LEFT INSIDE: "Thank you for arranging the Madrigal Singers..."

On rare occasions  I find a letter still in its envelope inside a book. This one dated January 29, 1976 and mailed on Jan 30 of that year was Left Inside my rare copy of Call Mr. Fortune (Dutton, 1921) by H. C. Bailey. I uncovered a wealth of information about the letter's writer, her husband and the photographer who took the photo on the stationery.

First, the photographer.  Sally Savage has had her work shown in galleries and museums in her native Nyack, NY.  She specialized in "documenting just about every aspect of life and change in [Rockland] county since the late 1960s" according to the New York Heritage website of the Nyack Library.  Her photo entitled "reeds on Piermont pier" was apparently sold in a set of stationery that Ruth Brawner bought sometime in the 1970s. A large collection of Savage's photographs is in the New York Heritage Digital Collections held in the Nyack Library. 

The letter itself is a quaint "thank you" written by Ruth Brawner to Mrs. Paul (Charlotte) Bardwell. I'm not including a photo of the envelope because of the street address on the return address label and the street address of Mrs. Bardwell.

  

 

For those of you who cannot decipher American cursive handwriting the letter reads:

Dear Charalate [sic], 

  Thank you for arranging the Madrigal Singers to take part in our BiCentennial [sic] dinner.

  Everyone without exception has said how much they enjoyed the singing and the fine menu.

Gratefully,
Ruth & Howard

 

I'm curious what the Bardwells were doing in southeastern New York in January 1976.  According to online obituaries for both people they lived in Texas most of their lives.  Regardless, the more interesting people are the Brawners.  For decades they were actively involved in civic life of Piermont, NY where they were lifelong residents. Ruth Brawner was a big time organizer involved in all sorts of events in her hometown and was known for "sharing her wealth of knowledge pertaining to the history of Piermont, which included her vast collection of photographs."  Howard served in the US Navy as a radio technician, was a member of the local Rotary, a village trustee, and for 66 years was part of the volunteer fire department known as Empire Hose Company #1. He was also president of the volunteer ambulance team for the fire department.  Ruth and Howard were named Outstanding Citizens of Piermont one year after this letter was written. Their photograph was published in a local newsletter in the summer of 1977.  That photo is at the right.

 

Cecil M. Wills New Reprint on Sale & Giveaway!

A couple of years ago I bought a small pile of rare hardcover editions of Cecil M. Wills mystery novels.  These included Author in Distress (his debut as a mystery writer), The Chamois Murder and Death Treads.  I read all of them in quick succession, but only reviewed Author in Distress (1934) on the blog.  Shortly after I posted that review I sent a PDF of the entire book to Gavin O'Keefe as a suggestion for a Ramble House reprint. RH has already reprinted Fatal Accident (1936), Wills' sixth detective novel, and I thought it would be a good idea to have another in their catalog. Gavin liked the idea and asked if I wanted to write a foreword.  I agreed and then promptly dropped the ball. Sad forgetful ol' codger that I am.

Flash forward to March-April 2026.  I emailed Gavin again asking if he still wanted to go ahead with the reprint and I had an intro I could offer based on the blog post I wrote.  We emailed back and forth with interesting ideas about how to assemble and present the book.  And now two and a half months later the finished product is available for sale!  You can purchase the book either by visiting the Ramble House site or accessing their small list of titles at Lulu.com (the book printer for this POD reprint). There may be a slight discount if you buy a copy via Ramble House and use the special email address on the page for Author in Distress. 

I received two copies as a standard benefit and today I'm offering one of those books in a giveaway.  Just leave a comment below mentioning any book you think deserves reprinting.  I'll offer those ideas to the "Powers That Be" at Ramble House. That reprint house which offers POD books is now under new management since Gavin and Fender Tucker (the original founder) have stepped aside from the operation.

Next week --around Wednesday or Thursday-- I'll choose one of the comments at random to receive the book. You'll have to send me your physical mailing address in order to get the book. But please! DO NOT leave your address in the comments.  The sinister webcrawlers regularly haunt this blog and I'm afraid they will swallow up your personal information and slam you with unwanted spam and who knows what else. We can arrange a private email exchange to get the necessary info.  This giveaway is open to everyone across the globe.  I will pay either Media Mail rate for within the US or First Class International shipping rate to anywhere outside the USA. Good luck!