Letter by Shropshire author Mary Webb sold at auction for £350
A letter written by one of Shropshire's most important women sold for £350 when it went under the hammer at an auction.
The letter, which was written by 20th century English romantic novelist and poet Mary Webb was sold to a buyer from south Shropshire.
Webb's work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside, involving many local characters and people that she knew.
The letter, addressed from Rose Cottage, Pontesbury, where Webb lived from 1914 to 1916, is dated 1915 and refers to her book The Golden Arrow. The document, which was estimated to fetch between £150 and £200, was offered as part of Whitchurch-based Trevanion and Dean's latest auction.
Auctioneer Christina Trevanion said: "We were hoping that the letter would stay in Shropshire and are delighted to say that it has."
"The south Shropshire buyer was delighted that she secured the letter by telephone bid for £350.
"When she came to collect it after the auction she expressed her joy that the piece will be staying in the county.
"So many of these things are bought by private collectors overseas and are never seen again, we are thrilled it has stayed in Shropshire."
The sale of the Webb letter coincides with a new exhibition at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery entitled 'Treasures: The Literature and Landscape of Mary Webb's Shropshire', which will be open until June 5.
Webb's novels have been successfully dramatised, most notably the film Gone to Earth in 1950, and they inspired the famous parody 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons.
The letter formed part of the latest offering of more than 600 lots of antiques, fine art and collectables by the auction house based in Station Road, Whitchurch.
The top selling lot of the day saw a pair of Anthony Redmile tables sell for £3,000.
Anthony Redmile, a British designer based in London from the 1960's, is well known for his extravagant designs that stood out particularly through his use of unusual materials and modernist pieces.
Meanwhile, one vendor was particularly pleased that his collection of four religious texts, mainly 16th century Beeches Bibles, sold under the hammer for nearly £4,000.
