Posted by Dave Thewlis on August 13, 2012 at 10:43:21 user dthewlis.
Arthur Ransome frequently responded to letters from (ususally youthful) writers who wrote 'fan' letters about his books and asked many questions (generally of the 'are they real' or 'where are the real locations' sort, which he artfully dodged in his answers). He had a special illustrated notecard which he used for these responses. As far as I know they have never been systematically collected although the occasional response is referenced or quoted in one or another book about Ransome.
All Things Ransome has begun a project to collect and post as many of these as we can, if possible with actual images of the Ransome reply card itself. When possible, we would love to have additional information or explanations about the circumstances. We believe such a collection would be of real interest to AR researchers and indeed all Ransome. The project has been discussed with the Literary Executors who also feel it would be a great resource, and have offered guidelines on copyright and permission citations.
Our initial entry is a remarkable one, from Taylor Rhodes, "Admiral of the United States Branch of the S's, A's and D's" (see http://allthingsransome.net/archives/arresponses/index.html).
We are soliciting contributions from anyone who received one of these cards, or whose relative or friend did, or who has such notecards in their possession and will give us permission to include them on ATR.
If you have one to contribute or can offer suggestions, please contact me at Dave Thewlis at ATR. Please help us in collecting as many of these as possible!