£3,500
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs | 694
Auction: 13 July 2022 at 11:00 BST
all in blue or black ink on rectos only of varicoloured foolscap sheets, secured with paperclips, and comprising:
1) 'Robert Burns (1759-1959)', 20 ff., signed 'Hugh MacDiarmid' in title, begins 'Mrs Virginia Woolf in her essay "Gas at Abbotsford" fully showed the necessity and complete justification of the Scots Revival Movement', apparently a fair copy, published as Burns Today and Tomorrow (Edinburgh, 1959);
2) 'Introduction to "Uranium 235"' [Play by Ewan MacColl, published Glasgow, 1948]. 10 ff., signed 'Hugh MacDiarmid' in title, with autograph corrections;
3) Two draft articles for the Scottish Secretariat, 1920s, 'Scots in the Cabinet ('There are only three Scots in the Cabinet proper - Mr Ramsay MacDonald himself, Mr William Graham ... and Mr William Adamson ...'), 5 ff., and 'A Scottish airman', 4 ff., both with series-title 'London. Scottish letter, by our own correspondent', with autograph covering letter dated 1928 (enclosing three autographs) signed 'C. M. Grieve';
4) Five Scottish Journal articles:
a) 'Elizabeth I Scarves' ('The distributors of the Scottish Covenant Association's headsquares ...'), 1 f., finger-soiled;
b) 'The Gaelic Genius' ('Remembering my earlier poems in Scots ...'), 2 ff., signed 'Hugh MacDiarmid' at end;
c) 'Beyond Argument' (verse: 'It is now the duty of the Scottish genius / Which has provided the economic freedom for it ...'), 1 f., signed 'Hugh MacDiarmid in margin;
d) 'The Key to World Literature. Hugh MacDiarmid replies to Moray Maclaren', 4 ff.;
e)'Why Teach Gaelic?', 1 f. (annotated 'Talk of the Nation' by Macdiarmid at head; attached note reads 'MS contains more than printed');
each apparently the printer's setting copy (with associated corrections and annotations), all with later manuscript note attached recording the date of publication;
5) Collection of 'Talk of the Nation' drafts:
a) 'Good for Greenock' ('Greenock Town Council's decision that the Scottish Flag is to be flown from the Town Hall annually ...'), 1 f., attached to and continuously paginated with a second article, 'Henderson Stewart drops a brick', 2-4 ff.;
b) 'Scottish Farming Lesson to English' [and 6 further talks under separate headings: 'Exporting 15 Million People'; 'Queen Born and Bred a Londoner'; etc.], 7 ff., continuously paginated;
c) 'Changing Scotland' [and 2 further talks: 'Large-scale transformations'; 'The Housing Problem'], 'Changing Scotland' begins 'Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the Glen Lussa hydro-electric scheme ...', 'Large-scale transformations' begins 'A few years ago the Russian scientist Lysenko was vilifed throguhout the British press', ff. 1, 4-8 [1] 12 (other leaves presumably discarded by the printers, two leaves extant in fragments only);
6) 'The Late Major C. H. Douglas', 10 ff., signed 'Hugh MacDiarmid' in title, with autograph covering note to Bill (i.e. William MacLellan, publisher) signed 'Chris', marked up for printing;
7) 'The Stuffed Lion', ('An Edinburgh art-student had a few over the eight one night'), on the Report of the Catto Committee (1952), 3 ff., extensively marked up for printing;
9. Two book review pieces:
a) 'Book Reviews: A Scottish Philospher [sic] on Peirce and Pragmatism' ('A young Scottish philosopher, professor W. B. Gallie ...'), 1 f., signed 'CMG' at end;
b) 'Books: Scottish Books of the Month', 4 ff., signed 'Hugh MacDiarmid' at end (1 folder)