[George E. Dunn, author and editor.] Autograph Letter Signed to theatre historian W. Macqueen-Pope, discussing the perils of the proof-reading process, with reminiscences.

From the Macqueen-Pope papers. (See his entry in the Oxford DNB.) 2pp, foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, lightly-aged, with creasing at head, which is annotated by MP ‘(author)’. After thanking him for his letter he writes: ‘It is fatal to have a book published without seeing a proof. In my “G[ilbert] & S[ullivan] Dictionary” I had occasion to mention “The Yeomen of the Guard” 14 times. The comp[ositor], aided by the reader, deliberately channged them to “Yeoman”. They actually said they did so because “Yeoman” was correct!” Turning to Shaw’s ‘Arms and the Man’ he says he knows ‘the original Yorke Stephens & his wife Helen Hays, for their son Frank was a schoolfellow of mine at Merchant Taylors!’ He gives a list of the ‘fine theatrical people’ that school produced. ‘I met a lot of the profession at the house of my uncle (by marriage) W. [Lestrange?], including Edna May, Hubert Carter, and Hilda Trevelyan.’ If his ‘slightly longer experiences’ might be of use to MP in writing his books, they are at his disposal. He once found ‘200 slips’ in a book by ‘old John Parker’, ‘for which he seemed grateful’. Postscript: ‘Northcliffe, when plain Alfred Harmsworth, suggested my nom de plume of Factus, when I was a schoolboy. (FACTUS = done!)’