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26 Carlyle Square, London, SW3.—Proposes giving the A. E. Housman letters in his possession to University College, London.

(A note of Symons’ reply indicates his preference for Cambridge.)

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Transcript

26 Carlyle Square, London, SW3
5th January 1961

Dear Symons

I wrote to you three or four weeks ago but either you have been away or the letter must have gone astray, since I have had no answer to my enquiry.

You will recall that when, after your Mother’s death, two batches of AEH’s letters were turned over to me—(1) letters to her, (2) earlier letters to his Stepmother which Mrs Symons had kept—it was with the understanding that these should ultimately be deposited in a suitable institutional library. I have decided that I would rather put this arrangement into effect now than leave it among the minor worries my executors will have to face; and I have come to the conclusion that the most suitable repository would be the Library of University College London. Neither Cambridge nor Oxford have, as you know, shown any great interest in Housmanian matters, while UCL, which is very proud of him, notably has, and the librarian, Joseph Scott, is an enthusiast.

But I did not want to do this without making sure that you approved of the arrangement, and I should be glad to hear that you do.
With the compliments of the season,

Yours sincerely
John Carter

N. V. H. Symons, Esq. CIE, JP,
Lymington,
Hants.

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Typed, except the initial and final greetings and the signature. The letter-head describes the writer as a Bibliographical Consultant. At the foot the recipient has written: ‘R. 7.1.61. Cambridge pre-ferred for reasons given but leave decision to him. N.V.H.S.’

26 Carlyle Square, London, SW3.—Suggests dividing the A. E. Housman letters in his possession between University College, London, and Trinity College, Cambridge.

(A note of Symons’ reply indicates his approval of the suggestion.)

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Transcript

26 Carlyle Square, London, SW3
19th January 1961

Dear Symons

The Housman Letters.

I have little doubt that Trinity, Cambridge, would accept them if they were offered, and so I daresay for the matter of that would St. John’s College, Oxford: even the stuffiest of librarians would not look this gift horse in the mouth. I was more concerned with the question which institution has best de-served the offer by showing some signs of interest, if not enthusiasm, in the past. Gow has always been rather crusty and uncooperative in these matters, and Trinity library has never made any attempt to improve its representation of AEH’s published works. It is true that the letters to Mrs Symons date from the Cambridge period, but those to his step-mother are all much earlier; so that if the balance of appropriateness of site is evenly divided my own feeling was that the decision should come down in favour of the institution that had done something to deserve the gift. A possible alternative, of course, would be to give Trinity the letters to your mother, which span the years 1911 to 1936, and to give UCL the letters to Mrs Housman, which range from 1875 to 1901. How would you feel about this?

Yours sincerely
John Carter

N. V. H. Symons, Esq. CIE, JP,

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Typed, except the initial and final greetings and the signature. The letter-head describes the writer as a Bibliographical Consultant. The last two sentences have been marked in the margin with a line and the letter ‘A’ and at the foot the recipient has written: ‘Replied 20.1.61 approving of A. N.V.H.S.’