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John Cowper Powys Manuscripts and Papers File
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Address book

Address book kept by John Cowper Powys during the last twenty years of his life, with additional entries and emendations by Phyllis Playter. The volume also contains miscellaneous jottings by John Cowper Powys, including a list of characters (ff. 89 verso-90) for his story 'Abertackle'.

Address books

Three address books, [?1930s-?1940s], [1960s-1970s], of Phyllis Playter. Enclosures include name and address labels and cards (including an inscribed address card of Raymond Garlick), memoranda, press cuttings (including obituary notices), photographs, business receipts and a typescript letter, 1971, to Phyllis Playter from Sarah J. Whitfield of the Tate Gallery regarding an offer made relating to the correspondence between Augustus John and John Cowper Powys.

After My Fashion

A typescript, [1920], of John Cowper Powys's posthumously published third novel After My Fashion (London, 1980), with manuscript corrections by the author. Also included is a foreword to the work by Powys's nephew, Francis Llewellyn Powys. It seems likely that no manuscript of this novel has survived, and that this is the only extant typescript. The title page bears the stamp of Powys's literary agent, G. Arnold Shaw.

Alyse Gregory letters to Phyllis Playter

Over one hundred and twenty letters, 1946-1967, from Alyse Gregory, widow of Llewelyn Powys, to Phyllis Playter, the majority of which belong to the period 1960-1967; together with four letters, 1957-1961, from Alyse Gregory to John Cowper Powys (NLW MS 21937E, ff. 11, 22, 47, 73). The letters contain frequent family references, particularly to Gertrude Powys and Katie Powys, and discussion regarding the preservation of Powys family manuscripts, diaries and correspondence.

Gregory, Alyse, 1884-1967

Alyse Gregory letters to Phyllis Playter

Over two hundred letters, 1924-1967, from Alyse Gregory, widow of John Cowper Powys's brother, Llewelyn Powys, to Phyllis Playter. There are frequent references to family and friends, and to the publication and preservation of the correspondence and literary manuscripts of John Cowper Powys and Llewelyn Powys.

Gregory, Alyse, 1884-1967

Bank books of Charles Francis Powys,

Three bank books, June 1920 - September 1923, of the Reverend Charles Francis Powys, registered with Lloyds Bank Ltd, Weymouth, Dorset. The accounts subsequent to Charles Francis Powys's death on 5 August 1923 were under the executorship of his son, Littleton Charles Powys.

Botanical notebooks

Three notebooks, 1850-1853, containing botanical drawings and notes compiled by the Rev. Charles Francis Powys as a boy. The envelope in which the notebooks were kept is inscribed with a note on its contents by John Cowper Powys.

Children's books

A set of four children's books entitled 'The Children's Miscellany' which once belonged to Marianne Cowper Johnson (née Patteson), mother of Mary Cowper Powys; and a book of stories for children, of unknown provenance but kept with the other books. The inside front covers of the 'Children's Miscellany' are inscribed 'M Patteson'.

Commonplace book

Commonplace book of Phyllis Playter, begun [?1937] but which may contain inserts dating from the 1960s or 1970s. The book contains copied selections of poetry and prose, some from Classical sources, and includes an incomplete prose piece by Phyllis Playter entitled 'Winter in Dorchester' (ff. 1-verso), John Cowper Powys's poem 'Y Wyddfa The Tomb' (ff. 13-verso), 'Poem to JCP By Littleton Alfred October 8, 1948' (ff. 21 verso-22), and poems - one entitled 'Early Spring: New York' - by Gamel Woolsey (ff. 26 verso-27 verso, 28 verso), together with 'Pais Dinogad' (reputedly dating from the 7th century AD) and verses entitled 'Hen Benillion', with English translations (ff. 44 verso - 46). There are also diary entries made by Phyllis Playter for the inclusive dates 4 - 6 January 1937 (ff. 4-5), 'J's List of the attitude of the members of his family to "Our Maker"' (followed by the religious views of John Cowper Powys's siblings (ff. 50 verso-52 verso)), and a bibliography of John Cowper Powys's works (ff. 54-verso). Originally loose in the volume, now inserted at the front, are copies of Rainer Maria Rilke's poem 'The Bowl of Roses' and of George Barker's 'Some Confusions' in Phyllis Playter's hand, with some accompanying notes, along with a fragment of an envelope, postmark 2 July 1959, addressed to John Cowper Powys at Blaenau Ffestiniog, with rough memoranda on the back in Phyllis Playter's hand. Also originally loose in the volume are press cuttings, including poetry (now inserted at f. 18) and an envelope containing copied extracts of poetry, a birthday card made out of very thin paper and a stencil-like paper design, a stitched card depicting a cross in an embossed frame, and cut-out pictures (now inserted at f. 39). Remains of dried flowers are inserted between ff. 7 verso and 8 and between ff. 48 verso and 49, and a feather between ff. 19 verso and 20. Ff. 2, 6 verso-7, 12, 14-17 verso, 18 verso-19, 20 verso, 22 verso, 25 verso, 28, 30, 33, 38 verso, 40, 44, 48 verso, 50, 53 verso, 55, 56-verso, 57 verso, and 61 verso are blank.

