This class contains letters sent to Charles F. Sixsmith by Edward Carpenter over an extended period, dating from the time of their earliest acquaintance to two years before Carpenter's death. Also included are some letters to Sixsmith's wife, Lucy, whom he married in 1908, and some letters written by Carpenter's partner, George Merrill, which Sixsmith clearly kept with his letters from Carpenter.
Most of the letters are short, but topics covered are varied and include: frequent arrangements for visits between the correspondents; holiday plans; mutual friends, including those who shared an interest in literature, socialism, and humanitarian issues; literature, including Carpenter's own writings, Whitman and the Bolton Whitman group; Carpenter's activities, both personal and professional, including trips undertaken with George Hukin and George Merrill, and various lecture tours; visits from well-known figures such as Ben Iden Payne, Granville Barker, and Henry S. Salt; politics, in particular the Labour movement; and personal matters such as family news.
It seems unlikely that all of Carpenter's letters to Sixsmith survive here; there is a paucity of letters from certain years, yet there is no obvious loss of familiarity between the men when correspondence resumes.