Description:

Hilaire Belloc TLS Re: "my Verses" & Berry Bros. & Rudd Gift of "excellent and ancient brandy"

A 1p typed letter signed by Franco-English writer Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) as "H Belloc" at center right, additionally inscribed in his hand in the left margin, as: "It is most good of you!" August 18, 1938. [London, England.] On a leaf of watermarked "Reform Club" stationery paper, embossed as: "Reform Club, / Pall Mall, / S.W. 1." at upper right. Expected wear including flattened paper folds, and an isolated area of minor discoloration at upper left caused by adhesive residue verso, else near fine. 8" x 10."

Hilaire Belloc wrote this thank-you letter to "Mr. Berry" of 3 St. James's Street, almost certainly referring to either Charles Walter Berry or Francis Berry, partners of Berry Bros. & Rudd, London's preeminent purveyor of fine wines and spirits.

Hilaire Belloc wrote in part:

"You will receive I hope by the same post as this a copy of my Verses which I have had bound for you and I am posting to 3 St. James's Street, inscribed for you. It is a very small acknowledgement of the great pleasure I have enjoyed so often through your acquaintance. Further, just as I was sending this off, William Roughead gave me, as from you, a bottle of most excellent and ancient brandy which I am now carrying off to my house in Sussex…"

The personally inscribed bound copy of "my Verses" may have referred to Belloc's first book, "Verses and Sonnets," published in 1916. We can infer from the stationery that Belloc composed this note in the sanctum of the Reform Club, a private gentlemen's club founded in 1836 whose members included many authors like Belloc, William Makepeace Thackeray, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, and others. In the letter, Belloc mentions that William Roughead (1870-1952), a Scottish lawyer and criminologist, had delivered the brandy to him.

The antecedent company of Berry Bros. & Rudd was an exotic grocery store established in 1698 that primarily sold coffee, spices, and other luxury foodstuffs. Berry Bros. & Rudd eventually cornered the lucrative wine and spirits market by securing a series of royal warrants.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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September 6, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
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