File 51 - King, William Lyon Mackenzie to Arthur King.

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

King, William Lyon Mackenzie to Arthur King.

General material designation

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

Level of description

File

Reference code

SCA368-GA426-1-51

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

Physical description area

Physical description

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1874-1950)

Biographical history

"William Lyon Mackenzie King had a long political career. He was leader of the Liberal Party for 29 eventful years through the buoyant expansion of the 1920s, the depression of the 1930s, the shock of World War II, and then the post-war reconstruction, and for 21 of these years he was Canada’s prime minister. His decisions during this time contributed significantly to the shaping of Canada and to its development as an influential middle power in world affairs. During his lifetime his achievements were sometimes obscured by a style notable for its compromises. After his death his political career was sometimes overshadowed by the revelation of his unsuspected personal idiosyncrasies."

Custodial history

Scope and content

Typewritten letter from William Lyon Mackenzie King to his nephew Arthur on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1950 in which he describes his own poor health and expresses concern for Arthur's. King asks for all the details about the oil burner that Arthur has acquired for his furnace and notes that the cost of oil makes heating almost as expensive as coal.
King thanks Arthur for congratulations on "the Royal Honours recently received, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion and the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold from Belgium," the which he notes belong to the nation and not to him personally. He goes on to quote from a letter from Churchill to himself published on p. 739 of Churchill's most recent work, The Grand Alliance, in which Churchill writes: " ムWhat a pleasure it is to see the whole empire pulling as one man, and believe me, my friend, I understand the reasons for your success in marshalling the grand war effort of Canada.' It is a nice tribute from the one who, more than any other, had to do with the direction of affairs at the time of the war." King expresses hope that he will soon be able to start work on his memoirs. He has still not ever visited Arthur and Kathleen's "little home in Toronto", and intends to do so "the first time I am in the city."
Salutation: "My dear Arthur" [typewritten]; Signature: "Yours very affectionately" [typewritten] "Uncle Willie" [handwritten].
Includes handwritten corrections.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Donated by John English in 2019.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

Physical description

Letter: 2 leaves ; 25 x 20 cm.
Printed Letterhead: Laurier House, Ottawa.

Alternative identifier(s)

Standard number area

Standard number

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Control area

Description record identifier

Institution identifier

Rules or conventions

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Described May 2019 by JSB.

Language of description

  • English

Script of description

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related places

Related genres