41 Mansionhouse Road,
Edinburgh

7th August 1941.

Dear Sir:

I wonder whether you will be willing to help me. In the
intervals of working as a full-time stretcher-bearer in the
A.R.P. (very short intervals I'm afraid) I am trying to erect
the skeleton of a complete catalogue of all the pencil draw-
ings, paintings, engravings, etc., of William Blake. In this
work I am collaborating with Geoffrey Keynes, but he is in the
R.A.F. and so I have undertaken to do absolutely as much of
the work as I can by myself. I would, consequently be very
grateful if you would give me any details you have of the
Blake in your collection. Ideally, I want to give the follow-
ing information about each item: Title; medium; how signed
and dated; size; collections and sales; exhibitions; where
reproduced; a short bibliography; a description; notes: you
will see from this that I have undertaken a pretty big bit of
work, particularly at the present time. I would also be
frightfully glad if you could give me any information about
any other Blake items (no matter how trivial) or exhibitions
as I suffer from a shortage of. American catalogues; I have
had to draw almost all my information from the following:
Grolier 1905; Philadelphia 1939; Mrs. Millard's exhibition,
Pasadena, 1936; C. H. Collins Baker's Huntington Catalogue,
1938; some odd Fogg Notes (given to me by Miss Gilman); and
the George C. Smith & A. E. Newton sale catalogues. By the
way, if you would like a copy of a new edition of Gilchrist's
Life which I have made for the Everyman Library, with correct-
ions and notes (including some material not previously published)
I will be very pleased to send you one when it appears, as
some small return for all the trouble I am asking you to take
for me. I hope this reaches you safely.