44 minute read
Literature
476. James M. Barrie Autograph Letter Signed. ALS signed “J. M. Barrie,” one
page, 4.5 x 6.75, June 10, 1892. Handwritten letter to Richard Holt Hutton, editor of the Spectator. In full: “I am a person who never goes anywhere, except when men like Conan Doyle come and drag me out of my rooms before I can get the door locked.” In fine condition. An unusual letter associating two of the great names in popular English literature. Starting Bid $200
478. Ludwig Bemelmans Original
Painting. Belgian-born American author and illustrator (1898-1962) best known for his now-classic series of Madeleine children’s books. Fabulous original painting by Ludwig Bemelmans for “Yolanda and the Thief,” accomplished in gouache on paper in a 24 x 28 wooden inset frame, signed and dated on the frame in paint, “’45, Bemelmans.” Subsequently ornately framed to an overall size of 29 x 33.5. In very good to fine condition, with some scuffing to the signature, and some damage to the outer frame.
Bemelmans sold MGM the screen rights to his 1943 short story ‘Yolanda and the Thief,’ and the Technicolor musical film, directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Fred Astaire, debuted in 1945. This enchanting original artwork by Bemelmans may have been a preliminary concept for a poster or advertising design. Although the film was received poorly at the box office, it has earned cult-classic status for its fantastic visuals and whimsical, dreamlike quality. Starting Bid $300
One day after Richard Hickcock’s execution, Capote comforts the In Cold Blood killer’s mother: “You have lost a son, and I have lost a friend”
479. Truman Capote Autograph Letter Signed. ALS signed “Truman,” one page both sides, 6 x 8, personal letterhead, April 15, 1965. Handwritten letter to Eunice Hickcock, the mother of Richard Hickcock, one of two killers who became the subject of Capote’s non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, written the day after his execution. In full: “I was allowed to visit Dick that night. I stayed with him to the very end. He behaved with great dignity and courage, and I was very proud of him. But how sad it is! What a cruel tragedy! I am so sorry for you, Eunice. And for myself as well. You have lost a son, and I have lost a friend of whom I had grown very fond. Remember, you can always rely on me for anything at any time. Please use the enclosed check to take a nice trip somewhere. God bless you!” In fine condition.
In the early morning hours of November 15, 1959, four members of the Clutter family were murdered in a rural Kansas farming community. Two ex-convicts, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, were captured six weeks later, put on trial, found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death. They would remain on death row for nearly six years, before both being executed on April 14, 1965. Even before they were apprehended, writer Truman Capote had developed an interest in the story and traveled to Holcomb, Kansas, to interview the locals. After Smith and Hickcock were imprisoned, Capote interviewed both extensively, eventually befriending them and serving as an official witness to their executions. He compiled over 8,000 pages of research notes while writing In Cold Blood, which was first published as a four-part serial in The New Yorker, beginning on September 25, 1965. Random House released it in book form on January 17, 1966, where it achieved overnight success. In Cold Blood remains the best-selling true crime book of all time. Starting Bid $500
480. Raymond Chandler: First Edition of The Lady in
the Lake. Scarce unsigned book: The Lady in the Lake. First edition. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943. Hardcover with dust jacket (publisher’s printed price of $2.00 present on inner front flap), 5.5 x 7.75, 216 pages. Book condition: VG/VG, with professional restorations to dust jacket including small areas of repaired losses and color infill at spine ends and edges. The Lady in the Lake takes Detective Philip Marlowe out of Los Angeles to investigate the disappearance of a wealthy businessman’s estranged wife. Starting Bid $200
481. Agatha Christie Autograph Letter Signed.
ALS, one page, 5.5 x 7, personal letterhead, November 26, 1959. Short letter of thanks for roses. In full: “What lovely red roses! Only one person has died for me so heroically so long!” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in Christie’s hand. Starting Bid $200
Brilliant 1897 portrait of Clemens, signed boldly with his famed pen name, “Truly yours, Mark Twain”
482. Samuel L. Clemens Signed Photograph. Scarce
4.25 x 6.5 cabinet portrait of ‘Mark Twain,’ which shows author Samuel Clemens in a handsome profile pose, signed in bold fountain pen, “Truly yours, Mark Twain, Nov. ‘97.” Published by the Sarony studio of New York. The photo is affixed to a larger black 10.5 x 11.5 album page. In fine condition, with mild bowing to photo. Starting Bid $500
