January 1933.

The nine letters are in good condition, lightly aged. They total nineteen pages, on a mixture of 4to and 12mo leaves, and cards. A chatty and gossipy correspondence, written in a flowing loose hand, going well beyond business matters. The first letter, 9 May 1965, is signed 'Enid B.', the others being signed 'Enid'. It is the only letter in its envelope, which is marked 'Private' by EB and addressed by her to 'Stanley Hall Esq | Wig Creations | 25 Portman Close | Baker Street | London W.1'. The tone of the first letter is representative.

On one side of a 7.5 x 12.5 cm leaf of pink paper, extracted from an album. In good condition, very lightly aged. Centred on the page, in blue ink, the inscription reads: 'love from | Enid Blyton'. No other writing anywhere on the leaf. As 600 million copies of Blyton's books have been sold worldwide, and as she oversaw the design of her books, and insisted on her distinctive signature being placed on every cover, it is not an exaggeration to state that this is one of the most famous signatures of the twentieth century.