Lot 305
Sassoon, Siegfried. 15 ALsS to Miss Muriel Silk (aunt and guardian of Dennis Silk), 1953 - 64, signed with monogram. Approx. 16pp., 8vo., with 12 envelopes. A warm and friendly series, all from Heytesbury. On 27.9.54, "Dennis has been a blessing to me since I first met him. And if I am any use to him - as you say - I regard it as a privilege"; 4.11.54, "Dennis is so good for me. He makes me feel young…(Gwen Raverat remarked on the lovely quality of his voice)"; 28.2.55, he hopes Dennis will go to Marlborough, and "I've had nearly 50 nice letters about The Tasking, which has cheered me up"; 29.7.55, "I gloat over the restored cassone while sipping my tea & coffee. I only wish dear Robbie Ross (who bequeathed it to me) could see your work"; 16.12.59, "I hope I did right in advising D[ennis] to accept the M.C.C. offer. It seemed to me that the cricket world is where he belongs, and that he will be happier than in the stress of schoolmastering…" ; 24.3.63, pleasure in Dennis's engagement; 12.9.64, the birth of his first child, "…the crowning joy of my ten years of Dennis…as it is for you, who have been his good angel always." Muriel Silk was apparently a very good picture restorer until she became allergic to turpentine. She presumably worked on the painted cassone (Italian marriage chest).