Handwritten letter from Clemens, mentioning his latest travel book, “Tramp Abroad”
483. Samuel L. Clemens Autograph Letter Signed. ALS signed “S. L. Clemens,” penned on both sides of his 5 x 3 personal monogrammed stationery, April 8 (no year, circa 1880). Letter to “My Dear ‘Jo,’” in full: “I’ve ordered the ‘Tramp Abroad’ to be sent to you, but I couldn’t write my name in it because I wasn’t close enough to it. You write it in, yourself. You can write better than I can, anyway. Give old Bob my love. I hope you both are happy & prospering.” In fine condition, with some scattered light toning, mostly to edges. Starting Bid $200
484. Samuel L. Clemens
Signature. Highly desirable double ink signature, “Sam’l L. Clemens, Mark Twain,” on an off-white 3.25 x 2 card. Handsomely double-matted and framed with a Rockwood portrait to an overall size of 10.75 x 15.5. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
485. Joseph Conrad
Signed Photograph. Un-
common early 4.25 x 6 mattefinish photo of Conrad by W. H. Jacob of England, affixed to its original 7.75 x 9.75 mount, boldly signed in ink, “With affectionate regard, Jph Conrad, 1903.” An annotation on the reverse in another hand states that the photo was presented to writer R. B. Cunninghame Graham, one of Conrad’s close friends. In very good to fine condition, with scattered light foxing and soiling, and creasing to the corners of the mount. Starting Bid $300
Dickens on a follow-up to his “Capital Punishment” series in the Daily News
486. Charles Dickens Autograph Letter
Signed. Third-person ALS, signed within the text as “Mr: Charles Dickens,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.25 x 7, March 16, 1846. A handwritten letter marked “Private,” which reads, in part: “Mr: Charles Dickens presents his compliments to Mr: Burke, and begs to say with thanks to Mr. Burke for his obliging letter, that he has always had it in contemplation to follow up the letters on Capital Punishment with a letter on Secondary Punishments.” Dickens adds the date and his address at the conclusion: “1 Devonshire Terrace, York Gate Regent’s Park.” The letter is affixed to a slightly larger sheet. In fine condition, with light stains and mailing folds. Starting Bid $200
Lewis Carroll sends a logic puzzle and makes note of his predilection for young ladies
488. Charles L. Dodgson Autograph Letter Signed. English author and logician (1832–1898) who wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll, celebrated for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. ALS signed “C. L. Dodgson,” one page both sides, 8 x 5, September 24, 1887. Letter to “Edith,” written from his summer lodgings at 7 Lushington Road, Eastbourne. In part: “If I have not utterly offended & estranged you by my unceremonious remarks on your mathematical work, will you try a new kind of problem that I have devised? If you can do it, I will send you a harder one of the same species. ‘A bag contains 3 counters, each of which is known to be black or white. A white counter is put in, the bag shaken, & a counter drawn out, which proves to be white. What is now the chance of drawing a white counter?’
After the weeping ‘Edith’ (about whom I think I told you) had gone back to her indispensable mother I had another ‘Edith’ to stay with me. Her age was (oh, Mrs. Grundy, what has become of you?) nearly 19! She was a very pleasant companion. (But why aren’t you 19, my child? Then perhaps you might come, which would be delightful.) She staid nearly a week: & then I had the elder sister of the weeping Edith—also nearly 19. So now I haven’t a shred of character left, for observance of conventional propensities! However, I’m ‘en garcon’ again now, & hoping to get a lot of my book done. It’s been getting on very well lately: & I have been delighted to find myself, day after day ‘oi the vein’ for original writing.” In very good to fine condition, with scattered small stains, several vertical folds, and the handwriting on the first page extremely light but still readable. Starting Bid $200
Dodgson confirms to Macmillan that he “did not write ‘Woman’s Mission’”
487. Charles L. Dodgson Autograph Letter Signed.
ALS signed “C. L. Dodgson,” one page, 8 x 5, October 31, 1888. Handwritten letter to Alexander MacMillan, the cofounder of Macmillan Publishers, in full: “The only answer I can give is that I did not write ‘Woman’s Mission.’ Is it ‘published by your firm’? And if so, who did write it?” Dodgson adds a brief postscript: “Thanks for ‘Athaneum’ notice.” In fine condition, with intersecting folds and light creasing, none of which affect the handwriting and its bold ink. Starting Bid $200
