14 minute read
Literature
1494. James M. Barrie Signed Photograph. Scottish novelist
and playwright (1860–1937) best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. Scarce and desirable 4.25 x 6.5 cabinet photo of James M. Barrie in a handsome profile pose, signed in fountain pen, “Yours truly, J. M. Barrie.” Published by Elliott & Fry of London. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Rare portrait of the important French writer-philosopher
1495. Albert Camus Signed Photograph. Handsome
vintage glossy 6.25 x 8.75 head-and-shoulders portrait of Camus, signed and inscribed in fountain pen in French. Affixed to a cardstock mount. In very good to fine condition, with trimmed edges, creasing primarily to the perimeter, and a small speck of emulsion loss. A rare and desirable format. Starting Bid $200
Chandler sells screen rights to his Philip Marlowe novel “Farewell My Lovely”
1496. Raymond Chandler Document Signed. DS, one page, 8 x
12.75, July 3, 1941. Document by which Chandler, “the author and copyright proprietor of the novel entitled ‘Farewell My Lovely,’” assigns the exclusive motion picture rights to the work to RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. Signed at the conclusion in fountain pen by Raymond Chandler and countersigned by a notary. Handsomely mounted, matted, and framed with a movie still to an overall size of 16 x 29.5. In fine condition. Farewell, My Lovely, was Chandler’s second novel to feature the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlow; it has been the subject of three screen adaptations, as well as versions for the stage and radio. A desirable document pertaining to one of Chandler’s popular hard-boiled masterpieces. Starting Bid $200
1497. Agatha Christie Signed Photograph. Scarce glossy
8 x 10 MGM studio photo of Agatha Christie in a wonderful halflength pose, signed in the upper left in blue ballpoint. A caption box to lower left notes that the photograph was originally taken by Angus McBean. In very good to fine condition, with scattered creasing, a short tear to the top edge, and poor signature contrast. A splendid portrait of the best-selling fiction writer of all time—to date, her novels have sold more than two billion copies. Starting Bid $200
The great “Mark Twain” in his classic white suit
1498. Samuel L. Clemens Signed Photograph. Superb
vintage matte-finish 3.5 x 5.25 postcard photo of Samuel L. Clemens in a full-length pose standing outdoors and clad in his trademark white suit, signed in the lower border in black ink with his famous pen name, “Mark Twain.” In fine condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from University Archives.
In Mark Twain’s Autobiography, published in 1906, he announced his intention to wear white suits year-round. He was more comfortable in white than in dark colors but had always conformed to seasonal fashion. He wrote: ‘One of my sorrows, when the summer ends, is that I must put off my cheery and comfortable white clothes and enter for the winter into the depressing captivity of the shapeless and degrading black ones.’ Although Clemens’s prolific writing career was long behind him when he began wearing his white suits, it is this image of the author that remains ingrained in the public imagination—this photograph, in particular, showing him with cane and hat against a wooded backdrop, is a wonderfully appropriate example. Starting Bid $500
1499. Joseph Conrad Signed Photograph. Rare vintage
7 x 10.75 photo supplement from the T.P.’s and Cassell’s Weekly periodical, boldly signed in the lower border in black ink by Joseph Conrad. Affixed to a same-size cardstock sheet. In fine condition, with slightly trimmed edges. Starting Bid $200
At Christmastime, Dickens remarks on a dinner celebrating his reading of A Christmas Carol in a Pickwickian letter to Crystal Palace architect Joseph Paxton
1500. Charles Dickens Autograph Letter Signed. ALS, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.25 x 7, Tavistock House letterhead, December 6, 1858. Handwritten letter by Charles Dickens to Sir Joseph Paxton, the architect who designed the Crystal Palace, describing a case of unseemly politicking around a dinner held in Dickens’ honor to mark his reading of A Christmas Carol to benefit the apprentices of the Coventry Institute. Using colorful prose, reminiscent of the pages of The Pickwick Papers, Dickens is surprised and vexed to have Paxton’s letter explaining his absence from the dinner. In part: “Of course you know the local lights and shadows of Coventry, better than I do; but I am strongly of the opinion that Mr. Whitten’s discretion is not remarkable, and that in this manner he made a mistake…if you had been there you would have been heartily received.”
