1941–1945

Episkopi, Limassol, Cyprus

April 5, 1942Dear Mrs. Dohan,

It is a long time since I have heard any of your family news. I hope that it has continued reassuring from England.

In view of the situation, Mr. McFadden and I have been making many of our records in duplicate or more (if that is a possible expression) and some of these have already been mailed to America. The first groups of photographs from the excavations of the past two years were put in the post on March 27. With them went a short explanatory note to Pete Daniel, as Curium representative in the museum. But I entertain some doubts as to whether he may not be called for work elsewhere before all the various batches come trickling in, so I am hoping you will look after them. I wish that we could have brought our negatives, but Mr. Hill was quite decided against either travelling with original records in these times. So the plan for the object photographs has been as follows: for every tomb, etc., group, there have been made to send to Philadelphia two sets of enlargements and two sets of contact prints. The contact prints are used for reference, as the objects have been taken at various specific scales instead of with small scales included in the pictures. If everything arrives, we will each have a set to work with if we wish. The duplicates are mailed at different times. Enlargements are about .06 by .09. They have not been made of objects taken at 1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 1:2, or uninteresting objects at 1:3. Instead, there is an extra contact put with the enlargement group, as for publication, or in a few cases of coffin nails, etc., no special publication [handwritten: set] is included. The Cyprus Museum has asked to give them regularly a set of contact prints pasted on sheets of cardboard the size of typing paper. These have been [handwritten: arranged] for each group, but have proved so handy for our own use that we have persuaded the Museum to accept in their place enlarged photographs of the sheets, and extra prints of these will also be available for Philadelphia I hope. I have been having a good deal of trouble getting all this work done under existing conditions.

I enclose a small chit from the Limassol photographer to illustrate. I have mailed so far one enlargement set each of Tombs 1, 6, 8, and 10 and a burial group in Pit 85, and one contact set (in 3 envelopes, 1)Tombs 8, 10 and the Built Dromos to Tomb 10; 2) Tombs 3,5,6,7,7a, and miscellaneous McFadden finds; 3)finds in VG's trench (43) and the stamped amphora handles from throughout the excavations.) Sorry about all the parentheses. The contacts were mailed March 31, the others as remarked above, on March 27.

Handwritten: grams A. Sinclair — Cy. Ltd — 3 Wellfield London SW1 England

Handwritten: Kourion