Prominently signed handwritten letter by Charles Dickens in the year of Dombey and Son

480. Charles Dickens Autograph Letter

Signed. ALS, one page, 4.25 x 7, February 15, 1848. Letter to actuary H. P. Smith, stating that he will “proceed to the scratch, and underwrite Sir Archer Denman Croft. I should say he was a highly sensible man, though that instance of his judiciousness which you send me is not a special one—the case being so clear. And I will not forget the Italian letters.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200

481. Charles Dickens Signed Check - PSA NM-MT 8. Coutts & Company bank check, 7 x 3, filled out and signed by Charles Dickens, payable to Ms. Ring for £10.12, April 7, 1862. Double-matted with a photo to an overall size of 10.25 x 14. 5. In very good to fine condition, with scattered creasing and staining. Encapsulated and graded by PSA/DNA as “NM-MT 8.” Starting Bid $200

483. Lord Alfred Douglas Autograph Letter Signed. British writer (1870–1945) who first came to prominence in the 1890s as the young intimate companion of Oscar Wilde. ALS in French, signed “Alfred Douglas,” one page both sides, 5.25 x 8.25, March 23, no year. Addressed from Rome, an untranslated handwritten letter sent to an unidentified gentleman. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200

482. Charles L. Dodgson Autograph Letter Signed.

ALS signed “C. L. Dodgson,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.5 x 7, March 29, 1868. Handwritten letter to Dolly Argles, a 12-year-old female friend, playfully inquiring about the threats he might encounter while en route to see her. In part: “I wonder if you can be trusted with a message?...Will you tell your Papa I am very much obliged to him for so kindly wishing me to come down to Peterborough, and I think perhaps I could manage to do so, for a day or two...I shall very likely go to London at the end of this week, or the beginning of the next, so (if you’d really like it, you know—because of course I wouldn’t come if you’d rather not) I might come down to Peterborough on the Tuesday or Wednesday. I should like to know how far you are from the railway—and whether the road is dangerous—any wolves, for instance? But perhaps I had better travel armed as usual, with sword & pistols, & then I shall be ready for anything that may happen.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $500

Hand-corrected typed manuscript, 11 pages, 8.5 x 11, annotated throughout in blue ballpoint by Ernest Hemingway and signed with his initials in the upper right corner of the first page: “Suggest put in a three sentence description of town. E.H.” The story covers diverse topics including Hemingway’s daily life in Ketchum, hunting, writing projects, Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution, and more. Hemingway’s corrections to the text, rendered in his distinctive cursive hand, range from factual (it was his “left” eye, not right, that was damaged in an accident) to dramatic (in a passage about his 1954 African plane crashes, he makes sure to add that they were “near fatal,” noting, “The second plane burned”). He also makes modifications to some direct quotes, changing a description of the young woman who ran the local laundry from “Helluva nice girl” to “She’s a very wonderful girl.” He also writes his surname on the fifth page, in describing a lady “about ten years younger than Hemingway.” In a discussion about hunting partridge with his wife, Hemingway writes ominously: “She shoots them in the head.”

ALS, signed “Your friend, Ernest Hemingway,” one page, 8.5 x 10.75, Hotel Suecia-Madrid, May 25, 1959, in part: “Thanks for the story and for your letter. Piece came out very good. Mary and I are both proud of you…We will be in Pamplona on July 6 but I don’t know the address yet & will have to stay in a private house probably as the hotels are full. They rent out rooms…you will find one if you get there in time…You’ll find us easily at the café. We’ve been having a fine time and working hard…If you ever need money I can stake you. Have fun and work hard on your French and Spanish.” In overall fine condition. Starting Bid $1000

485. Ernest Hemingway Signed Check. Guaranty Trust Company of New York check, 6.5 x 2.75, filled out and signed by Hemingway, “Ernest M. Hemingway,” payable to Roberto Herrera for $100, December 23, 1956. Endorsed on the reverse in blue ballpoint by Roberto Herrera. In fine condition. Herrera was Hemingway’s close friend, part-time secretary, and brother of his Cuban doctor; he frequently accompanied the writer on his exploits aboard the famous fishing boat Pilar. Starting Bid $200

489. Alessandro Manzoni Autograph Letter

Signed. Italian poet, novelist and philosopher (1785–1873) who is famous for the novel The Betrothed, which is generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature. ALS in Italian, signed “Alessandro Manzoni,” one page, 4.25 x 6.25, no date. Untranslated handwritten letter concerning a copy of a book. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200