None of his fellow diners suspected the real reason for Paxton’s absence; Dickens considered making reference to it in his speech, but “After a careful study of our Blunder-headed Whitten, I came to the conclusion that I had better not…if he could only find a hole big enough to put his foot in, he would unquestionably do it.” In fine condition, with a faint stain to the top edge of the last page. Starting Bid $300
page, 4.5 x 7, Gad’s Hill Place letterhead, October 16, 1867. Handwritten letter to Lady Molesworth, arranging to call on her the day before leaving for his American reading tour. “I can arrange to call on you on the 7th of November at any time that will best suit you, but I cannot dine, as I must leave the day for my own people. I depart from London next morning. I have steadily refused to enter into any engagement whatever with any speculator, for America. I go entirely on my own account and bound to nothing.” Framed to an overall size of 11 x 13.5. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
and desirable 2.5 x 4 carte-de-visite portrait of Alexandre Dumas in a distinguished head-and-shoulders pose, signed boldly below the image in black ink, “A. Dumas.” Published by Pierre Petit of Paris. In very good to fine condition, with a light diagonal crease touching the top of Dumas’s head. Starting Bid $200
1503. William Faulkner Signed Book. Scarce signed
book: These 13: Stories by William Faulkner. Limited first edition, numbered 98/299. NY: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith, 1931. Clothbound hardcover with custom clamshell case made by the Dragonfly Bindery/Studio, 6.5 x 9.5, 358 pages. Signed neatly on the colophon in black ink by Faulkner. Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG/None, with toned extremities and a mothball scent. These 13 is a collection of short stories that Faulkner dedicated to his first daughter, Alabama, who died nine days after her birth on January 11, 1931, and to his wife Estelle. Starting Bid $200
1504. Gustave Flaubert Autograph Letter Signed.
Celebrated French novelist (1821–1880) best known for his classics Madame Bovary, Salammbo, and A Sentimental Education. ALS in French, signed “Gve. Flaubert,” one page, 5.25 x 8.5, no date. Untranslated handwritten letter by Flaubert. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Zane Grey’s handwritten manuscript for a tale of the trail: “It will be one for those who love horses and dogs, the long winding dim trails, the wild flowers and the dark still woods, the fragrance of spruce and the smell of camp-fire smoke”
1505. Zane Grey Autograph Manuscript Signed. AMS
in pencil, titled and signed at the head, “Colorado Trails by Zane Grey,” written on both sides of 49 sheets for a total of 98 pages, including fourteen 7.75 x 12.25 sheets and thirtyfive 4.5 x 7.25 sheets, no date but circa 1918. Grey’s original handwritten draft for a piece first published in the June 1918 issue of Outdoor Life magazine, and also collected in Grey’s 1922 book Tales of Lonely Trails. The work begins: “Riding and tramping trails would lose half their charm if the motive were only to hunt and to fish. It seems fair to warn the reader who longs to embark upon a bloody game hunt or a chronicle of fishing records that this is not that kind of story. But it will be one for those who love horses and dogs, the long winding dim trails, the wild flowers and the dark still woods, the fragrance of spruce and the smell of camp-fire smoke. And as well for those who love to angle in brown lakes or rushing brooks or chase after the baying hounds or stalk the stag on his lonely heights.” Grey makes extensive deletions and revisions throughout, lending great insight into his creative process. In overall fine condition. Starting Bid $300
Rare portrait of the acclaimed Victorian realist
1506. Thomas Hardy Signed Photograph. Author (1840-1928)
who takes a place among the towering figures of British literature with classic novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Rare 4.25 x 6.5 cabinet photo of Thomas Hardy, signed at the bottom of the image in black ink, “Thomas Hardy.” Published by Elliott & Fry of London and captioned in the lower border, “Mr. Thomas Hardy, Author of ‘Far From The Madding Crowd.’” In fine condition, with old adhesive residue in the bottom border, and light silvering to the darker areas of the image. Starting Bid $200
1507. Aldous Huxley Autograph Letter
Signed. ALS, three pages on two sheets, 6 x 9, Essex House letterhead, May 6, 1933. Significant handwritten letter to NBC music supervisor Walter Koons, responding to the question ‘What is music?’ In part: “I can’t define music. It needs too much space to begin to know where the defining ought to start. How much space, you may judge by the length of Gurney’s classic The Power of Sound, & by Vernon Lee’s recently published study, & by Sullivan’s chapters in his essay on Beethoven…I love music because I find in it most perfect expression of the noblest thoughts, feelings, states of mind. Hence my loathing for any music which seems to me in any way base. E.g. I can’t bear large parts of Wagner, because of the fundamental vulgarity & lowness which I feel in it.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Uncommon portrait of America’s first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature
1508. Sinclair Lewis Signed Photograph. Vintage matte-
finish 7.5 x 10.25 half-length portrait of Lewis seated with a hand to his ear, signed and inscribed in the lower border in fountain pen, “To Frank Jenkins, Sinclair Lewis, Dec. 17, 1937.” Also signed in pencil by the photographer. In very good to fine condition, with scattered light creasing, and light silvering to the darker areas of the image. Starting Bid $200
Immensely rare letter from Sylvia Plath containing her poem Lament, a work that explored the lifelong impact of her father’s death
1509. Sylvia Plath Typed Letter Signed with Poem:
‘Lament’. Poet, novelist, and short story writer (1932-1963), who committed suicide after her separation from her husband and a long bout with depression. TLS that contains the poem ‘Lament,’ one page, 8.5 x 11, November 23, 1959. Letter to Miss Reutlinger, in part: “’Lament’ was published several years ago by the New Orleans Poetry Journal, but I’ve lost track of both the date and number, and I think most libraries don’t carry such very little magazines. I have a copy of the poem to hand, being in the throes of moving and clearing house, so here it is.