Scarce, distinguished portrait of the crime fiction pioneer
489. Arthur Conan Doyle Signed Photograph.
Vintage matte-finish 4 x 5.75 portrait of Conan Doyle in profile, by Elliot & Fry of New York, affixed to its original 8 x 11 photographer’s mount, signed on the mount in black ink, “With cordial remembrance, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ap. 13/13.” Also signed below the image in pencil, “Elliot & Fry.” In fine condition. In 1913, Doyle would publish the second book in his ‘Professor Challenger’ series, The Poison Belt, and the oft-anthologized short story, ‘The Horror of the Heights.’ A rare portrait benefited from its immaculate condition. Starting Bid $300
Having secured a poem from the youthful “Henry D. Thoreau,” Emerson solicits contributions for The Dial
490. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Handwritten Letter. Handwritten letter by Ralph Waldo Emerson (signature clipped out and absent), four pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.75 x 9.5, April 18, 1840. Letter to Rev. Thomas T. Stone in East Machias, Maine, soliciting contributions to Margaret Fuller’s newly founded journal, The Dial. Emerson writes that it has “a few anonymous correspondents on whose writings I set a high value. Henry D. Thoreau, a youth teaching a school in this town, has given me for her a beautiful poem. I have promised her some contribution for each number for a year.” In very good condition, with splitting to the intersecting folds, complete separation to the topmost horizontal fold (which could be repaired by a conservator), an edge tear and seal-related paper loss, and Emerson’s signature clipped off (and his name added in an unknown hand). Starting Bid $200
Fitzgerald seeks solace in Ashville’s clean mountain air while struggling with finances and Zelda’s mental health
“Scott Fitzgerald,” one page, 8.5 x 11, October 22, 1936. Letter to his secretary Isabel Owens, written from the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. In part: “I am going North without fail for Thanksgiving and spend at least one day in Baltimore trying to get things in better shape...There is a lot I want to talk over with you. It would be nice if you could tell me where certain articles are that I stored: my wife’s skating skirt Scotty has been wearing, and my wife’s two pairs of skiing boots—the tall ones from Quebec and the ones from Switzerland...It will save time if you will in the meantime have gotten in touch with the Storage Company and perhaps have been able to make a visit there to see that in that gray bandbox of Zelda’s there are the brush and mirror.” In fine condition, with a light paperclip impression to the top edge. Starting Bid $500
492. F. Scott Fitzgerald Autograph
Letter Signed. ALS signed “Sincerely & Gratefully, F. Scott Fitzgerald,” one page, 8.5 x 14, April 6, 1931. Letter to “Miss Sillcot,” in full: “I hate to call upon you once again well before I have had a chance to thank you for your past favor, but I am embroiled with the stupidest tax-collector since Louis XV. He refuses to allow me one cent of deductions for typing (though I can’t type a word myself), office rent ect because I have not kept expense books! However the immediate matter is the moot question of earned income. Can you tell me if any writers pay taxes on magazine stories as un-earned income? Do not all writers that you know of list their stories as earned income and are they ever questioned? Is not the ruling vague and in practice haven’t the authorities in Washington recognized the money earned by a writer as earned income? Can you write me about this? I believe I am merely up against the stupidity of one man but will be glad to know if you are cognizant of the general precedent and any variants thereupon that may have reached your ears.” He adds a postscript along the left edge: “P.S. Needless to say he did not allow the movie gift as a charity.” In very good to fine condition, with overall creasing, and a repaired tear to the upper right edge.
During the 1920s, Fitzgerald’s annual income from all sources averaged under $25,000—a very large sum at the time, but not quite a fortune. He and Zelda lived a lavish lifestyle, frequently spending money faster than it came in and frequently finding themselves in financially dire straits. Unlike many others of the era, Fitzgerald was extremely honest in his tax reporting and usually kept meticulous records (though here he admits to neglecting his expense books). However, he did occasionally press the limits of allowable deductions: when the IRS objected to his 1924 deduction of $2,450 as a business expense for a ‘trip to Europe for the purpose of obtaining material for stories,’ he did not pursue it any further. A beautifully penned letter from the great Jazz Age writer as he seeks to understand the complexities of America’s tax code. Starting Bid $500
Fitzgerald’s second novel, inscribed for a noted NYC bookman
493. F. Scott Fitzgerald Signed Book. Signed book: The Beautiful and Damned. First edition, second printing, first state (Bruccoli A8.1.b). NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922. Hardcover bound in dark bluish green cloth, lettered in gilt and blind, with dust jacket, 5.5 x 7.75, 449 pages. Signed and inscribed on a free end page in fountain pen, “For George W. Stair, from F. Scott Fitzgerald, New York City.”
George W. Stair was a noted bookman who originally owned and operated a rare bookstore near Rockefeller Center. Stair had already retired from the business when Brentano’s asked him to manage their Rare Book Room in New York, at 586 Fifth Avenue. In early March 1922, Zelda and F. Scott were in New York, staying at the Plaza Hotel (768 Fifth Avenue). They were there for two reasons: 1) Scribner’s publication promotions for The Beautiful and the Damned, including book signings; and, 2) the abortion of Zelda’s second child. Despite disappointing reviews, rare book dealers like George Stair recognized Scott Fitzgerald’s potential and considered acquiring his signature on a first edition a significant association.
The following are the only variations from the first edition, first printing of this Fitzgerald title: Scribner’s colophon on copyright page (missing on first printing); dust jacket title lettering in solid black (instead of white in black outline, as in first printing). There are no textual variants noted between first and second printings.
Dust jacket in very good plus to near fine condition: shallow chipping on head and toe of spine, also some on upper edge of front panel and corners; otherwise, front panel is remarkably clean and bright, as is back panel. Dust jacket spine only slightly tanned (unusual for this white background dust jacket). Both inner flaps of dust jacket are near fine.
Book itself is in very good plus to near fine condition: cloth covers clean and fresh; gold print on spine only lightly dulled. Interior pages show some tanning, but only a shade. Binding and hinges strong. Book overall clean and attractive. Starting Bid $2500
Rare first edition of Howl, signed by Ginsberg and annotated by the poem’s dedicatee Carl Solomon
Addtional images are available online.
494. Allen Ginsberg Signed First Edition of Howl (Annotated and Signed by Carl Solomon). Signed book:
Howl and Other Poems. First edition, first printing (with Lucien Carr listed on the dedication page and a period after Harlem on the rear). San Francisco: The City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956. Softcover, 5 x 6.25, 44 pages. Signed and inscribed on the title page in black felt tip, “Allen Ginsberg, for Brynn Carroll,” with sketches of a sun in the “O” and around the recipient’s name. Also signed in green felt tip by Carl Solomon, to whom the poem ‘Howl’ is dedicated, who annotates numerous pages with his complaints and comments about Ginsberg’s poem.
