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A collection of miscellaneous letters and papers, 1757-1993, purchased or received by donation from various sources by the National Library of Wales during the period June 2008-May 2013 and boxed as one volume.

Autograph manuscript, dated 11 September 1799 (watermark 1794), of Anna Seward's 'Sonnet for the drawer in the thatched shed by the brook at Plas Newydd'. It was published, with a very few minor alterations, in The Poetical Works of Anna Seward, ed. by Walter Scott, 3 vols (Edinburgh, 1810), III, 314.
Seward stayed with Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, The Ladies of Llangollen, at their Plas Newydd home for four days in September 1799 (see Letters of Anna Seward: Written between the years 1784 and 1807, ed. by A. Constable, 6 vols (Edinburgh, 1811), V, 248-53).

An autograph letter, 14 June 1898, from D[avid] Lloyd George, House of Commons, to Sidney Robinson, declining an invitation to a meeting the following Friday [17 June] on account of a debate on education funding in Parliament that day.
Robinson was later MP for Breconshire (1906-1918) and Brecon and Radnor (1918-1922).

An autograph fair copy, [1914], of the poem 'Sweet Night' by W. H. Davies. It was first published in W. H. Davies, The Bird of Paradise (London, 1914), p. 20.
The manuscript contains a different reading of line 3, 'Take thou a lover’s grateful heart' rather than the published 'A lover gives his grateful heart', and two corrections in lines 9 and 10, conforming to the printed version. The poem is written on '29 Clarence Gardens, N.W.' notepaper with the address changed by Davies to '22, Priory Gardens, Highgate'.

Autograph letter, 12 May 1914, from Edward Thomas, Steep, Petersfield, [Hampshire], to [Thomas] Seccombe, mainly concerning Thomas's new bicycle.

Autograph letter, [15] May 1914, from Edward Thomas, Steep, [Hampshire], to Thomas Seccombe, Camberley, [Surrey], arranging a meeting.
The letter is written on a pre-printed letter card.

Autograph revised manuscript, [23 July 1915], of Edward Thomas's poem 'Cock-Crow'.
The poem is preceded by an autograph note: 'The image used to appear to me every morning in the spring when the cocks crowed, just like a coat of arms'. The draft includes two autograph revisions in ink that are reproduced in the published text: 'They [?cleave]' is changed to 'Cleaving' (l. 4) and 'Of equal glory' is changed to 'Heralds of splendour' (l. 6). Other textual differences remain: 'that grow by night' rather than 'that grows by night' (l. 1); no comma after 'stand' (l. 5); and 'one on either hand' rather than 'one at either hand' (l. 6). 'Cock-Crow' was first published in Six Poems by Edward Eastaway (Flansham, Sussex, 1916), p. [19], and collected in Edward Thomas ("Edward Eastaway"), Poems (London, 1917), p. 61. It is No. 88 in The Collected Poems of Edward Thomas, ed. by R. George Thomas (Oxford, 1978) (see pp. 244-5), the editor however does not record the present manuscript.

An autograph fair copy, [1918], of the poem 'The Soul's Companions' by W. H. Davies. It was first published in the Nation, 20 April 1918, p. 64, and collected in William H. Davies, Forty New Poems (London, 1918), p. 33.
The poem is written on '14, Great Russell Street, W.C.' notepaper. A pencil note 'Poetry for this week' (partially erased) indicates it was used as the printer’s copy.

An autograph fair copy, dated 14 August 1920, of the poem 'Lamorna Cove' by W. H. Davies, used as the printer's copy for the Nation. It was first published in the Nation, 21 August 1920, p. 642, and collected in W. H. Davies, The Hour of Magic (London, 1922), p. 12.

A letter, 5 August [1939], from Dylan Thomas, at 'The Literary Village' [i.e. Laugharne], to Keidrych Rhys, editor of the literary periodical Wales. The writer is critical of the latest issue (Wales, 1.8/9 (August 1939)), and in particular of a story by S. G. Leonard, 'A labour of love' (pp. 235-238).
There are also references to Nigel Heseltine, Lynette Roberts and Glyn Jones. The letter is apparently unpublished.

A carbon copy typescript, [?1940], of the third verse of Dylan Thomas's poem 'Into her lying down head', with the final ten lines crossed through and completely re-written (as nine lines) in Thomas's hand, [1943x1946] (f. 17).
The typescript appears to match the text as originally published in Life and Letters To-day, 27 (November 1940), 124-126, and collected in Dylan Thomas, New Poems (Norfolk, Conn., 1943), pp. 2-4; the manuscript changes, with one exception, conform to those made before its publication in Dylan Thomas, Deaths and Entrances (London, 1946), pp. 20-22. A typescript summary of the poem's history, [late 20 cent], reproducing the original version of the third verse, is also included (f. 18).

