84,CharingCrossRoad

84,Charing Cross Road 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD Helene Hanff Helene Hanff has been writing letters all her life, but in addition she has studied playwriting at the Theatre Guild, has written for "The Hallmark Hall of Fame" and "Ellery Queen," and was the first woman president of the Lenox Hill Democratic Club. She has written many books for children as well as articles for The New Yorker and Harper's magazines. The author of Q's Legacy (Penguin), her most recent book is Letter from New York. F. P. D. In Memoriam * * * * * * 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD 14 East 95th St. New York City October 5, 1949 MARKS & CO., Booksellers Booksellers 84, Charing Cross Road London, W.C. 2 England Gentlemen: Your ad in the Saturday Review of Literature says that you specialize in out-of-print books. The phrase "antiquarian booksellers" scares me somewhat, as I equate "antique" with expensive. I am a poor writer with an antiquarian taste in books and all the things I want are impossible to get over here except in very expensive rare editions, or in Barnes & Noble's grimy, marked-up schoolboy copies. I enclose a list of my most pressing problems. If you have clean secondhand copies of any of the books on the list, for no more than $5.00 each, will you consider this a purchase order and send them to me? Very truly yours, Helene Hanff (Miss) * * * * * * MARKS & CO., Booksellers 84, Charing Cross Road London, W.C. 2 25th October, 1949