Dearest Sydney

"[These letters] record a single holiday lasting twenty-six days and were written to the beloved friend who financed the excursion, Sir Sydney Cockerell (1867-1962). Very rarely can such a benefaction have been so amply rewarded, for the almost daily and sizable correspondence is anything but merely dutiful. Heart speaks to heart, and the artist-intimate reponds to the prompting and enthusiam of the learned connoisseur. Sadly scarcely anything survives of Sir Sydney's side of the correspondence; but it would, in any case, have been prefaced by much verbal comment and discussion. Moreover, postal delays during a period in which Joan moved on every few days would have precluded promptings about her present venue." -- From Joan Hassell & Sydney Cockerell.