Crompton (Gigi, née Richter, art conservator, botanist and author, 1922-2020).- Collection of material from the archive of Gigi Crompton, including a first edition of A Visit to Morin with a presentation inscription from Greene, printed ephemera, 2 loose photographs, and c.30 letters from various correspondents, letters autograph or typed and signed, some scribbles or creases, folds, v.s. v.d., 1942-1966 (sml qty).

⁂ A fascinating and assorted archive of letters with notable correspondents as Graham Greene, Valentine Penrose (née Boué, poet, surrealist artist and first wife of Roland Penrose), Sir John Rothenstein (longest standing director of the Tate Gallery from 1938-64), Gian Carlo Menotti (Italian-American composer and playwright), and Dojean and Peter Smithers (conservative politician and possible inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond). Other notable features include a scarce a Penang postage stamp to the Greene postcard, and various curious mentions of Picasso - another figure on the periphery of this group.

Though lesser-known herself, Crompton cultivated a close friendship circle of artistic and literary luminaries who write fondly and extensively of their lives across the early 1940s to the 1960s. Highlights of some of the Greene letters include invitations from the writer "is there any chance of tempting you and Gigi on a holiday with me and Catherine? by the luck of the game I've got a lot of kroner in Sweden...", and a brief update regarding his refuge in France after he was swindled by his financial advisor, Tom Roe in 1965 "circumstances have driven me to take up residence in France....I'm not allowed back to England for about fifteen months". The postcard from Graham Greene has a desirable Malaya/Penang postage stamp. Her sister-in-law, Catherine Walston, had a 14-year affair with Greene and the Cromptons rented a cottage on the Walston estate for many years.

Other notable mentions feature from Dojean Smithers, "Warsaw tomorrow. Picasso and Eluard are here. Picasso has brought some of his pottery (magnificent). I asked Leger what he thought of it. He said 'trés joli'. Another picturesque figure is to Davidson, American sculptor, who looks exactly like Karl Marx..."; and in another letter she notes "Picasso's play was quite wonderful, though I can't imagine how the London Gallery was able to clean up the mess. WHO played La Tarte?...". Letters from Menotti excuse himself for his late note "I have a weakness for old maids and unanswered letters which explains my aversion to marriage and correspondence"; and copious mentions of concerts - "I've corrected so many pages of score that my eyes began to revolt".

Overall an expansive and delightful insight into the lives of a close-knit artistic circle.