Basil Spence – SIGNED Letter
£175.00
253 x 203 mm
A fine autograph letter from Basil Spence to E. Stanley Jones, dated 20th July 1973, typed on white Conquerer headed airmail writing paper – ‘from Sir Basil Spence OM RA RDI PPRIBA One Canonbury Place London N1 Canonbury 7175’ – with signature and post script in blue ink, central horizontal fold, with additional creasing to edges.
In full: ‘Dear Mr Stanley Jones, Forgive me for being so long in replying to your letter of the 21st May. We have only just returned from Malta where we stay half the year in a small house we possess over there.
Thank you very much for your kind remarks about Coventry Cathedral, but I am in a quandary about recommending a book on modern architecture. Many people consider Coventry not modern at all but traditional, and certainly Corbusier, who was a great prophet in his time, is completely discounted now as he advocated multi-storey buildings placed in parks.
To sum it up, there is great confusion as to what modern architecture actually is. The only thing I can suggest is that if you read my book on Coventry (Phoenix at Coventry – the building of a cathedral, published by Geoffrey Bles Ltd) you will realise the struggle an architect has to get a building up, though it may not clarify your main question.
Yours sincerely,
Basil Spence
PS Most Public Libraries have this book.’
Sir Basil Spence (1907–1976) was a leading Scottish architect of the twentieth century. Educated at the University of Edinburgh, he gained international fame for designing the modern Coventry Cathedral, built after the original was destroyed in the Coventry Blitz. Spence also designed universities, housing and public buildings. Knighted in 1960, his work combined modernism with symbolism and helped shape post-war British architecture.
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- Description
Description
253 x 203 mm
A fine autograph letter from Basil Spence to E. Stanley Jones, dated 20th July 1973, typed on white Conquerer headed airmail writing paper – ‘from Sir Basil Spence OM RA RDI PPRIBA One Canonbury Place London N1 Canonbury 7175’ – with signature and post script in blue ink, central horizontal fold, with additional creasing to edges.
In full: ‘Dear Mr Stanley Jones, Forgive me for being so long in replying to your letter of the 21st May. We have only just returned from Malta where we stay half the year in a small house we possess over there.
Thank you very much for your kind remarks about Coventry Cathedral, but I am in a quandary about recommending a book on modern architecture. Many people consider Coventry not modern at all but traditional, and certainly Corbusier, who was a great prophet in his time, is completely discounted now as he advocated multi-storey buildings placed in parks.
To sum it up, there is great confusion as to what modern architecture actually is. The only thing I can suggest is that if you read my book on Coventry (Phoenix at Coventry – the building of a cathedral, published by Geoffrey Bles Ltd) you will realise the struggle an architect has to get a building up, though it may not clarify your main question.
Yours sincerely,
Basil Spence
PS Most Public Libraries have this book.’
Sir Basil Spence (1907–1976) was a leading Scottish architect of the twentieth century. Educated at the University of Edinburgh, he gained international fame for designing the modern Coventry Cathedral, built after the original was destroyed in the Coventry Blitz. Spence also designed universities, housing and public buildings. Knighted in 1960, his work combined modernism with symbolism and helped shape post-war British architecture.
