PAN Fans Club

Let's talk about PAN paperbacks, the blog for those that do judge a book by its cover. Main site is at www.tikit.net or www.panfans.club

PAN Fans Club - Let's talk about PAN paperbacks, the blog for those that do judge a book by its cover. Main site is at  www.tikit.net or www.panfans.club

Founder OF PAN Books Alan Bott Part 3

While talking with Johnny Mains we were trying to see if there was a link between Alan Bott and Herbert van Thal. They were both friendly with Sir Hugh Walpole and it is a distinct possibility that they could have met up socially at Brackenburn, Walpole’s house in the Lake District. Walpole, to celebrate his 50th birthday had privately printed and bound in vellum by The University Press, Glasgow 100 copies of his work “Extracts From A Diary’ which he intended to give to his friends at his party.

Unfortunately he wasn’t well on his birthday so the party was delayed as shown in a letter he wrote to Alan Bott. I was wondering if val Thal got one as well so I have been trying to track down other copies but although I have the following numbers and their locations only a couple have their recipients name.

  • 03 TIKiT Resources
  • 09 Library Of Congress
  • 18 University Of Tulsa
  • 29 Yale University
  • 37 National Library Of Scotland
  • 40 Huntington Library
  • 41 Sold by Biblio to ?
  • 44 Stanford University
  • 45 University Of Melbourne
  • 46 Lilly Library
  • 49 UCLA Library
  • 65 Alexander Turnbull Library
  • 71 Simon Dunant
  • 81 Library of Congress (Jean Hersholt)
  • 84 Boston University
  • 87 University Of Texas
  • 88 Bodleian Library
  • 89 British Library
  • 92 Cambridge University
  • 93 London Library
  • 94 British Library
  • ?? University of York

Thank you to all the libraries that took the time to reply to my enquiries to check numbers and dedications etc.

Category: PAN Related
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

10 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Eve Lemon
Eve Lemon
January 28, 2022 5:31 pm

Hi,

I am a huge Walpole collector and am desperate for a copy of Extracts (have spent years trying to track down a copy in vain). Any chance you have any leads as to where I could find it? I’ve spoken to several dealers who have never even seen a copy.

Best wishes,
Eve Lemon

Eve Lemon
Eve Lemon
August 29, 2022 6:11 am
Reply to  tikitnet

Thank you for your reply. I do have his The Crystal Box which I must be content with in the meantime- only 100 copies were printed just like Extracts.

If you ever do decide you want to sell Extracts please let me know. I am willing to pay several thousand dollars for it. It’s one of my holy grails!

Simon Dunant
September 24, 2021 5:06 pm

I have copy #71 of Extracts From A Diary in my extensive private collection of Hugh Walpole’s work which is not unfortunately dedicated to any individual, I also have some items relating to the Book Society that I’ve accumulated via my research for my blog on HW. If I come across any connection between Bott and Van Thal I’ll report back!

Last edited 2 years ago by Simon Dunant
Simon Dunant
September 25, 2021 11:57 am
Reply to  tikitnet

Hi Tim, please feel free to add me to the list of Extract owners on the short list, this post is a great resource and one I shall mention and link to in a future post about Hugh’s autobiographical work that I’m working on for my website – and I’ve always been intrigued to find out how many of the 100 printed copies of ‘Extracts’ might have survived – its amazing how many wonderful and interesting people like yourself I meet online thanks to Hugh Walpole’s work.

Walpole was great friends with the Bott family, he stayed with them at Ham House in the year before his death as Hugh’s Piccadilly flat had taken some bomb damage, so when in London he didn’t have a workable base (he also had stayed with his companion’s family – Harold Cheevers + family – in Hampstead but that took bomb damage too). I believe that Harold Cheevers might have corresponded with Bott after Hugh’s death in 1941 too.

Thanks for the reply and keep up the great work!

Last edited 2 years ago by Simon Dunant
Dee MacLean
Dee MacLean
February 29, 2020 9:27 pm

Hello!!
Hugh Walpole’s house was Brackenburn, not Brackenwood!

Sorry to be s pedant but my mother stayed with him during the war until his death.
Best wishes

Dee aMacLean