A letter from Argentina to Laurence Harvey, 1957

On Sunday afternoon, I dropped in to the Business Design Centre in Islington, N1 to have a look around the London International Stamp Exhibition 2022. I took some time to view the various philatelic exhibitions on display, and had a rummage through the hundreds of thousands of postage covers that were sold in the dealer's areas. I was hoping to find some interesting items relating to my ongoing exploration into public telephone boxes - or perhaps any ancient fragments of ephemera connected to advertising gramophone companies and recordings.

By sheer chance, I spotted an envelope addressed to the actor Laurence Harvey, perhaps best known for his performance as the aspirational womaniser Joe Lampton in the 1959 film adaptation of John Braine's 'Room at the Top', or the hypnotised Communist spy in John Frankenheimer's 'The Manchurian Candidate'. Sadly the letter itself was not enclosed, but they rarely are in these kinds of philatelic artefacts. But I couldn't resist buying the cover, especially as the asking price was a mere £2.

The letter had originally been sent from Argentina on the 28th May 1957 at a cost of 3 pesos, and on the reverse there is a another post mark. A cancellation dated 10th July 1957 showing that the letter had taken over two months to reach the corrected address for Laurence Harvey - c/o Romulus Films in Soho Sq, W1 - the company founded by the Eton-educated brothers John and James Woolf.

the flimsy 17 x 9.5 cms Air Mail envelope

The year 1957 was certainly a busy one for Harvey. He had two starring roles in British films - in the comedy drama 'The Truth About Women', and  'After The Ball' the biography of Music Hall performer Vesta Tilley.

Julie Harris and Laurence Harvey in 'The Truth About Women'

 'After the Ball' was filmed at Beaconsfield Studios for Romulus Films

The 9th World Scout Jamboree was held in Sutton Coldfield in 1957. It was dubbed the Jubilee Jamboree marking the 50th anniversary of the Scouting Movement, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Robert Baden-Powell. 

We can never know what exactly were the written contents of the letter to Laurence Harvey sent from Argentina in 1957. However the name and address of the sender is on the back of the envelope: R. Mendez, Moreno 215, Quilmes, Buenos Aires. More than likely this is a fan letter to Harvey, written from a country that was in the midst of a series of coups in the fifties, and perhaps one of many dozens a week that he would have received at this time. Somehow the envelope found its way onto the philatelic market, sitting in collections for decades, and then boxed up to be taken to various stamp fairs until ending up in the hands of another buyer - this time me...

And here is Moreno 215, Quilmes, Bs As in 2021, courtesy of Street View

Little did Laurence Harvey know in 1957 that his career would soon take a major upturn after the huge public and critical success of 'Room at the Top', just two years after this letter was sent from Argentina. 

Harvey continued to star in films and television up to his death from cancer in London, at the age of 45 in 1973.