Item 1965/1 - Six letters from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt

6 items, paper

Six letters from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt:
(a) letter from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt, manuscript, one small folio (recto & verso), dated 20 March 1965, again sending his paper for the BNJ, apparently following a mishap of some sort. IS says that the new version differs somewhat from the earlier one and is perhaps a fraction longer. He again asks CEB to resolve a couple of issues for him in a footnote and appendix. The first concerns the BMC type(s) of the Henry I coins that match Snelling's nos. 19 & 20, which should be XII or VIII or both, while the second concerns the dates of publication of the separate parts of Snelling's English works. There is a note in Christopher Blunt's hand in the upper right margin of the recto, just below the date, that reads: "Sent letter 1[5]/4"
(b) letter from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt, manuscript, four pages on two small folios (recto & verso), dated 4 July 1965, enclosing an offprint of an article in the Numismatic Chronicle sent to press two years earlier, noting that the the production phase for BNJ publications is much shorter. He remarks about the last BNS meeting and [Hugh] Pagan's paper presentation, which he describes as "very competent, but a little hard to follow for complexity", thinking that it will prove a comprehensive piece of work on paper. He suggests rearranging their "die-link exhibit" for September and apologises for having kept some of CEB's Scottish early coins for so long. He proposes an exchange for the Scottish coins, giving CEB an Eadred penny of the moneyer Sperlink with three chips along the edge, "as if used in a broach or somesuch", but describing it as a "tolerable specimen". He remarks on current coin prices, saying that "the future isn't very bright for the student collector".
(c) letter from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt, manuscript, four pages on two small folios (recto & verso), dated 25 July 1965, thanking CEB for his letter and addressing the points raised in turn. IS notes that he has given an offprint [of their joint article] to D.J.V. Fisher, a "v. good Anglo-Saxonist" who was IS's tutor at Cambridge. He agrees with CEB that [Hugh] Pagan's paper was difficult to follow but "gave the impression of profound and intricate study", which "should look much better in print". He also agrees with CEB's suggestion to "exhibit the die-link at the October meeting", adding that "Stewart Lyon will bring photographs of other coins from the same obv.". He then acknowledges CEB's kindness in agreeing to a trade involving 3½ Scottish sterlings and refers to an enclosure consisting in "the three types of David I and also the William the Lion in exchange". He says that the Eadred coin of the moneyer Sperling (or Swerling) is from the Seaby Bulletin, 1948, no. 3327, and would make a good companion to CEB's coin of Eadwig. IS agrees to sell the coin to CEB based of a valuation of Albert Baldwin for an exchange between friends. IS notes that he does not own a copy of Ekwall, presumably in reference to Prof. Eilert Ekwall's dictionary of English place-names, and greatly appreciates CEB's offer of it as a gift. He says that he is returning the manuscript [of his joint paper with R.B.K. Stevenson] on the Rhoneston hoard, briefly describing the changes, and he asks about the Dublin proofs and whether CEB wants a review of Michael [Dolley]'s Viking Pennies. In closing, he wishes CEB luck in the Archbishop Sharpe sale, in which he is not competing.
(d) letter from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt, manuscript, one small folio (recto & verso), dated 9 October 1965, asking whether Edmund Grant Blunt was of the same family because he has a small Lincoln cabinet with his name on the bottom. If so and CEB wants the cabinet, IS asks only for something similar in return. He says that [Charles Wilson] Peck has written suggesting his "nomination as Director of the BNS if Stewart [Lyon] is duly promoted to the Chair", and he asks CEB's advice and opinion on the matter. The recto has a note in Christopher Blunt's hand in the upper right margin below the date that reads: "Ans 11/10".
(e) letter from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt, manuscript, one small folio (recto & verso), dated 4 December 1965, asking whether CEB has noticed the Ramsbury token for sale in Seaby's December Bulletin, no. 160. He says that he has discussed CEB's idea for a Hastings centenary and asks whether a paper by [Peter] Sawyer on the English coinage after the conquest wouldn't be appropriate. He also asks to hold onto CEB's volume of PSAS [i.e. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquities of Scotland] a little longer because he has been preoccupied with "BNJ proofs and going through the Scottish Border section of [R.P.] Mack's paper", presumably in reference to his submission on Stephen for the 1966 volume. He describes the paper as "terribly incomplete" and "out-of-date", with numerous examples missing, and he recommends that the text undergo the scrutiny of Elmore Jones, [Michael] Dolley or "someone who knows about these things". There is a note in the upper right margin of the recto in Christopher Blunt's hand that reads: "Ans 6/12".
(f) letter from Ian Stewart to Christopher Blunt, manuscript, one small folio (recto & verso), dated 11 December 1965, noting that he has received "an appreciative letter" from [R.P.] Mack and is now "sure [that] his going to be as conscientious as he can". IS says that he was "amused (and ashamed)" by CEB's "remark about the danger of an absolute pro doing potted [?] historical sections". He asks CEB when the paper is due to appear in the BNJ and whether he has seen [Michael] "Metcalf's review of Gerasimov on Andronican hyperpera in HBN", quoting some of its more disparaging passages.