Solomon draws an arrow from his name on page 9, “later to become a Grand Juror in Bronx County”; makes some corrections on page 15 (“Brooklyn College” for CCNY); asks, “Who is safe?” on page 16; corrects “Pilgrim” for Rockland several times in Verse III; and writes “Recovery comes slowly” at the conclusion. After ‘Footnote to Howl,’ Solomon writes and signs: “Why he wrote the poem, I don’t understand. I was seeking only a rest and attempting to give up smoking. I don’t understand all this grand opera. Carl Solomon.” On page 43, Solomon writes and signs again: “Now that I am so famous, I feel like calling myself the Count of Lautreamont in order to safeguard my privacy. This is, perhaps, the opposite of grandiosity. Carl Solomon.” Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG/None, with slight lifting to adhesive of the wrap-around paper label on rear, minor soiling, and light creasing to the edge of the front wrapper. Accompanied by a custom-made slipcase. Only 1,000 copies of the first run of Howl were printed, and this example—signed by Ginsberg and the poem’s subject, unexpectedly made famous by the controversial work—is a truly outstanding example of the landmark Beat Generation book. Starting Bid $1000
Russian writer (1868–1936), who was a founder of the socialist realism literary method. AQS in Cyrillic on an off-white 4.5 x 3 card, signed at the conclusion in fountain pen by Gorky. In full (roughly translated): “Americans say ‘Time is Money.’ I have spent much time in vain in your country.” In fine condition, with a repaired upper right corner, and faint toning from prior display. Starting Bid $200
497. Ernest Hemingway Signed Check. National City
Bank of New York check, 6.5 x 2.75, filled out and signed by Hemingway, “Ernest M. Hemingway,” payable to Hotel Ambos Mundos for $80, June 21, 1933. Reverse bears four Cuban revenue stamps and the ink-stamped endorsement of Ambos Mundos, the Havana hotel that was the writer’s longtime Cuban residence. Hemingway called the hotel ‘a good place to write’ and produced the opening chapters of For Whom the Bell Tolls there. In fine condition, with some light creasing and an unobtrusive central vertical fold. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA. A desirable autograph with a great literary association. Starting Bid $200
Working draft to Howe’s ‘In the Cologne Cathedral’
498. Julia Ward Howe Autograph Poem Signed. Au-
tograph draft of a poem, signed “Julia Ward Howe,” two pages (7.75 x 10.25 and 7.75 x 5), no date. The poem, titled “In Cologne Cathedral,” begins: “I felt the glories of the ancient shrine / Wrap me about with harmonies divine / The childlike faith, the earnest sacrifice, / The inspiration of the truly wise.” There are corrections over several words, indicating that this was a draft of the final poem and not a commemorative copy. In very good condition, with trimming to second page, partial separations along horizontal folds, light toning, a few smudges, wrinkles, and pinholes, and a faint pencil stroke through signature. Starting Bid $200
499. Langston Hughes Typed Manuscript Signed and (2) Signed Books. TMS, three pages, 8.5 x 11, no date but
circa 1962. Extensively hand-edited and corrected draft entitled “Author’s Postscript: Personal” from his 1962 book Fight for Freedom: The Story of the NAACP. Also includes two signed books: a 1930 hardcover edition of Not Without Laughter, and a 1945 hardcover edition of The Big Sea, both of which are signed and inscribed on an opening page by Hughes. In overall very good to fine condition, with file holes to the left margins of the typescript and a small adhesive remnant to the signed page of Not Without Laughter. Starting Bid $200
Peacefully resting in Tyrol, Ibsen occupies himself “poetically exclusively with human character and with human fate”
500. Henrik Ibsen Autograph Quotation Signed. Revered Norwegian playwright and poet (1828–1906) whose works, including A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler, made him one of the seminal figures of modern drama. AQS in German on an offwhite 7.5 x 3.75 sheet, dated at Bolzano, Italy, November 9, 1884. Handwritten quotation by Ibsen, in full (translated): “I let all my problems rest in dear peaceful Tyrol and occupy myself poetically exclusively with human character and with human fate. Bozen, 9 November 1884, Henrik Ibsen.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
James Joyce edits Finnegans Wake in a handwritten letter filled with his iconic prose
501. James Joyce Autograph Letter Signed. Rare and extraordinary ALS, one page, 4.5 x 6, 2 Square Robiac letterhead, May 18, 1926. Handwritten letter to Lily Bollach, a typist working on the manuscript of Joyce’s famed ‘Work in Progress,’ which would become Finnegans Wake; these changes relate to Book III, Chapter 3. In full: “It is all my fault for copying out of an earlier version. I am sorry to have put you to unnecessary trouble. Please read ‘noblesse of leechers at this Saxontannery etc’ and later ‘during alleged recent act of our chief magistrades as required by statues’ for ‘Mockmacmahonson’ in the other place read ‘Mockmacmahonitch’ and after the words ‘man in the coombe’ insert ‘Fauxfitzhuorson.’ The verse begins correctly as you say ‘Day shirker.’ With many apologies and kind regards.” Addressed on the reverse in Joyce’s hand. In fine condition, with old tape stains along the top and bottom edges.