Autograph letter, 19 February 1945, from Dylan Thomas, New Quay, Cardiganshire, to N[ancy] R. Pearn of Pearn, Pollinger and Higham, his literary agents, agreeing to the broadcast of his poem 'In Memory of Ann Jones' [also known as 'After the Funeral'] on 26 February [1945].
The letter is apparently unpublished. The accompanying envelope has the phrase 'Miss Elizabeth Cree / Remember wee / Three' typed on the front (f. 10a).

An autograph letter, [early January 1947], from Dylan Thomas, at Holywell Ford, Oxford, to Graham [Greene], concerning the potential publication of Thomas's film script 'The Doctor and the Devils'.
The letter was published in Dylan Thomas, The Collected Letters New Edition, ed. by Paul Ferris (London, 2000), p. 681.

A letter, 26 May 1970, from Kyffin Williams, [London], to Meic Stephens, [Literature Director of the Welsh Arts Council], attempting to secure financial support to publish his book on his 1968-1969 visit to Patagonia.
The book remained unpublished, although parts of it appeared as 'An Artist in Welsh Patagonia', in The Anglo-Welsh Review, 18.42 (February 1970), 5-32, or would be adapted for his book A Wider Sky (Llandysul, 1991). The letter contains references to Christopher Falkus of prospective publishers Weidenfeld [& Nicolson].

Autograph draft, [1972], of Dannie Abse's poem 'Down the M4', containing autograph revisions, deletions and variant readings (f. 74).
Also included is a typescript fair copy of his poem 'Talking to Blake', with a manuscript note to Roy [Davids], dated 28 May 1993 (f. 75). 'Down the M4' was collected (as the first in a sequence of four poems entitled 'Car journeys') in Dannie Abse, Funland and Other Poems (London, 1973), p. 27; 'Talking to Blake' was first collected in Dannie Abse, On the Evening Road (London, 1994), p. 3.

A revised typescript draft, 1977-1978, of a poem entitled 'Crewe Blues' by John Tripp.
The draft has numerous manuscript revisions and annotations and has the typescript title 'British Rail Blues (The Junction of Despair)' crossed through and replaced with 'Crewe Blues' in ink. A heavily revised version of the poem (see NLW MS 24013D, f. 136) was published as 'Northern Railway Blues' in John Tripp, The Meaning of Apricot Sponge, ed. by Tony Curtis (Cardigan, 2010), pp. 162-163. The poem was apparently written after a Christmas visit by Tripp to his friend the philosopher Allen Phillips Griffiths in Coventry.

A letter, 30 December 1952, from Dylan Thomas, Laugharne, to A[lfred] Morgan of Barry, Glamorgan, acknowledging his letter of condolence on the death of Thomas's father [on 16 December 1952]. The poet's statement that his father 'died very peacefully', contrasts with the sentiments expressed in his villanelle 'Do not go gentle into that good night'. The letter is apparently unpublished.

A letter, dated 27 July 1911, from John L. Griffiths, United States Consul-General in London, to David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, thanking him for the seats at the Investiture of Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor) as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle on 13 July 1911.

Llythyr, 5 Mai [recte Mehefin] 1941, oddi wrth yr Athro [Emeritws] T. Gwynn Jones at yr Athro Ganon W. H. Harris, a oedd newydd ei benodi yn Athro'r Gymraeg, Coleg Dewi Sant, Llanbedr Pont Steffan, yn bennaf yn trafod ei hen gwrs Llenyddiaeth Gymraeg yn Aberystwyth, a'r darpar offeiriaid a gweinidogion a ddysgodd yno. = Letter, 5 May [recte June] 1941, from [Emeritus] Professor T. Gwynn Jones to Professor Canon W. H. Harris, who was newly appointed Professor of Welsh at St. David's College, Lampeter, mainly concerning Jones's former course in Welsh literature at Aberystwyth and the trainee clergy and ministers he taught there.
Mae Jones yn ateb llythyr gan yr Athro Harris, dyddiedig 31 Mai 1941, yn gofyn iddo am gopi o brospectws ei hen gwrs (gw. NLW, Papurau Thomas Gwynn Jones G1930). = The letter is in reply to that of Professor Harris, dated 31 May 1941, asking Jones for a copy of the prospectus for his former course (see NLW, Papurau Thomas Gwynn Jones G1930).

A brief letter, 3 April 1827, from W[illia]m Owen Pughe, London, to his fellow antiquary the Rev. W[illiam] J[enkins] Rees, Cascob, Radnorshire, regretting that he will not see Rees on his visit to London.
Pughe also mentions his son Aneurin Owen. The address (f. 55 verso) is written in a different hand.