Now For Something Completely Different, That's An Understatement.

[constanius]

Whilst I am searching for old medals in antique stores I often come up empty-handed but something else catches my eye and of course I end up buying it. This is one such item, though it does have a picture of a medal of John Masefield(which first drew my attention to it) the letter which it contains is the real reason why they were framed together circa 1930. So having a medal pictured and being found while on the hunt for exonumia I feel justified in posting it here for your amusement and edification.

 

 

 

 

 

John Masefield was an English poet, who every pupil when I was a lad in England had to learn 2 of his poems(no idea if they still do but I doubt it, shame really) Sea Fever "I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by"...........

and from Cargoes ......... "Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,

Butting through the Channel in the mad March days".......

He eventually became The Poet Laureate.

This letter is one he wrote during his most productive period and on the cusp of his fame. It is dated April 25 1910, addressed from 30, Maida Hill West, W. to The Editor of the Times(London, who was Charles Frederic Moberly Bell at that time) asking for a letter to be returned to him if it was not to be used, he had written it in response to the leading article of the 20th inst.

There is a green sticker on the rear of the framed letter of "Thomas F. Madigan 2 East 54th Street corner 5th Avenue, New York" and

a typed note describing the letter. Madigan was Thee purveyor of autographs of the rich and famous to the rich and famous. He also wrote a book on collecting autographs.

Now if I had access to the Times archives I could find out what the editor's leading article for the 20th April 1910 was and perhaps hazard a guess to what Masefield's letter referenced, which he was anxious to have returned if not used, maybe the gem of a poem. Also might be able to see if it was used, plenty of scope for research!

Hope, that if you have struggled to the end of this posting, that you have enjoyed it.

EDIT: Copied this from my last post in this topic:

Reading up on Masefield himself I came across this which is in regard to when he was Poet Laureate(1930 and later)

 

"Although the requirements of Poet Laureate had changed, and those in the office were rarely required to write verse for special occasions, Masefield took his appointment seriously and produced a large quantity of verse. Poems composed in his official capacity were sent to The Times. Masefield's modesty was shown by his inclusion of a stamped envelope with each submission so that his composition could be returned if it were found unacceptable for publication"

 

So he had probably penned a verse and in those days(1910) if you wanted a copy you had to write it out yourself in longhand! Hence this request for its return if not used.

[grivna1726]

That is a magnificent find! Perhaps the Times would (given the relevance to the history of the paper) be willing to provide a copy of the editorial and the letter (if published). It might even make an interesting story for publication.

 

One does not usually expect to have a letter to the editor returned and it seems an odd request.

[Art1.2]

That's one of the most wonderful finds I've ever heard about. Congratulations!

[rsraghead]

That is really something special.

A very wonderful thing to posses.

[ccg]

Neat!

[constanius]

That is a magnificent find! Perhaps the Times would (given the relevance to the history of the paper) be willing to provide a copy of the editorial and the letter (if published). It might even make an interesting story for publication. One does not usually expect to have a letter to the editor returned and it seems an odd request.

I assume that because he wanted the enclosed letter returned, if not used, it was of some importance to him if it was not published but if published then it lost that importance, else he could have just kept a copy, strange. The original article would help, great fun.

 

I have just sent an email to the Times to see if they are willing to help.

 

I also realized that I omitted details of the medal.

One of a series of 12 Laudatory medals by Theodore Spicer-Simson issued in 1922 to honour leading literary figures.

BHM# 4172

Obv. Draped bust of John Mansfield, bare head, right. Sailing ship in field to right: In exergue . IOHN . MASEFIELD-A.D-/ MCMXXII

Rev. Blank

AE(cast) R. 110mm

EDIT:

Reading up on Masefield himself I came across this which is in regard to when he was Poet Laureate(1930 and later)

 

"Although the requirements of Poet Laureate had changed, and those in the office were rarely required to write verse for special occasions, Masefield took his appointment seriously and produced a large quantity of verse. Poems composed in his official capacity were sent to The Times. Masefield's modesty was shown by his inclusion of a stamped envelope with each submission so that his composition could be returned if it were found unacceptable for publication"

 

I will add this edit addition to the first post.

 

 

[grivna1726]

 

Reading up on Masefield himself I came across this which is in regard to when he was Poet Laureate(1930 and later)

 

"Although the requirements of Poet Laureate had changed, and those in the office were rarely required to write verse for special occasions, Masefield took his appointment seriously and produced a large quantity of verse. Poems composed in his official capacity were sent to The Times. Masefield's modesty was shown by his inclusion of a stamped envelope with each submission so that his composition could be returned if it were found unacceptable for publication"

 

I will add this edit addition to the first post.

 

 

 

 

If he was that humble as Poet Laureate, then he almost certainly was before that time. I'd say the probability of your suggestion that his submission to the paper was a poem is correct just increased by several orders of magnitude.

 

Impressively researched!

[bill]

[rsraghead]

Yes it was