Ms and ts material from collection around George Sims and the Tragara Press
- Reference:GB 237 Coll-1613
- Dates of Creation:1938-2000
- Name of Creator:
- Language of Material:English
- Physical Description:7 folders
Scope and Content
The ms and ts collection, and printed ephemera, is composed of correspondence, cards and book-labels, some of which are items which had been placed inside volumes within the George Sims and the Tragara Press monograph collection (Folders 1-6), and a few gifted separately by the same seller (Folder 7). The items are:
Folder 1 - Cards, with poems:
- All that has follied with the sun is done, George Sims, with greeting, 'For Liz - with love. G.S.'
- Come deceptions of each kind, George Sims, with greeting, 'For Tony from his friend G.S.'
- Wind's littoral work is to make beds uneasy', George Sims, with greeting on rear, 'For Tony and Liz - this old relic G.S.'
- But there's no vocabulary, T.S.Eliot, Beryl and George 'amici per la pelle', 7 August 1993, with ts letter dated 13 August, to 'Dear both', signed 'G'
Folder 2 - Christmas cards, with poems:
- Christmas 1989 - All that has follied with the sun is done, with greeting, 'A happy Christmas to you all - and good wishes for 1990 Love, George and Beryl
- Christmas 1973 - December 1971, Beryl Sims, with greeting, 'A happy Christmas to you all from George, Beryl and Tim
Folder 3 - Promotional ephemera:
- Printed sales ephemera - A darkened being, an anthology compiled by George Sims, 1991
- Printed sales ephemera - The Despain papers... Thank you for your order and cheque
- Printed sales ephemera - last of the rare book game, by George Sims... Thank you for your order and cheque
- Printed sales ephemera - G. F. Sims (Rare Books)... We specialise in... Hurst, Reading, Berkshire
- Printed sales ephemera - G. F. Sims (Rare Books)... Ashdene Press: Horati Alcaica etc...
Folder 4 - Book-labels:
- George Sims
- Original drawing by Eric Gill from the Gill family collection
- Call me Ishmael. George Sims
Folder 5 - Correspondence:
Letters, cards, and postcard cards, most undated but from 1980s to 1990s and with photograph February 1938, most typescript with ms signature, and most from Peacocks, Hurst, Berkshire. The letters are to 'Dear Tony', 'Dear Anthony', 'Dear both', 'Dear Liz', 'Dear Tony and Liz', and 'Dear Skeltons', and signed 'George', 'Beryl', 'G', 'B G', and 'Uriah Sims'. There are also lists of favourite films and books.Folder 6 - Correspondence, clippings, promotional ephemera:
- Printed greetings card from Sims to the Rotas [n.d., n.y.], which had been inserted in 'Poems' (see RB.S. 2850)
- Ts note from Sims to Tony and Liz, 18 Feb [n.y.], which had been inserted in 'The immanent goddess' (see RB.S. 2851)
- Ts note praising Centaur [n.d., n.y.], which had been inserted in 'Sleep no more' (see RB.S. 2855)
- Ts letter from Colin Franklin to Anthony, 14 January 2000, which had been inserted in 'The last best friend' (see RB.S. 2857)
- Ts letter from Sims to Tony, 27 November 1990, which had been inserted in 'The last best friend' (see RB.S. 2858)
- 2 x brief review clippings, 'Observer' 11 January 1976, 'Sunday Times' 18 January 1976, which had been inserted in 'The end of the web' (see RB.S. 2862)
- Ms note from Sims referring to 'seeing you on Saturday' [n.d., n.y.], which had been inserted in 'The end of the web' (see RB.S. 2864)
- 2 x review clippings, 'Times' 20 July 1978, and unknown by Colleen Toomey 17 August 1978, which had been inserted in 'Rex Mundi' (see RB.S. 2865)
- Ms note 2 x brief review clippings, 'Observer' 10 May 1981, 'Sunday Times' 10 May 1981, which had been inserted in 'Who is Cato' (see RB.S. 2867)
- Ts letter from sims to 'Dear both', 1 August [n.y.], which had been inserted in 'Who is Cato' (see RB.S. 2868)
- 1 x news clipping, Macmillan ad', no newspaper title [n.d., n.y.], which had been inserted in 'The keys of death' (see RB.S. 2870)
- Ts note from 'Uriah', with message 'for the 24th Feb … A curiosity', which had been inserted in 'The keys of death' (see RB.S. 2871)
- Ts note from Sims, with 2 x review clippings, 'Observer' 29 January 1984, unknown 4 February 1984, which had been inserted in 'Coat of arms' (see RB.S. 2872)
- Ts letter from Sims to 'Dear Tony', 24 November [n.y.], and ts biography of Julian Symons, 2pp, which had been inserted in 'The rare book game' (see RB.S. 2873)
- Ts letter from Sims to 'Dear Tony', 19 April 1995, which had been inserted in 'Last of the rare book game' (see RB.S. 2875)
- 1 x printed order promotion; 1 x ts note from Sims to 'Dear Tony & Jean' 12 October 1991; 1 x ts letter from Bertram Rota Ltd to Sims, 23 October 1991, which had been inserted in 'A darkened being, an anthology' (see RB.S. 2876)
- Ts note from Sims, 2 May [n.y.], which had been inserted in 'The man who' (see RB.S. 2877)
- Printed order form, Holmes Publishing Co., which had been inserted in 'The Despain papers' (see RB.S. 2878)
- Ts letter from Sims to 'Dear both', 23 May [n.y.], which had been inserted in 'The Despain papers' (see RB.S. 2879)
- 1 x printed order promotion; 1 x ts note from Sims who 'regrets the delay'; 2 x ts papers on 'Catalogues', 7pp, 3pp, which had been inserted in 'A life in catalogues and other essays' (see RB.S. 2880)
Folder 7 - Additional material from Sims to the Skeltons:
Card to 'Dear Tony', dated 6 May; letter to 'Dear Tony Liz', 24 August; ts, 9pp, 'The mysterious Mr Traven', and review ts, 2pp, of 'England in the 1980s'Administrative / Biographical History
The antiquarian bookseller and writer George Frederick Robert Sims was born in Hammersmith on 3 August 1923. He was educated at the John Lyons School in Harrow. He worked briefly in Fleet Street before being called up during the Second World War, serving with the Intelligence Corps. Rather than return to journalism after the war, he went into book-selling, starting his own business (G. F. Sims) in 1948. Earlier, in 1943, he had married Beryl Simcock.
In 1952 he moved the business to Peacocks, on the edge of Hurst, Berkshire. He published several collections of his own poems and several novels, and memoirs. He was a collector of rare books and manuscripts and his book-selling was mainly by mail order.
George Frederick Robert Sims died in Reading on 4 November 1999.
Access Information
Open to bona fide researchers, but please contact repository for details in advance of visit.
Acquisition Information
Accession nos: E2015.17, E2015.43, and E2015.66.
Archivist's Note
Catalogued by Graeme D. Eddie 3 June 2015
Related Material
Check our archive Catalogue for other material relating to the Tragara Press. This manuscript, typescript, and printed ephemera collection was inserted within a Tragara Press monograph collection which can be located across the book Catalogue under the shelfmarks: RB.P.1697 - RB.P.1712/1-18, and RB.S.2850 - RB.S.2883.
Subjects
Corporate Names