As I honor Edward Duke once again on his birthday, I realize one of the gifts he gave me, a photo of himself at age 18, is on this day now 50 years old.
The year this was taken would have been 1971, and at the height of Carnaby Street (London) late-Beatles fashion.
Anyhow, it's not the only gift Edward gave me. Besides giving me a Santa Claus to write crazy fan letters to and inspiring me to write, he gave me this theatre card from Ford's Theatre, which I have no idea to whom I should leave it after I'm gone. Ford's Theatre?
Or maybe The Wodehouse Society? Because you see, it turns out there was one more gift Edward Duke gave me, far too posthumously, which is an introduction to P. G. Wodehouse and the Society of fans of Plum's writing.
There is, in addition to this fan club and its publications, an archive of all things Wodehouse at Vanderbilt University. The collection already has the Edward Duke voiced tapes of Jeeves stories, but the dual "portraits" of Bertie and Jeeves on this poster might charm future generations of Wodehouse lovers. Something to note in my "In Case of Death" file.
Happy Birthday, Dear Edward!
Nostalgically yours,
hosaa
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