A group of letters signed from Edmund Dulac to Ernest Yarrow Jones about WWII
Dulac's correspondence with artist Ernest Yarrow Jones about the Second World War and his work for General de Gaulle.
Dulac, Edmund (1882-1953). Two substantial autograph letters signed to the artist Ernest Yarrow Jones, with an annotated envelope-front, discussing his work for de Gaulle and the Free French, wartime politics and his return to London. 1941-1945.
Two autograph letters signed, dated 3 August 1941 and 7 October 1945, comprising eight sides on Morcombelake, Bridport, Dorset headed paper, 170x210mm, and three sides from 7 Radnor Place, London, 200x130mm, respectively. Together with an autograph envelope-front addressed to E. Yarrow Jones, postmarked Croydon, 6 November 1942, 230x100mm, bearing Dulac's manuscript observations on the collapse of France. Old folds and occasional tiny marginal splits to the letters, otherwise very good or better; the envelope-front worn. Provenance: Ernest and Mary Yarrow Jones, by descent.
An extensive and outspoken correspondence between Dulac and his friend and fellow artist Ernest Yarrow Jones (1872-1951). The eight-sided letter of August 1941 combines personal news with a sustained discussion of war, politics, religion and art. Dulac describes undertaking work for de Gaulle and concludes with the explicit statement, "I have been working on a special job for the Free French since January." His comments on Russia distinguish military support against Hitler from endorsement of the Soviet regime, while challenging the indiscriminate use of "Communist" as a political accusation. Churchill, propaganda, private enterprise and social reform also come under scrutiny.
The envelope-front develops his analysis of France's defeat, assigning responsibility in percentages to disorganisation, Catholic reactionaries, political corruption and inefficient generalship, while affirming the necessity of helping Russia fight the common enemy. The October 1945 letter records his departure from Morcombelake and the exhausting practicalities of re-establishing himself in London. Behind the domestic detail are financial anxiety and an admission that he is doing no work and sees little prospect of obtaining any. An extended discussion of cuckoos and bird migration sits alongside caustic comments on Churchill and the election, and support for international economic co-operation coupled with criticism of cartels and monopolies.
The correspondence spans Dulac's wartime residence at Morcombelake and his return to London. He had moved to Dorset with his companion, the novelist Helen Beauclerk, to stay with her mother. The Chris Beetles biography records that de Gaulle visited him there in 1940 to commission banknotes and postage stamps for Free France. His subsequent designs included stamps for the colonies supporting de Gaulle and the Marianne de Londres intended for liberated France. The 1941 letter thus provides a contemporary account of his involvement in a commission that became a significant part of his later career. A scarce and substantial group of autograph correspondence from Dulac during and about the second world war.