Rare handwritten letter by revered 19th-century Italian writer

Alessandro Manzoni

488. Alessandro Manzoni Autograph Letter Signed. ALS in Italian, signed “Alessandro Manzoni,” one page, 7.75 x 10.25, April 11, 1833. Handwritten letter to Angelo Bonuccelli, sending thanks for his Latin translation of Cinque Maggio. He also speaks of his philosophy regarding the meaning of providence as the right rule of life for all men—all of Manzoni’s works revolved around this concept. Addressed on the integral leaf in Manzoni’s hand. In good to very good condition, with scattered staining, wrinkling, tears, and paper loss, with some archival reinforcements and restorations. Starting Bid $1000

487. Giacomo Leopardi Autograph Letter Signed. Important Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist (1798-1837). Exceedingly rare ALS in Italian, one page, 4.25 x 5.75, March 15, 1819. Letter to his cousin, Conte Francesco Cassi, sending him a book. In part (translated): “On account of not trusting the mail, I waited a long time before I was offered an opportunity to send the little book that will be present with this…If you ever have this letter together with the booklet for a sign of confidence, and will read my poor verses, and reach the end, you have more friendship than I merit.” Affixed to a slightly larger card. In very good condition, with heavy overall foxing. It was around this period that Leopardi began writing his major works, beginning with the first poems of the Canti in 1818 and the Idylls in 1819. A fascinating and very early letter demonstrating Leopardi’s humility and admiration of his older cousin. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA. Starting Bid $5000

491. George Orwell Autograph Letter Signed. Rare ALS signed “Geo. Orwell,” one page both sides, 5.5 x 7, October 2, 1949. Handwritten letter from his deathbed—”Room 65, Private Wing, University College Hospital”—to American editor intellectual William Phillips, co-founder of the Partisan Review. In full: “Thanks so much for your letter. I wrote recently to Philip Rahv, & sometime earlier to Alan Dowling thanking them for the cheque & saying how honoured I felt. I am sorry, but I cannot write anything. They won’t let me work, & I doubt whether I could if they would let me. At present however I am somewhat better, thanks to aureomycin, & I hope that may continue. Do come & see me if you’re ever here. I am likely to be above for at any rate a month or two. If you ring up the hospital they’ll put you through to my room.” In very good to fine condition, with light creasing, and an area of toning to the first page. Starting Bid $1000

490. Guy de Maupassant Autograph Letter

Signed. French naturalist writer (1850-1893) considered the greatest French author of short stories. Uncommon ALS in French, one page both sides, 5.25 x 8.25, July 23, 1882. Untranslated handwritten letter to Monsieur Fontaine in Sartrouville. In very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds with small edge splits, and some light creasing and toning. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, addressed in his own hand.

Starting Bid $200

492. Silvio Pellico Autograph Letter Signed. Italian writer, poet, dramatist, and patriot (1789-1854). ALS in Italian, signed “Pellico,” one page, 4.75 x 7.5, June 6, 1819. Untranslated handwritten letter sent to Conte Briche with suggestions for adequate translations of the gravestone inscription for his son, Pellico’s beloved student, who died at the age of sixteen in a hunting accident. In fine condition. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA/ DNA. Starting Bid $200

493. Silvio Pellico Handwritten Poem. Unsigned handwritten poem by Silvio Pellico, one page, 4.75 x 7.25, no date. Pellico honors the son of Conte Briche, Pellico’s beloved student, who died at the age of sixteen in a hunting accident. In part (translated): “Eduardo de Briche / born in Paris in the year 1802 / of profound intellect, heart affectionate / highminded / With all the fine moral and physical qualities… [on] October 17, 1818, at 7 o’clock in the morning / …the dawn of happy life / passed from adolescence to death / kidnapped by a fatal shooting from his gun.”. In fine condition, with slight foxing and a mounting strip along the edge. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA. Starting Bid $200

494. Charles Perrault Autograph Letter Signed. Important French author (1628–1703) known for his development of the fairy tale genre. Scarce ALS in French, signed “Perrault,” one page, 4.25 x 6, October 1, 1666. Handwritten letter to Monsieur Fouin, in part (translated): “The prince has given the orders in the name of the king to rent the house of Mr. Parie who is an engineer of his majesty that is located in the Rue St. Nicaise for the price of 2,200 pounds for a year for three years commencing the first of October of the present year.” In fine condition, with some light creasing, and scattered light foxing. Starting Bid $200

495. Antoine de Saint-Exupery Handwritten Manuscript with Sketch. Unsigned handwritten manuscript in French by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, two pages, 8 x 10.5, no date. An untranslated manuscript by the author of The Little Prince, boasting a charming sketch at the head of the first page. The text provides a deep psychological portrait of a person, describing their personality and traits in much detail. In very good to fine condition, with paperclip impressions to each page, and creasing to the somewhat rough edges. Starting Bid $300

499.

