Alice Ravenhill to Noel Stewart (Jan.3, 1941)

Title

Alice Ravenhill to Noel Stewart (Jan.3, 1941)

Subject

Tourism; profits; publishing

Description

Alice Ravenhill refers to a wooden carving made by Noel Stewart's students of "Mr. Coyote taking his Sunday Service" as a potential model for a type of Aboriginal souvenir that could be produced by the children in Residential schools and sold in shops in cities like Victoria. Further, she expresses explicit interest in building on the success of "The Tale of Nativity" by publishing a small booklet of Aboriginal tales, also to be prepared and illustrated by Mr. Stewart's students, which could be sold in a similar manner to her proposed figurines. The later pages of the letter are missing.

Creator

Alice Ravenhill

Source

Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/I/R19)

Date

Jan.3, 1941

Text

Jan. 3, 1941

Dear Mr. Stewart,

Happily you mentioned that you would be away from Lytton for a few days or I should feel great reproaches for the delay in saying, “Thank you many times over for the charming, novel and totally unexpected gift from you and your boys; valuable from several points of view, for it suggests a line of Indian “souvenir” which should find a ready sale in the tourist season. As soon as great pressure of work permits I shall take it to one or two likely stores here and sounds them on the subject. Then, also, I want to reassure you of the safety of your press cuttings. I have written for duplicates where I can trace their origin; and Mr. Walsh in whose too brief visit has told me a source from which I should get the address of “the Family Herald.”

Now, for you opinion. The successful sale of “The Tale of the Nativity” (I believe all the 1000 copies are sold) lands the stores here to ask for a booklet they could sell tourists in the summer. Consulting my Committee they are so pleased with your cuttings that I am desired to ask further information concerning the 35 Legends you tell me are “being considered” by an American publisher. Could we secure their publication in B.C. would you feel like asking their return to you for the purpose. What is your idea of price, profits, and their utilization. After paying for the artist’s illustrations in “The Tale” the small (relatively) profits are coming to Committee to carry on work, hitherto paid out of my slender purse; they amount only after payment of commission to stores, costs of distribution, complimentary copies, etc., to about 130 dollars. But subscriptions bore the [end of fragment].

[Alice Ravenhill]

Files

IMG_7265.jpg

Citation

Alice Ravenhill, “Alice Ravenhill to Noel Stewart (Jan.3, 1941),” The Story is More than Itself, accessed March 28, 2024, https://thestoryismorethanitself.omeka.net/items/show/8.