LAMENT
The sting of bees took away my father / Who walked in a swarming shroud of wings / And scorned the tick of the falling weather.
Lightning licked in a yellow lather / But missed the mark with snaking fangs: / The sting of bees took away my father… No, I haven’t published a volume of poems yet, but I hope to manage this in a year or so if fates and editors are willing.” The letter is affixed to a slightly larger board and in very good condition, with trimmed corners, intersecting folds, a bit of light soiling, and a few tape remnants to edges.
Plath’s ‘Lament’ is a villanelle and its prevalent theme, the death of her father, is often found in her other work. Her father, Otto Plath, was a professor of biology and German at Boston University. As alluded to in the poem, he was an entomologist with expertise in bees and wrote the book Bumblebees and Their Ways in 1934. In 1940, when Plath was eight, he died of advanced diabetes. The trauma of his death is thought to have deeply influenced Plath’s work and to have contributed to her later emotional problems. In this letter, she presents the poem and hopes for a published volume of her poetry “if the fates and editors are willing.” They were, and her first collection of poetry, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published the following year. Starting Bid $2500
1510. Ayn Rand Signed Photograph. Well-composed
vintage matte-finish 7.25 x 9.25 photo of the Atlas Shrugged author posing in a city window, signed and inscribed in white ink, “To Karen Torgaud—Cordially—Ayn Rand, 12/16/64.” Nicely quadruple-matted and framed to an overall size of 15.25 x 17.25. In very good to fine condition, with some fading to the signature and several creases, one of which passes through her last name. A scarce and outstanding portrait of the Objectivist writer, who is extremely rare in the format—this is just the second Ayn Rand autographed photograph that we have offered. Starting Bid $200
Spectacular signed deluxe edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard
1511. J. K. Rowling Signed Book.
Signed book: The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Deluxe collector’s edition. London: Children’s High Level Group, 2008. Ornately embellished hardcover, 4.75 x 6.75, 179 pages. Signed by J. K. Rowling in black ink on a bookplate affixed to the first free end page. Complete with its beautiful embroidered velvet bag, illustration prints, and large leather-bound clamshell case with cardstock slipcover. Autographic condition: very fine. Book condition: NF in an NF clamshell case; some slight creasing to the slipcover. A scarce and luxurious edition signed by the Harry Potter author. Starting Bid $300
1512. Jean-Paul Sartre Signed Program. Program for
‘Le Diable et le Bon Dieu’ at the Theatre Antoine in 1951, 5.25 x 8.25, signed and inscribed inside on a full-page image in fountain pen by Jean-Paul Sartre. The program is also signed inside by Maria Casares and Henri Nassiet. In very good to fine condition, with general handling wear. Starting Bid $200
1513. Rabindranath Tagore Signed Book.
Bengali poet, playwright, philosopher, and author (1861–1941) who became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize (Literature) in 1913. Signed Czechlanguage book: Gitanjali: Sacrifice of Songs. Kladno, Czech Republic: J. Snajdra, 1914. Hardcover bound in stiffened paper wrappers, 5 x 7.75, 86 pages. Signed neatly on an opening page in black ink, “Rabindranath Tagore, June 21, 1921.” Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG-/None, with bumped corners and scattered staining. Starting Bid $200
1514. James Thurber Original Dog Sketch. American humorist and author (1894-1961) best known for such stories as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and for his distinctive, wittily captioned cartoon drawings published in the New Yorker. Original sketch of a dog in profile by James Thurber, accomplished in black ink on an off-white 7 x 6.25 sheet of New Yorker stationery, signed and inscribed at the bottom, “For JAB, Feb 16, 1937, Sincerely, James Thurber.” In fine condition, with a central horizontal fold. A wonderful canine-inspired sketch that looks remarkably similar to the dog found on the front cover of his 1955 book, Thurber’s Dogs: A Collection of the Master’s Dogs, Written and Drawn, Real and Imaginary, Living and Long Ago. Starting Bid $200
1515. Ivan Turgenev Signed Photograph. Highly influential Russian
author (1818–1883) whose 1862 novel Fathers and Sons remains one of the pillars of 19th-century literature. Rare 2.5 x 4 carte-de-visite portrait of Ivan Turgenev, signed and inscribed in ink below the image, dated Paris 1879. Published by Lege & Bergeron of Paris. In fine condition. Turgenev is quite uncommon in all forms, most notably in signed photographs.
Provenance: The Barry Hoffman Collection. Starting Bid $300