Most significant is the handwritten letter, dated “June 24, I think,” no year [1966?], in which he eloquently discusses the mindset and duties of a writer, and comments on his work regarding Arthurian legend. The subject work, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, would be published posthumously in 1976. The unsigned letter, in small part: “A writer is essentially a very talkative person who has not the power of speech. And so he takes out his impulses with a pencil. The only social advantage he has over other bores lies In the fact that no one has to read him, no one that is except his agent. Relatives can avoid it, friends do. I am convinced that the function of critics is to try to persuade writers not to write. Out of their failure in this direction they have bitten out a career, which often consists in not reading what they set out to destroy…

For writers do not write for themselves. They write for someone to read and they will take anyone. I sometimes read beautiful paragraphs to Angel the Dog. The balance and flow and rhythm of writing is to my mind an exercise of dexterities so long practiced that they have become reflexes. But as with the fine reflexes of tennis or boxing, the dexterities must be kept alive by use. They become uncertain and clumsy through a lack of use. And sometimes it is well to use the letter as a bull pen for warming up the pitcher.

I believe that every book is written to someone. The addressee may be a spirit, a presence, a demivierge, a child born too late to talk to or a parent who died or went away too soon, a lover with whom rings but not empathies were exchanged. But all of these targets for writing have common quality. They represent a lack, a hunger or a failure. They are the muses to be invited and flattered and propitiated. Writing is such an exposed and lonely state that one must have an associate even if he has to be invented...

It is possible that a short story might be a piece of observed external reality, but a book is the writer’s self, far more penetrating than he himself knows. Everything he is and knows goes into it. He may try to conceal himself, but it never works, all of his devices and subterfuges and dodges show up in a book...A great short story seems to be shot in from the stars, but a great book grows out of the earth, wherefore we witness, sometimes with amazement a short story, but a book is ourselves. No psychiatrist can draw from a patient the depth and content that resides in a book.”

He continues to comment on the Arthur project: “I think my wish to reword Arthur is valid. For myself I love the look and sound and feel of middle English…The matter of Arthur induces a thousand whys—and among the first is why is the Arthurian cycle so permanently and universally popular? It is not language. There are many thousands of passionate Arthurians in Japan who have only read the Morte in Japanese. Arthur and his knights have been known and loved in Germany, in Italy, in France, in Sicily since the early Middle Ages.”

Speaking to the universal nature of enduring literary works, he goes on: “Our species has stories as its has fingers. They are permanent and unchanging, and whether they are entabletured in the Iliad, the Old Testament, the Morte d’Arthur or Huckleberry Finn, all of them have one thing in common, they may be told against any kind of foreign or exotic or ancient background, the costumes, weaponry, the social procedures, which we call manners may be strange, even incomprehensible to us but the dramatis personae, the people must be ourselves. We must recognize our failure and our fears, our courage and our dishonesties, our bursting and flowering energy and our black and smothering despairs. Only if the story is so peopled, is it permanent. We may be as heroic as Achilles and as steadfast as Hector, but only when Achilles sulks in his tent out of pique, only when Hector’s guts turn to water in fear so that he turns and flees, do we accept and treasure perhaps because we recognize ourselves good and bad. Of the all good or all bad we are skeptical…Of course we admire goodness and we respect greatness, but it is our frailties which relate us. I think perhaps in our secret holy of the mind we are deeply aware of our faults and suspicious of our virtues. And perhaps the universality of our insecurity makes us flock to our brothers in imperfection.” Steinbeck carries on at length in a similar manner.

In the typed letters, he discusses his family, buying a new typewriter, and sends a cross carved of olive wood. In overall fine condition. Accompanied by five unsigned typescript copies of letters by Steinbeck, offering further commentary on his life and work, and lending greater insight into his relationship with Elizabeth. A remarkable literary archive with superior content from one of the great American writers of the 20th century. Starting Bid $1000

496. J. D. Salinger Signed Bookstore Receipt. Receipt for a purchase of two books from the Dartmouth Bookstore in Hanover, NH, on June 3, 2002, 2.75 x 7.25, signed quickly in black ballpoint, “J. Salinger.” Partial titles are: “Round the Fire” and “Best Cat Stories.” In very fine condition. Starting Bid $200

497. George Sand Autograph Letter Signed. ALS in French, one page both sides, 5.25 x 8.25, September 27, 1849. Handwritten letter referring to her novel “La Mare au Diable” and work in the theater, in part (translated): “I worked a lot on La Mare au Diable…I thank you for your kindness as director of the Theatre Francais, but I am not a theater writer and I only did theater by accident and kindness. I do not know at all whether I will do it again. I do not know whether my friend Bocage sent you my good seat for you to see my small play, which has been well received. According to what I am told, it was very well played.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200

