January–April 1954

In Nicosia I got the export license for the coins to be sent for Hannah to expertise, and sent them parcel post, surface mail (with Peter's approval), insured for £50-0-0 with a Nicosia agency (post office wouldn't insure, wouldn't register). They should arrive ca. April 15. They are addressed to you. I enclose a copy of the export license which you will need to get them in USA. I have sent Hannah a list of the coins sent.

Kafizin sherds will probably not be available for re-division this year. They have found more of them in Copenhagen, and the Cyprus Museum wants to bring them here for joins before they give us our share.

Peter accepts our decision that we will not undertake to dig the city gate on Curium.

The Sinclair negatives have arrived in good order. Learn that George's pre-war negatives were destroyed in London during war raids. We have prints of most, however.

I succeeded in getting a new ground-glass for the 5x7 camera, so will make and send negatives of T 2054 and P 102 needed for the Youngs' publication.

The Bamboula cards brought by Mr. Hill arrived here safely yesterday.

We have taken on Miss Linda Melton as cataloguer and secretary. Her previous employers (Josan Taylor & Mick Wright) say her work is excellent and meticulous, and that she is very hard working. She dug at Myrtou in 1951, and has since been with the Institute of Archaeology in London working on cataloguing and classifying material from one of their Palestinian sites (Bronze Age, can make things difficult. JT tells me she has an unfortunate personality which I believe). JT tells me she has an unfortunate personality which disclaims any responsibility on behalf of the field and the Institute of which to her in this respect. However, she thinks she'll be all right over a short term. And in fact she can stay with us only until May, anyhow, since she goes on then to Ankara to be a student there at the British Institute. She will be three months, and could perhaps return to us after. The personality seems very good still after 24 hours, so I'm not worrying.

John Seltman writes that he can't be certain of coming to deal with Dick's sherds because of shortage of help in his office; but he isn't saying no yet and hopes for a little time to see if arrangements can be made. Will dicker for training and import of Harry Avery from Athens, if John can't come. Have already approached Agora on this; Jack et al. very willing, but not certain if Avery (whom I have not yet approached) would be.

The proposition for dealing with the books here sounds all right to me. They are included in our purchase from the estate. What I meant was that the estate hasn't yet concluded the transaction, as you know, and the items have not been formally turned over to us. Books I rather suspect that after we and the Cyprus Museum select the books wanted there will be very few left to send along to be sold to Allen's The Cyprus Museum is badly off for books too, and may well feel there is a need for duplicates and triplicates of books they already possess.