Filled with experimental language like that seen here, James Joyce began his masterwork, Finnegans Wake, as a ‘Work in Progress’ in 1923. Fragments appeared in literary journals over the course of 17 years, before the completed novel was finally published in May 1939. Joyce corrects a draft of the manuscript in this remarkable letter, writing out ideal examples of the stylish, idiosyncratic language that characterizes the work. Very few Joyce letters offer such distinct examples of his inimitable prose. Starting Bid $1000
“My trainer’s name is Johnny Walker”— original manuscript for Kerouac’s last major article, published in The Atlantic
503. Jack Kerouac Hand-Corrected and Signed Manuscript Proof. Typed manuscript for the article “In the Ring”
by Jack Kerouac, six pages, 8.5 x 11, no date but circa 1968, initialed on the last page in black ballpoint by the author, “JK”; also includes the hand-corrected galley proof, printer’s instructions, and first printing in the March 1968 issue of The Atlantic. The article describes boxing and wrestling matches witnessed around New England during his youth, and stands as a great example of Kerouac’s stylish semi-autobiographical prose. In small part: “I saw this guy outside the little training gym my father ran in Centerville, Lowell Mass., about 1930, when he first introduced me to sports by taking me in there to watch the boys hammer away at punching bags and big sandbags, and if you ever see an amateur heavyweight whacking away full-fisted at a sandbag and making the whole gym creek, you’ll learn never to start a fight with any big boy you ever do meet in any bar from Portland Maine to Portland Oregon.” The manuscript has several emendations throughout—minor pencil corrections to spelling and grammar (presumably in the hand of an editor), and a couple of ink corrections (including the word “trainer’s”), evidently in Kerouac’s hand.
The three-page uncorrected author’s proof features two corrections in Kerouac’s hand, one striking through the extra letter in the misspelled “gymn,” and the other changing “Rex Arena” to “Crescent Rink.” The accompanying document, headed “Atlantic Accent & Books Headings,” offers printing/typesetting instructions for the article’s appearance in the magazine, the title (“In the Ring”) and author (“by Jack Kerouac”) to be displayed flush left in the same size. In fine condition, with toning and splits to folds in the galley proof. Accompanied by a handsome custom-made clamshell box with gilt-stamped quarter-leather binding.
This was the last piece of Kerouac’s to appear in a major publication during his lifetime, as he passed away at the age of 47 on October 21, 1969. Complications due to cirrhosis after a lifetime of heavy drinking caused the death, a casualty anticipated in the closing line of this piece: “I say, God bless young fighters, and now I’ll take a rest and wait for my trainer’s bottle, and my trainer’s name is Johnny Walker.” An excellent original work from the Beat Generation pioneer, and an archive that chronicles the publishing process from start to finish. Starting Bid $5000
Twice-signed personal check cashed by Kerouac and his mother
502. Jack Kerouac Twice-Signed Check. Personal check, 6.25 x 2.75, filled out and signed by Kerouac, “Jack Kerouac,” payable to cash for $100, June 17, 1959; also endorsed on the reverse by Kerouac and his mother, “Jack Kerouac” and “Gabrielle Kerouac.” In fine condition. Kerouac and his mother lived in Northport, New York, between 1958 and 1964. Starting Bid $200
504. Charles Lamb Signed Handwritten Acrostic
Poem. Exceptional handwritten acrostic poem by Charles Lamb, who signs at the bottom, “Ch’s Lamb, Enfield, 16 Apr. 1831.” The four-stanza poem, one page, 7.25 x 9, is headed “Acrostic” at the top and, accordingly, spells out the recipient, “To Sarah James of Beguildy,” with the first letter of each successive line. The poem reads, in part: “Sleep hath treasures worth retracing / Are you not in slumbers pacing / Round your native spot at times / And seem to hear Beguildy’s chimes?” Professionally inlaid into a slightly larger sheet. In very good to fine condition, with light creasing, toning, and soiling. Starting Bid $200 505. Jack London Typed Letter Signed. TLS, one page,
8 x 9.75, stamped personal letterhead, March 29, 1906. Letter to Mabel Applegarth, his ‘first love’ from his late-teen years, including his brief period at UC Berkeley where Mabel was also a student. In part: “Since my return from the lecture-trip I have declined all lecture-propositions with the exception of Oakland, as I have to be down in Oakland now and again and I don’t lose any time…You can explain this to the Unitarian people, and add that I am not lecturing anywhere else outside of Oakland.” Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 12.25 x 14.25. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Choice autograph letter by Herman Melville, breezily taking an advance on his historical novel Israel Potter
