A fine letter addressed to E. Stanley Jones from T. Howard Somervell on headed paper from Skyefold, Ambleside, Westmorland in blue ink on white paper, free from creases. In full: �Dear Mr Stanley Jones, There is as far as I know no complete history of the various attempts on Everest. Young-Husband�s �Epic� is very early, John Hunt�s book is mainly on the 1953 expedition. After that there has been a number of Indian Expeditions, resulting in 20 or so Indians having her up by the �ordinary way� on S. Col route, or a few Japanese. The various attempts to climb the S.face are very well described in Chris Bonnington�s book published last year, costs about �6 I believe. A library might have a copy. It is called �Everest, the South West Face, + over 1/3 of the book is �historical� i.e. tells of the 2 or 3 multiple-racial attacks. The American exp. which got up both by the S. Col way + the S.W. ridge, had a good book costing �7 I believe, but I only have their brief copy of much less size, paper back. Pub� by Ballantyne Books at $3.95, lovely coloured pictures. Time for bed. Your sincerely TH Somervell.� Theodore Howard Somervell 1890-1975 was born in Westmorland, to a well-off family which owned a shoe-manufacturing business founded by two Somervell brothers in Kendal in 1845, that became K Shoes. He was a British surgeon, mountaineer and artist and joined several Mount Everest expeditions in the 1920s, including the 1924 attempt with George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. Beyond climbing, he worked as a missionary doctor in India, performing thousands of operations. Somervell also produced notable paintings of Himalayan landscapes. His life combined exploration, medical service and artistic achievement, making him a distinctive figure in early Everest history and mountaineering legacy.