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The Reginald Farrer collection comprises correspondence between Reginald Farrer and his family (his mother in particular), E.A. Bowles, John Buchan, Sir Francis Younghusband, Ernest Gye, Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour and others as detailed below. It also includes paintings, photographs, 35mm slides, glass plate negatives and lantern slides covering mainly his two plant collecting expeditions to China in 1914-15 and Burma in 1919-1920, as well as scripts for plays written by Farrer.
Writes of the contrast of the splendours of Paris & the Western Front, feels there is a rising wave of human sacrifice & aspiration. Personal intrigues - difficult to make sense of. Pleads Celia to visit him in Paris.
part of 3 boxes of lantern slides, seemingly of people, plants and locations in Japan, and possibly also some taken in the European Alps[?] and Canada.
Describes being somewhere very remote, like Eden. It takes 9 days to reach an outpost where letters can arrive. Hopes this Arcadian state will continue and glad he is alone, writes negatively about Jumps's [Euan H.M. Cox's] presence when he was in camp with him previously. Doing some painting of flowers and landscape, using the Chinese and Japanese convention as there are trailing rolls of white cloud around. A minute fly a nuisance. He notes there is the possible vendetta locally but he will await events and he has raised the Union Jack, which he thinks people find vastly reassuring. ‘I am gone down to the bedrock existence unadorned, & there, never thinking of the lovely fluffs & frills of life, achieve a bare and barbarous glory of contentment.’
States he disliked Mandalay & its Club - too hot & its many Pagodas, roofs covered with red corrugated iron on the hill dominating the city. Mandalay, a holy place where in awe, he held the mortal remains of Gautama Buddha in his own hands. Writes warmly of his friendship with E. Gye and describes the Oaks being like Ascot but sad as he is living alone. Hopes to go North in 2 days, concerned if mules will be available, states he will be alone without Derrick [Milner] and his money. Long rambling gossipy section regarding different women? friendships and more, of Amelia with E. Gye. Speaks of a fiction book he is writing, he wants E. Gye to make comment. Speaks negatively of Russian literature and Virginia Woolf's first book. Mentions letter written after a good bottle of Hock. ‘Going North, away over the Back of Beyond, out across the last lone edge of Nowhere.’
Not well, overdosed on arsenic taken himself, found funny, well again. Pleased off to the English & French front from Foreign Office for 5 weeks to write about it. Beautiful Young Man [Milner?] and Saxton's attitude to sham marriage.
part of 3 boxes of lantern slides, seemingly of people, plants and locations in Japan, and possibly also some taken in the European Alps[?] and Canada.
Box 8: Plays / Dramas by Reginald Farrer, including 'La Reine des Perses' [in French], 20/03/1895, includes poem 'Hymn to Astarte Syriaca', 10/06/1895; 'The Martyr', 25/09/1903-05/10/1903; 'The House of Stark' - various drafts; 'Hearts and Diamonds' - just last Act, but includes Farrer's illustration of 'Lady C'; and 'The Spanish Duchess'.