506. Herman Melville Autograph Letter Signed. Scarce ALS signed “H. Melville,” one page, 4.75 x 6.75, November 25, 1854. Melville writes to his publisher, G. P. Putnam & Co. in New York. In full: “I have taken the liberty to draw on you today at three days’ sight for Sixty Dollars ($60); about which sum will probably be due on Dec: No: of ‘Israel Potter.’” The book, Melville’s only historical novel, was based on the eponymous Revolutionary War hero (1744-1826); among the historical figures who make cameos in the story are George III, Benjamin Franklin, and (through Melville’s imaginative license) Ethan Allen and John Paul Jones. In fine condition, with a trimmed left edge, and a tiny repair to the upper left corner. A gorgeously penned and perfectly preserved example that looks as fresh as the day it came from the great author’s pen. Starting Bid $1000
507. A. A. Milne (2) Autograph Letters Signed. Two ALSs, signed “Blue” and “A. A Milne,” three pages in total, dated July 2, 1920, and November 27, 1942. Both letters are addressed to close friend Vincent Seligman. The earlier letter, penned on Mallord Street letterhead, in part: “I am afraid that my wife won’t be able to go out now until after September, but it is very nice of Mrs. Seligman to ask us.” The second letter, in part: “I shall now answer your questions…1. Moon. A fortnight after he’d got his commission he came back on embarkation leave, and sailed on August 26th. He shouldn’t have gone really but wrangled himself into the place of an officer on leave…he arrives at Irak on Nov 3rd, and I suppose will be there for a bit: anyway, we haven’t heard since.” Milne adds a short poem for a postscript, “A force, however badly paid, owes / its striking power to its DADOS; / from toilet paper down to pistol / it owes it all to DADOS Bristol.” In overall fine condition, with creasing to the top of one of the letters. Starting Bid $200
508. A. A. Milne Autograph Letter Signed. ALS, one page, 5 x 7.75, Hotel
Timeo letterhead, February 24, 1931. Handwritten letter from Sicily, to his literary agent Nancy Pearn. In part: “Avanti also Congrazziolatione and Spaghetti! (Spanish for good!). Yes, I must agree about the title, but I don’t think I need bother about cuts and such like. Tell Hunt I assume that he is a man of intelligence and will treat it intelligently. I shall be finished by Autumn, I swear.” He adds a postscript: “The weather has not been too good, but even so, this place is prettier than Henrietta Street.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
509. Kenneth Patchen Archive. Significant archive of rare
and important materials related to the experimental American poet and novelist Kenneth Patchen, from the collection of musician, writer, and critic Tony Glover. Patchen, whose protest writing, humor, and modern myth-making imagery anticipated the work of Bob Dylan, was a central influence on the San Francisco Renaissance and the Beat Generation.
Highlights include:
- A rare out-of-series ‘painted’ edition of Panels for the Walls of Heaven, published by Bern Porter in 1946, signed inside the rear board in black felt tip, “One of the ‘Over-runs’ from the 150 copy Painted Edition of this book. Out of Series, Kenneth Patchen.” Bound in original thick blue-painted boards.
- A first edition of Sleepers Awake, published by in New York by Padell, 1946, hardcover with dust jacket, signed and inscribed on the first free end page in thick blue felt tip, “For David & Karen Glover, with every good wish, 24-6-64—Palo Alto, Kenneth Patchen.”
- A fifth edition of The Journal of Albion Moonlight, published in New York by Padell in 1946, hardcover with dust jacket, signed and inscribed on the first free end page in thick red felt tip by Kenneth Patchen, “For Karen & David Glover, all the good wishes of Miriam & Kenneth Patchen.” - More than 40 pieces of correspondence from his wife and muse, Miriam Patchen, including handwritten and typed letters, cards, and postcards, often artistically rendered. Most letters include their original mailing envelopes. These significant letters offer intimate glimpses into Patchen’s life and work.
- Two hand-colored silkscreen broadsides of Patchen’s ‘picture-poems,’ entitled “The Moment” and “To Whomever.” Both framed.
- A box of Glover’s research notes about Patchen and his works, including a few of Glover’s typed drafts of articles about the Patchen (one with an attached slip from the Evergreen Review, declining to publish the piece). Plus Glover’s card index tray filled with cards bearing typed notes about Patchen’s body of work, with reviews, publishing data, press mentions, and assorted other blurbs.
Also includes 36 unsigned books by and about Patchen (including many desirable first editions), a program for the 1974 ‘Hallelujah Anyway’ exhibition at the University of North Dakota; an issue of ‘Anarchy 34’ from 1963, with a piece on Patchen; and three examples of the prospectus for ‘Jargon 50: But Even So.’ In overall very good to fine condition.
View additional images online at www.RRAuction.com.
Starting Bid $200
Rare “Peter Rabbit” sketch by Beatrix Potter, sent to the composer of the Peter Rabbit Music Books
510. Beatrix Potter Signed Sketch of Peter Rabbit. Sought-after ink signature and inscription, “[From:] Wm. and Beatrix Heelis, [To:] Christopher and Phyllis Le Fleming and the young man, from Peter Rabbit, Christmas 1936,” on an off-white 4.25 x 6 presentation sheet, with Potter adding a wonderful small sketch of a rabbit and a trail of winding “x” marks. In fine condition, with trimmed edges and scattered light foxing.