Commonplace book

Commonplace book, 1955, of Phyllis Player. The book contains diary entries for 17-21 May 1955 inclusive (ff. i verso-12), memoranda (ff. 13 verso-15 verso), and the single word 'Death' on f. 93 verso (inverted text). Ff. i, 12 verso-13, 16-93 are blank.

Commonplace book and other material

Commonplace book, [1960x1970], of Phyllis Playter containing poetry and prose extracts and some memoranda. The remains of a [?]moth are inserted between ff. 92 verso and 93. Ff. 42-104 are blank. Numerous items found loose inside the volume have been kept separately in an envelope and include extracts of poetry, prose, maxims, etc. in Phyllis Playter's hand, press cuttings, the remains of dried flowers, and a postcard, 1961, addressed to Phyllis Playter from the American Library in London.

Deleted chapters from Wolf Solent

A typescript, ?1928, containing six chapters which were deleted from the final proof of John Cowper Powys's novel Wolf Solent (1929). Powys summarised these chapters in a revised Chapter 19, but with significant events omitted. The manuscript of these six chapters is at Syracuse University Library, New York. The typescript was made by Ms Boyne Grainger, a neighbour of John Cowper Powys in New York, from the holograph manuscript pages now at Syracuse University.

Provenance for the typescript may be established from The Powys Journal Volume XXXI (2021) Supplement: Wolf Solent, The Six Deleted Chapters, available on JSTOR at https://www.jstor.org/journal/powysj. I am indebted to Mr Kevin Taylor, editor of The Powys Journal, for this updated information.

Diaries of John Cowper Powys,

Thirty-six volumes of the diaries of John Cowper Powys, being an unbroken series dating from 1930 to 1961. Powys began keeping a diary in June 1929 on his departure from New York on a visit to England (see NLW MS 22807A).
The first two volumes have been edited for publication (see The Diary of John Cowper Powys 1930, ed. by Frederick Davies (London, 1987) and The Diary of John Cowper Powys 1931 (London, 1990)) and the period June 1934 to June 1935 has been published in The Dorset Year, ed. by Morine Krissdóttir and Roger Peers (Kilmersdon: The Powys Press, 1998). A selection of the first eleven years has been published in Petrushka and the Dancer: The diaries of John Cowper Powys 1929-1939, ed. by Morine Krissdóttir (Manchester, New York and Paris, 1995).

Diary

Diary of Phyllis Playter for 1931. The volume contains diary entries for the inclusive dates 1-6 January (pp. 1-6), 8-14 January (pp. 8-14), 21 January - 11 February (pp. 21-42), 13-15 February (pp. 44-46), 17-23 February (pp. 48-54), 8 March (p. 67), 10 March (p. 69), 17-19 March (pp. 76-78), 10 May - 6 July (pp. 130-187), 8-10 July (pp. 189-191), 13-28 July (pp. 194-209), 8-9 August (pp. 220-221), 15-19 August (pp. 227-231), 25 August (p. 237), 10 September (p. 253), 20-23 September (pp. 263-266), 7-8 October (pp. 280-281), 17-18 October (pp. 290-291) and 24-31 December (pp. 358-365), with some memoranda on pp. 366-367, the remaining leaves being left blank. Several press cuttings and a rough pencil draft of [?]poetry in the hand of Phyllis Playter, originally loose in the volume, are inserted at p. i and p. 112 respectively, and two photographs (no identification), also originally loose in the volume, are inserted at pp. 109 and 111. Two feathers are inserted between pp. 62 and 63, the remains of a [? dried and discoloured plant] between pp. 202 and 203, and the remains of a dried flower between pp. 206 and 207. The remains of a ribbon and a [? dried and discoloured plant] are inserted between pp. 194 and 195 and another fragment of ribbon inserted between pp. 360 and 361. Inserted in an envelope at p. 191 by an archivist at a recent date are the remains of a dried plant, with a note that the fragments "caused considerable staining on several pages", this staining being visible on pp. 180-209.

Diary

Diary of Phyllis Playter for 1969. The volume contains diary entries for the inclusive dates 1-12 January (ff. 10-15 verso) and 16-19 January 1969 (ff. 17 verso-19), the remainder of the volume (ff. 19 verso-199) having been left blank. The diary is inscribed inside the frontispiece 'Best wishes for 1969 Elsie'.

Diary

Diary of Phyllis Playter for 1971, with possible further usage in 1973. The volume contains copious diary entries for the inclusive dates 1 January - 6 May (ff. 9-27), thereafter becoming intermittent, with general memoranda on ff. i verso, 6 verso-7, 19 verso, 27, and 62 verso. Press cuttings, originally loose in the volume, have been inserted inside the frontispiece, and fragments of paper containing addresses, address labels and memoranda, also originally loose in the volume, have been inserted at the back. Inside the front cover is inscribed 'Best wishes Elsie Price'. On ff. 27 verso-33 the printed year '1971' at the top of each page has been altered to '1973'. Ff. 7 verso-8 verso, 18, 29-verso, 30 verso, 31 verso, 32 verso-35, 36-41, 43-44, 48 verso-49, 50-51 verso, 52 verso, 54-56, 57 verso, 58 verso, 60-verso, and 62 are blank.

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