W. H. Davies letters

Papers, 1905-1962, from the collection of E. E. Bissell relating to W. H. Davies, comprising fifty-eight letters and cards, 1905-1938, from Davies to various correspondents including John Gawsworth, Harold Monro and Edward Thomas, with four draft poems by Davies and miscellaneous related papers; together with twenty-one letters, 1951-1962, to Bissell from Richard J. Stonesifer and others concerning Davies.

William Henry Davies (1871-1940), poet and writer, was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, the son of Francis Boase Davies and Mary Ann Evans. Following his father's death and his mother's remarriage he and his siblings were adopted by their grandparents. After leaving school he became a picture-frame maker's apprentice. In June 1893 he sailed to America, arriving in New York virtually penniless. He spent the next few years tramping across America, begging and undertaking casual labour, with occasional voyages to Britain working on cattle-ships. He then decided to go to the Klondike but while en route, he lost his right leg after falling under a train in Renfrew, Ontario, on 20 March 1899. After convalescing he returned to Britain. He lived in common lodging houses in London and survived by peddling wares and living off the weekly allowance of ten shillings left to him by his grandmother. He began writing poetry at this time but it was not until 1905 that he succeeded in getting his work published; he managed to save enough money to pay for the printing of two hundred copies of The Soul's Destroyer ([London], [1905]). Several further volumes of poetry and collections appeared between 1905 and 1939. His most famous prose work, Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (London, 1908), was followed by four novels, including The True Traveller (London, 1912) and The Adventures of Johnny Walker, Tramp (London, 1926). Other prose works include Beggars (London, 1909), Nature (London, 1914), My Birds (London, 1933) and My Garden (London, 1933). In 1905 he was befriended by the poet Edward Thomas (1878-1917) and his wife Helen, who in 1907 rented a cottage for him in Sevenoaks, Kent. He returned to London in 1914. Davies married Helen Payne (d. 1979) on 5 February 1923, having met her at a bus stop in London. They lived in East Grinstead, Sussex, before moving back to Sevenoaks, then Oxted, Surrey, and finally to Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, where Davies died on 26 September 1940.

Arranged according to NLW MSS reference numbers: NLW MSS 23806-23807.

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Sotheby's; London; Purchased at auction, lots 305, 309-10, 313; 16 July 1998; B1998/31.

William Henry Davies (1871-1940), poet and writer, was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, the son of Francis Boase Davies and Mary Ann Evans. Following his father's death and his mother's remarriage he and his siblings were adopted by their grandparents. After leaving school he became a picture-frame maker's apprentice. In June 1893 he sailed to America, arriving in New York virtually penniless. He spent the next few years tramping across America, begging and undertaking casual labour, with occasional voyages to Britain working on cattle-ships. He then decided to go to the Klondike but while en route, he lost his right leg after falling under a train in Renfrew, Ontario, on 20 March 1899. After convalescing he returned to Britain. He lived in common lodging houses in London and survived by peddling wares and living off the weekly allowance of ten shillings left to him by his grandmother. He began writing poetry at this time but it was not until 1905 that he succeeded in getting his work published; he managed to save enough money to pay for the printing of two hundred copies of The Soul's Destroyer ([London], [1905]). Several further volumes of poetry and collections appeared between 1905 and 1939. His most famous prose work, Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (London, 1908), was followed by four novels, including The True Traveller (London, 1912) and The Adventures of Johnny Walker, Tramp (London, 1926). Other prose works include Beggars (London, 1909), Nature (London, 1914), My Birds (London, 1933) and My Garden (London, 1933). In 1905 he was befriended by the poet Edward Thomas (1878-1917) and his wife Helen, who in 1907 rented a cottage for him in Sevenoaks, Kent. He returned to London in 1914. Davies married Helen Payne (d. 1979) on 5 February 1923, having met her at a bus stop in London. They lived in East Grinstead, Sussex, before moving back to Sevenoaks, then Oxted, Surrey, and finally to Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, where Davies died on 26 September 1940.

The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Richard J. Stonesifer, W. H. Davies: A Critical Biography (London, 1963); Oxford Dictionary of National Biography WWW site, viewed 28 September 2011; Sotheby's, English Literature and History, Sale LN8412 (London, 1998) [auction catalogue].

Title based on contents.

September 2011.

Description revised by Rhys Jones.

Usual copyright laws apply. Information regarding ownership of W. H. Davies copyright can be found at http://tyler.hrc.utexas.edu/ (viewed September 2011)

E. E. Bissell (1910-1998) was a collector of books and manuscripts; he had a particular interest in John Cowper Powys, as well as the likes of A. C. Swinburne, Lewis Carroll, Kenneth Grahame and W. H. Davies.
The Sotheby's sale of the library of E. E. Bissell (lots 277-409) included further items relating to W. H. Davies (lots 304-314), mostly first and signed editions of his works and nine autograph and typed poems. These were not purchased by NLW.

Richard J. Stonesifer, W. H. Davies: A Critical Biography (London, 1963)

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales