Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell, and others | correspondence with E.F. Knight and related papers, 1930s

Henry Miller Lawrence Durrell

A small archive of correspondence and printed ephemera of the collector E.F. Knight, relating to publications by Miller and others, comprising:

i) Letters to E.F. Knight: Henry Miller, 13 letters and cards (6 autograph letters, 5 typed letters, and a card), and one letter by his third wife ("Lepska Miller"), to White and his wife, discussing his bibliography and publishing activities ("...The Capricorn is finished and promised for publication in January or February...") and those of his intimate circle ("...As for Anais Nïn's diary, we are not definitely certain now if we will need to bring out the first volume. A N.Y. publisher wants to bring out an abridged edition (1200 pages) of the whole work..."), 15 pages, Paris and California, 1937-1945 (where dated); Lawrence Durrell, 10 letters and cards (2 autograph letters, 7 typed letters, and a card), to White, discussing his work and other literary subjects ("...in Black Spring there is vital material for such a spiritual orientation: to be WITH GOD, in his phrase, hangs on the hinges of the artist's eternal cry: I am becoming God..."), 15 pages, Corfu and Paris, late-1930s; letters by others about Henry Miller's publication, including Jack Kahane (3 letters and cards), Michael Fraenkel (2 letters), Emil White (2 letters), Alfred Perlès, H.E. Bates, and Anthony Dickens;

ii) Typescript documents: including a prospectus for Booster, signed by Miller, Durrell, and Perlès (2 pages, incomplete), and a table of contents for Max and the White Phagocytes with authorial corrections (1 page), also a transcription, presumably in White's hand, of a printed review (altogether 12 pages);

iii) Printed documents: printed ephemera including handbills, promotional material, publishers catalogues, order forms, 12 leaflets and cards with poems by Denis Botterill (many inscribed by Botterill to White) printed as cards Obelisk Press Notes and News (Winter 1935 and Spring 1936), and three issues of New English Weekly (1935-37) (altogether c.36 items)

E. F. Knight was a journalist based in Bedford and an early admirer of Henry Miller and his circle. He corresponded with a number of authors, soliciting information on their activities and publishing plans, and sharing thoughts on literature.

PROVENANCE

E.F. Knight