16 OCTOBER 1964, Page 14

UNFAIR TO BRITANNIA

SIR,-1 must pi-latest on behalf of the magazine I represent, and a very fine cartoonist, against the description in your issue of October 9 of the Time magazine cover of January 25, 1963—which, in- cidentally, was long before the Profumo affair.

Mr. Illingworth certainly never depicted Britannia as a whore. A middle-aged startled lady, perhaps, but not a whore. I trust Mr. Rutherford's descrip- tion of Listen to the Knocking Bird is more accurate than his reference to our cover story.

ROBERT T. ELSON

Chief Correspondent, Time

New Bond Street; WI