With their playful plots, imaginative critters, and some of the liveliest illustrations in children’s literature, Beatrix Potter’s little books—23 in total, published over the course of two decades—were an instant and enormous success. By 1935, the 69-yearold had all but given up her writing career, focusing on her farming and sheep breeding above all else. But despite her weakening eyes and a tremble in her hand, she cheerfully embarked on a new project called The Peter Rabbit Music Books when the young composer Christopher Le Fleming—‘a rather peculiar visitor,’ as she called him in a letter to a friend—approached her with a set of piano pieces he had written, inspired by her stories and suitable for children. A wonderful association piece boasting a rare original Peter Rabbit sketch by Potter. Starting Bid $1000
Rare publishing document from the notoriously reclusive Thomas Pynchon
511. Thomas Pynchon Document Signed. DS, one page, 8.5 x 13, March 10, 1967. Rider to an agreement between Thomas Pynchon and the Italian publisher Valentino Bompiani & C., concerning the exclusive license granted to them “to publish and to sell in the Italian language, in volume form only, a work entitled ‘V’ by the Author, Thomas Pynchon…in their quality paperback reprint series ‘I Delfini,’ paying a flat 7 1/2%…on each and every copy of the said work sold.” Signed at the conclusion in blue ballpoint by Pynchon. In fine condition.
Pynchon’s debut novel, V. was first published in English in 1963. In his typical imaginative postmodern mode, Pynchon traces the exploits of a discharged sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a the Whole Sick Crew (a group of pseudo-bohemian artists), and the quest of an aging traveler named Herbert Stencil to identify and locate the mysterious entity he knows only as ‘V.’ The novel was nominated for a National Book Award, and received the William Faulkner Foundation Award for best debut novel. Starting Bid $500
Salinger on his “raw-food” diet
512. J. D. Salinger Typed
Letter Signed. Intriguing TLS signed “Jerry,” two pages, 8.5 x 11, January 18, 1972. Letter to Eileen Paddison, discussing a wedding photograph and his ‘raw food’ diet. He writes that everyone looks happy in the picture, and suspects that the bride and groom have a great chance at success. He goes on to comment at length on his search for a complete dietary solution, discussing the years spent looking into a vast array of different types of diets. He has settled on a ‘raw food’ diet, where nutrients can not be altered by exposure to heat. Certain things that taste too badly—like eggs—he is willing to heat to a hundred degrees, but not more. In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Starting Bid $300
Evading “cranks, etc.,” the reclusive Salinger opens a P.O. box under the pseudonym “John Boletus”
513. J. D. Salinger Document Signed. DS, signed “J. D.
Salinger,” one page, 6 x 4, February 20, 1964. Official card from the Post Office in Cornish, New Hampshire, filled out by Salinger to open a post office box under the name “John Boletus,” printing the pseudonym in the “Name of Applicant” box, and signing in cursive at the conclusion, “J. D. Salinger.” An explanation is typed at the center: “Applicant is an author who is planning to have only mail addressed to the name above, which is a pseudonym, placed in the box to avoid having cranks, etc. taking advantage of the fact in their contact with the name Jerome Salinger. Mr. Salinger also uses the above name (Boletus) in business with the Windsor Co. Nat’l. Bank.” According to the card, the box was closed on July 16, 1987. In fine condition.
This remarkable document demonstrates Salinger’s famously reclusive nature—operating under a pseudonym to avoid “cranks”—as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of mushrooms. He likely chose the name because of its innuendo—boletus being a Latin name for mushroom, and one in the same kingdom/division/class as the ‘phallus’ mushroom. His frequent use of the pseudonym is referenced in the New Yorker article ‘A Night at the Movies’ by John Seabrook, and in Vanity Fair’s ‘Salinger in Love’ by Joyce Maynard. An extraordinary piece from the recluse writer. Starting Bid $500
Extraordinary signed first edition of the final Dr. Seuss book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
514. Dr. Seuss Signed Book. Signed book: Oh, the Places You’ll Go! First edition. NY: Random House, 1990. Hardcover with dust jacket, 8.25 x 11.25, 44 pages. Signed and inscribed adjacent to the half-title page in black ink, “With best wishes to Matt Stiller! Dr. Seuss, March 1990.” Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: NF/NF.
