[One-page TLS from Sybil Rosenfeld, Hon. Secretary of The Society for Theatre Research, to its co-founder, the British poet and theatre historian Phyllis Hartnoll, about their recently published, Oxford Companion to the Theatre]

One-page TLS (27 May 1952) on cream paper: typed in black, featuring The Society for Theatre Research letterhead in blue, and signed by "Sybil" (likely Rosenfeld) in black pen. Two folds, tender at edges of horizontal fold, some foxing, a little creasing. Good+ An affectionate and appreciative TLS, likely from Sybil Rosenfeld, Honorary Secretary of The Society for Theatre Research, to her fellow founder member, the British poet, editor and theatre historian, Phyllis Hartnoll, marking a watershed moment for theatre history: written on behalf of the Committee, the letter expresses their "very hearty vote of thanks [.] for all you did for the publication [presumably, the Oxford Companion to the Theatre, edited by Hartnoll and first published in 1951]. They are deeply appreciative of the great labour and care that you put into it". The letter also wishes Hartnoll, who suffered ill health throughout her life and was convalescing in a nursing home, get well wishes. The prize-winning British poet and editor was the intellectual driving force behind the Oxford Companion to the Theatre, first conceiving and planning such a "pioneering compilation" in the 1930s. Hartnoll's companion was "the first of its kind and a model for subsequent encyclopedias, [and] was eventually published, perhaps hesitantly, by the Oxford University Press"; it became an OUP bestseller and is still in print. Its publication "was the pinnacle to her reputation as a theatre historian but also, and importantly, exemplified the new influences which signalled the breaching of the anti-theatre literary establishment and led to the acceptance of the study of theatre history as part of academic scholarship" (Reading, 1997). Jack Reading (1997) 'Obituary: Phyllis Hartnoll,' The Independent.…