“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Bill Ward’s letter accompanying the artwork mentioned his recent attendance at a dinner gathering of many of the group of friends we worked with in the early 1940’s. Oddly enough, the last letter I received from Wendell Crowley, in May 1966, also described a similar event.)

(“An article that opens up.” I believe there are two choices of interpretation here. I favor the first one: that the data refers to the large flat package in which Bill Ward mailed me the artwork to be finished. “Writing on the inside and outside.” The package of course contained writing both inside and outside. “Or at least the inside and outside are covered.” This may refer to the package in a somewhat distorted manner. Or it may refer quite accurately to the envelope object itself, which would be the second possibility for this block of data.

(“Some connection with, is it—ablutions or washings, and with some kind of festival-type thing.” This is good data, we believe, and refers again to the artwork Bill Ward mailed me over the weekend. Again, see the notes about this on page 116. Jane of course saw this artwork when I opened it up today, and when I began work on the backgrounds today.

(Bear in mind that the connection between the artwork and tonight’s envelope object, the bill from The Art Shop, would be the pencils and paper stumps I bought at The Art Shop in order to do the art.

(The festival-type thing is also good, and refers I think to the letter from Bill Ward that accompanied the art. In the letter Bill dwells upon a dinner attended by himself, Wendell Crowley, and several other old friends of mine; the dinner being held just a few days ago; at this dinner Wendell mentioned my availability to Bill Ward for free-lance artwork, and this in turn led Bill to ask me to help him out.

(I am also of the opinion that the three pieces of data just preceding this: A border; blacks that speak loudly; and vivid verticals; might be said to apply to the artwork as much as to the envelope object itself. Legitimate connections would still apply.

(“The entrance of an outsider.” This is good data, and quite literal as far as the artwork is concerned. While our heroine is shown taking a shower on the first two pages of the comic story, the villain is shown skulking outside her apartment window via a fire escape, then reaching in through an open window to tamper with some of the heroine’s personal effects. He is so shown on several panels on the first two pages.

(Distortion probably operates here. Note that the bill used as the object has blue lines upon it. Bill Ward’s artwork arrived in a large rectangular package, but contained no tissue paper and bore no ribbons or string; it was instead sealed with tape. Nor did it contain any blue. Jane thinks she may have received accurate-enough data from Seth about a package, and constructed perhaps the ribbons herself because that is symbolic of packages. She used blue ribbons perhaps through a distortion of the blue pertaining to the envelope object.

(4th Question: What is that written note? “Perhaps having to do with November, and blue.” See the note data in the middle of page 119; it was stated that referred to Bill Ward’s letter. The above could also refer to the letter. The artwork discussed in the letter is due in November 1966, and the letter itself is handwritten by Bill in two shades of blue ink. I believe this data also ties in with the next: