Sabre

17965 — Brock's letters on his letterhead Shaws Yard Kilburn Derbyshire. All from 1969. The pamphlets by Hawkins Printers Kilburn Derby. The collection is in fair condition lightly aged and worn. Two of Brock's three Typed Letters Signed are addressed to theatre bookseller Barry Duncan. In one of them written on 18 March 1969 he writes: 'I have been knocking around for 60 years i think i have played every theatre of note and played with some of the best but i am getting tired with this club stuff you play a diffrent club every night some time you double them in a night un sic packing and packing up. so i am waiting for GALAS one show a day will do me'. The third letter is to 'Jimmy' i.e. 'Jimmy Lynton' the stage name of entertainer Charles Parson 1887-1970 grandfather of prime minister Tony Blair. The five photographs are all black and white and range in size from 18 x 13 cm to 12 x 9 cm. They depict Brock swallowing and spinning knives and balancing a microphone stand on his chin. The two pamphlets are thin 12mo bifoliums almost identical in design the only apparent difference being the fact that on one copy a photograph has been laid down over what on the other is a drawing of Brock doing his act. They are printed in blue red and gold with the cover bearing an acrostic in large letters of Brock's name: 'Breathtaking Remarkable Original Complete Knife-edge EQUILIBRIST Spinning & Juggling Genuine Cavalry Swords and Knives ILLUMINATED CLUBS'. He boasts that his act is 'Booked Re-booked and Recommended' and 'always kept fresh by addition of Clever and Original Material'. Also present are copies of two letters from Barry Duncan to Brock both from March 1969. The first discusses a proposal by 'Our mutual friend Jimmy Lynton'; the second responds to Brock's letter of 18 March. Brock's letters on his letterhead, Shaws Yard, Kilburn, Derbyshire. All from 1969. The pamphlets by Hawkins, Printers, Kilburn, unknown