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Includes: 20 Autograph Letters or Notes signed by Eric Mackay, all but one of them to John Eliot Bowen, editor of The Independent, plus 4 envelopes addressed to Bowen. * 4-page autograph manuscript entitled "Five Sonnets. By Eric Mackay," and there are five. * 3-page autograph manuscript entitled "A Song of S---?" (title torn and illegible), with amended text pinned over first page. * 1-page prose piece "Anteros. By Eric Mackay," with title and a few words crossed out. * Plus 6 Autographed Letters and Notes signed by Charles Mackay, Eric's father, & 1 poem.

Significant little archive of letters and poems by the English poet Eric Mackay (1851-1898), best remembered today as the older half-brother of the novelist Marie Corelli. Mackay's lack of financial success as a poet led to him seeking fiscal support from his half-sister, and it has been hinted that the relationship was incestuous. Charles Mackay (1814-1889), father of Eric and of Marie, was a Scottish poet and editor. Provenance: From an old California collection formed in the 1930s and 1940s.