Finishing Touches: manuscript drafts

Manuscript drafts, [early 1950s]-1955, 1958, of parts of Augustus John, Finishing Touches (London, 1964), most containing emendations, corrections and deletions by the author (ff. 1-117).
The chapter 'Lord Beaverbrook Entertains' (ff. 30-32) was later re-written as 'A Fair Do at Gay Paree' (ff. 92-94) but was ultimately omitted from the book (see also NLW MS 24135iiD, ff. 36-38, 100-101). The article on 'Roy Campbell' (ff. 118-121) was first published in the Sunday Times, 12 October 1958, and subsequently incorporated into the volume. Also included are five letters, 1952-1955, from Jonathan Cape's typist Menina [Russell-King] to 'Jean' concerning the typing of parts of the book, referring to specific pages of the manuscripts and the typescripts (now NLW MS 24135iiD) (ff. ii-vi) and a memorandum, 29 January 1962, from the book's editor D[aniel] G[eorge] (f. vii). The label on the front of the original file is now f. i.

Arranged at NLW as follows: editorial correspondence; manuscript drafts (maintained largely in original order, reflecting a preliminary arrangement of the material, as corroborated by the original foliation of NLW MS 24136D); 'Roy Campbell' article.

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Title based on contents.

The Daniel George memorandum (f. vii) previously had appended to it manuscript and typescript samples to potentially be photographed for printing on the front and back endpapers of Finishing Touches. These were ff. 1, 3-5 of the article on 'Roy Campbell' (now ff. 118-121) and ff. 2, 317 and 319 of a typescript draft of Chiaroscuro (now re-integrated in NLW MS 24104i-iiD). The items ultimately selected for the endpapers were f. 2 of 'Roy Campbell', f. 4 of the Chiaroscuro typescript and pp. 13-14 of the first (NLW MS 24133C) and second (NLW MS 24134C) proofs of Chiaroscuro; these must also have been sent with the same memorandum but are now missing.

The manuscripts were previously housed in a file with the contents of NLW MS 24135iiD. For a typescript, proofs and correspondence relating to 'Roy Campbell' see NLW MS 21570E.

Published