Letters sent by Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh from Scottish theatre among rare books to go on sale

The Edinburgh Book Fair is the centrepiece of Rare Books Edinburgh, a festival celebrating rare and collectable books and book history, which includes a program of talks and exhibitions around the city.

One of a collection of letters addressed to Derek Shaw is sent by Sir Laurence in 1957 and apologises for the actor being unable to attend a requested interview.

“I am so sorry to have to disappoint you again, but I am afraid I have a formidable amount of work on hand just now and with understudies playing this week, it means more time taken up with rehearsals,” he says. “I was most interested to hear about your new magazine and hope you will forgive me for not being able to give you the interview for which you ask.”

It is possible that Derek Shaw was a child, due to him being described as “Master Shaw” on an earlier letter from Vivien Leigh. The collection of letters, which also includes a note from Sir John Gielgud writing from the Caledonian Hotel, Edinburgh, are all addressed to Mr Shaw at 1a St Bernard’s Crescent, in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge area. They are on sale for £145.

In her letter, also co-addressed to Valerie Shaw in 1953, Ms Leigh wished the pair “good luck with your paper”.

She wrote: “Sir Laurence and I wish we had been able to say yes to seeing you both, but do hope you will understand, when I say that we don’t get a moment to ourselves on these pre-London tours. Here we have two matinees, a press reception and numerous rehearsals.”

Another rare book on sale at the fair for £175 is Police Manual for Scotland: Prepared by a Committee of Chief Constables of Scotland. Published in 1922, is believed be one of only two surviving copies of this work, with the other copy held by Edinburgh University library.

It is inscribed by William Merrilees, who held the role of Chief Constable of the Lothians and Peebles Constabulary for 18 years until 1968.

Mr Merilees, who was born in 1898 and lived until he was 85, first came to the attention of Edinburgh’s authorities for rescuing 21 drowning men. Sir Thomas Hutchison, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. Sir Thomas asked him what he wanted to do with his life and Mr Merrilees replied that he wanted to become a police officer.

He went on to have a long career in the police, where he became known for entrapping criminals by using a range of disguises, including as an old woman, a baby in a pram, spies and gang members.

A spokeswoman for the Edinburgh Book Fair said: “He was four inches under regulation height and had lost four fingers from his left hand in an industrial accident. Nevertheless, he was duly made a constable in 1924. He went on to have an extraordinary and famous career, involving disguises...finishing as Chief Constable of the Lothians and Peebles Constabulary.”

She added: “It is known that he knew the laws and regulations governing police work inside out, and it therefore seems likely, from the condition of the book, that he carried it in his pocket until the appearance of the seventh edition of the manual in 1931.”

Known as "the pocket-sized detective with a battleship reputation," Mr Merilees’ exploits were recorded in a series in the weekly comic, Valiant. His life was televised in Eamonn Andrews’ This Is Your Life, in 1959, and his autobiography The Short Arm of the Law, was published in 1966. Responsible for enforcing laws against homosexuality, Mr Merilees was tasked with leading “a special enquiry into sodomy in Edinburgh”, which he later described as a “war on homosexuality”.

The Edinburgh Book Fair will take place from 20 to 29 March at the InterContinental Edinburgh, the George hotel.