Lot 92
  • 92

Wodehouse, P.G.

Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 USD
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Description

  • Wodehouse, P.G.
  • Typed letter signed ("P. G. Wodehouse"), to G. L. C. "Bertie" Wooster, Westeliff-on-Sea, Essex
  • ink and paper
1 page (7 1/8 x 6 in.; 182 x 153mm) on his letterhead, Remsenburg, NY, 20 May 1962; horizonal fold, some light browning and foxing.  With typed envelope.

Condition

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

P. G. Wodehouse writes to "Bertie" Wooster on choosing names for his two most famous characters. In 1962, G. L. C. Wooster wrote to the author asking him if he had known Wooster's father, who attended Clifton College and was killed in action in France in 1917.  Wodehouse sent back a jovial responce explaining the origins of the names Jeeves and Wooster for his duo.  "I was very interested to get a letter signed by your honoured name! But I wasn't at Clifton. I was at Dulwich."

"I can't remember how I got the name Wooster.  I think it may have been from a serial in the old Captain, where one of the characters was called Worcester.  The odd thing is that the Bertie W. character started out as Reggie Pepper, and I don't know why I changed the name."

"Jeeves I got from watching a Warwickshire v Gloucestershire match. One of the Warwickshire bowlers was called Jeeves, and it seemed just the name I wanted." Wodehouse goes on to discuss publication dates for a sequel to The Code of the Woosters and a new Blandings Castle story.

Included with the lot is a note from G. L. C. Wooster (signed "Bertie") explaining why he wrote to Wodehouse and ending, "Apart from my family, 'Bertie' has followed me through school days, in the Army from 1939—1946, and through business life."