498. Samuel Francis Smith Signed Handwritten Lyrics for ‘America’. Boston-born Baptist minister and academic (1808-1895) best known as the lyricist of ‘America’ (‘My Country, ‘Tis of Thee’), written while he was a student at Andover Theological Seminary. Highly desirable AQS on an off-white 10 x 8 sheet, lightly lined, signed at the conclusion in ink, “S. F. Smith.” Smith pens the four original verses of ‘America’ in their entirety, in part: “My country, ‘tis of thee, / Sweet land of liberty, / Of thee I sing; / Land where my fathers died, / Land of the pilgrims’ pride, / From every mountain side, / Let freedom ring.” Smith adds to the conclusion, “Written in 1832, Nov. 29, 1889.” On the reverse is an autograph letter signed “From the Author, S. F. Smith,” to “Mr. P. Wade,” in part: “I thank you for the photograph of the beautiful battle monument of the First Massachusetts Infantry at Gettysburg. I return you within this sheet an autograph copy of ‘My country, ‘tis of thee,’ which was so often sung during the Civil War, and sometimes under thrilling circumstances.” In very good condition, with edge chipping and staining, overall toning, a split to the top of the hinge, and slight fading from prior display. A significant autograph connecting Smith’s patriotic song with the heroic Union volunteers at Gettysburg. Starting Bid $200

500. Rabindranath Tagore Autograph Letter Signed. Bengali poet, playwright, philosopher, and author (1861–1941) who became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize (Literature) in 1913. ALS, one page, 4.5 x 7, May 20, 1913. Addressed from his London residence at 37 Alfred Place West, South Kensington, a handwritten letter sent to Countess Martinengo, in full: “I am very sorry to say that I have an engagement in Oxford on May 23rd and it is not possible for me to accept your invitation to lunch on the same day. Thanking you for your kindness.” In fine condition. On November 13, 1913, less than six months after writing this letter, Tagore learned that he had become the first non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Starting Bid $200

501. Giuseppe Ungaretti Autograph Letter Signed. Italian modernist poet, journalist, and essayist (1888-1970) considered one of the most prominent contributors to 20th century Italian literature. ALS in Italian, one page, 8.75 x 11.5, February 10, 1935. Letter to the Italian writer and journalist Ugo Ojetti, thanking him for sending a newspaper article that mentions him in a very positive way, adding that he rarely gets articles about himself since he no longer subscribes to the media monitoring company Eco della Stampa. In very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds and overall foxing. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA. Starting Bid $200

503. Jules Verne Autograph Letter Signed. ALS in French, one page, 4.25 x 5.25, June 9, 1904. Untranslated handwritten letter from Verne extending his thanks for a friendly letter. In fine condition. A neatly penned letter that dates to the twilight of the great author’s life. Starting Bid $200

502. Paul Verlaine Autograph Letter Signed. Famed and highly influential French poet (1844–1896) who penned Poèmes saturniens and Romances sans paroles; likewise remembered for his tumultuous love affair with the prodigiously gifted teenage poet Arthur Rimbaud. Desirable ALS in French, signed “P. Verlaine,” one page, 6.75 x 4.5, March 19, 1894. Handwritten letter by Paul Verlaine, in part (translated): “My friend Mr. Gustaf Lerouge is kind enough to take you on my behalf. I am retained in bed to bring you an article of mine on the last book of Vicarie Au Bois Joli. If it were possible to give me an advance on this work I would be very grateful and so that you give the small sum to Mr. Lerouge.” He pens a postscript in the margin: “Finally here is the sonnet that I have promised to Mrs. Evelyn with the good thoughts of the author.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200

561. Edvard Grieg Signed Photograph. Important Norwegian composer and pianist (1843-1907) whose works, often with a strong nationalistic flavor, include such repertory staples as the ‘Piano Concerto in A minor,’ the incidental music to Peer Gynt, and the ‘Holberg Suite.’ Vintage matte-finish 3.5 x 5.5 postcard photo of the Edvard Grieg, neatly signed in ink. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200

562. Jacques Offenbach Autograph Letter Signed. French composer (1819–1880) best known for his popular stage works, most notably Orpheus in the Underworld (including the famous ‘Can-Can’) and The Tales of Hoffmann. ALS in French, one page, 5.25 x 8.25, embossed ‘HO’ stationery, no date. A brief untranslated handwritten letter from Jacques Offenbach to a friend. In fine condition. Starting Bid $300