The consignor notes that the book was purchased at the Strand Book Store in New York City during the week of its publication, and then mailed to Dr. Seuss shortly thereafter. Although unconfirmed, it remains highly unlikely that the author performed any public book signings for Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, his final book, given that he had experienced complications from his oral cancer prior to the book’s release date; Dr. Seuss would lose his battle with cancer at the age of 87, a year-and-a-half after signing this copy. Signed examples of Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, the last Seuss book to be published during his lifetime, are virtually nonexistent, with research revealing no other examples sold at auction within the past 15 years—that this is a first edition only further elevates its already immense desirability and scarcity. Starting Bid $2500
Scarce movie contract for an adaptation of Steinbeck’s The Wayward Bus
x 11, October 22, 1947. Official letter addressed to Liberty Films, Inc., regarding a supplement to an earlier Letter-Agreement for a film adaptation of Steinbeck’s novel The Wayward Bus, which finds Steinbeck requesting the film company “to give additional consideration to my said story.” Signed neatly at the conclusion in black ink by Steinbeck. In fine condition. A screen version of Steinbeck’s novel, directed by Victor Vacas and starring Jayne Mansfield, Joan Collins, and Dan Dailey, was released in 1957. Documents related to Steinbeck’s storied Hollywood career remain uncommon. Starting Bid $200
“Meetings are not my kind of activity,” writes Steinbeck during work on the Arthurian legend
516. John Steinbeck Autograph Letter Signed. ALS,
one page, 6.5 x 8.25, December 1957. Handwritten letter to John Ciardi, in part: “Bread Loaf sounds very attractive and besides I have been hearing about it for years from Edith Mirrielees. But meetings are not my kind of activity. I am no good at them. Besides, I have never lectured in my life and I’m afraid it’s too late to start now.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original hand-addressed mailing envelope. The “Malory research” Steinbeck alludes to is undoubtedly his exhaustive exploration of the Arthurian legend, based on the Winchester Manuscript text of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. Although left unfinished, the work was later published in 1976 as The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. Starting Bid $200
Advice to a schoolteacher: “If you want them to read my work—forbid it. Then they will not only read it but will have a fine sense of sin too”
12.5, October 25, 1948. Handwritten letter to a teacher, in part: “I am sorry I have neither books nor pictures. The first I do not have around and the second I do not like. Please don’t make your students read my work. This could give them a hatred they would never out grow. If you want them to read my work—forbid it. Then they will not only read it but will have a fine sense of sin too and some triumph over authority.” In fine condition, with small tape stains at the corners. Starting Bid $200
518. John Steinbeck Signed
Photograph. Intense glossy 4.75 x 6.5 close-up publicity photo of author John Steinbeck, signed in the lower border in black ink. In fine condition, with light brushing to his first name. An uncommon format, as Steinbeck was always reluctant to sign photos of himself. Starting Bid $200 519. Robert Louis Stevenson Signature. Bold and neat ink signature,
“Robert Louis Stevenson, 1893,” on an off-white 3.75 x 1 slip, affixed to a mount below an original albumen photograph of Stevenson, showing him in an exotic locale, to an overall size of 5 x 7. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Tolkien on the rules of metre and prosody, in relation to Middle English and ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’
520. J. R. R. Tolkien Typed Letter Signed. TLS, two pages, 8 x 10.25, June 22, 1957. Letter to Andrew Schiller, commenting on the classic medieval tale ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ and the structural rules of the English language. In part: “I regret that I have not, even now, time to discuss your interesting paper or statement of queries concerning the metre of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. My chief sympathy is with your remark in the second paragraph from ‘In the first place’ to ‘as we sing.’ Also there is surely a natural intermediary between ‘reading silently,’ a process that cannot at the period have yet become normal, and ‘chanting according to a bardic tradition,’ for the existence of which in the English-speaking areas I know of no evidence; namely reading aloud in a manner basically allied to the natural speaking voice...
For me metre is the conscious learned pattern, the rules (which are in a sense artificial, and may even be in a sense false). According to metre a master can tell a pupil that a line ‘does not scan’—which is not the same thing as saying that it is phonetically unpleasant or that it is not capable of phonetic analysis. Prosody is the analysis of what is there, linguistically and (in the widest sense) phonetically, especially in relation to the artificial pattern. In which, of course, the nature of the language itself, and of the idiosyncrasies of a given person will inevitably be concerned.
In dealing with a dead metrical practice, that has not left a record or tradition of ‘the rules,’ I think that most enquiries, and notably those dealing with the ‘alliterative’ tradition, become confused...What do you think were ‘the rules’ in this case? And how were they learned? There must have been some...One thing is certain: they were not formulated according to musical notation, nor in the terms of modern structural linguistics. Where does ‘alliteration’ come in? I think that is the first point of enquiry. Though it is much neglected by analysts of the supposed rhythmical structure of Old and Medieval ‘alliterative’ verse.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Starting Bid $300
521. Leo Tolstoy Autograph Letter Signed. ALS in Cyrillic, signed “Count L. Tolstoy,” two pages on two adjoining sheets, 5.25 x 8.5, no date. Letter to Prince Dmitry Dmitrievich, in full (translated): “I am forwarding to you the letter to my mother-in-law, Lyubov Aleksandrovna Behrs, in which I am writing to her that you were so kind to undertake to deliver this money to her, and even there, in Petersburg, to complete the transaction, thus saving her the trouble. I would not have bothered her at all had not the transfers been already made in her name. I’m sorry to trouble you. Thank you very much. May God grant you success and, most importantly, spiritual strength, which depends a lot on oneself.” He adds a postscript, “Tomorrow, I shall send the 1,000-ruble bill with the transfer to L.A. Behrs.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $1000
Rare handwritten letter by the Basque essayist: “The intimate object of humanity is to realize history, which is the thought of God on the earth of man”
522. Miguel de Unamuno Autograph Letter Signed. Very rare ALS in Spanish, two pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, November 26, 1923. Lengthy handwritten letter to writer and critic Lewis Mumford, shortly after a military coup brought Miguel Primo de Rivera to power in 1923, commenting on Mumford’s work The Story of Utopias. In part (translated): “Without our having here a Regional Survey, I, who in my 59 years of life have scarcely left the Iberian Peninsula, have gone over with all my soul, largely on foot, Spain and Portugal and above all my native Basque country and this basin of the Duero, and, communing with it, have made for myself my utopia. And believe me that this corner of the world has something of Ireland, Denmark, India and China. Now we have to defend ourselves against the troglodytic Fascist or Mussoliniesque utopia which has been brought to us by this shameful pronouncement of a general with less brains than a sheep and who is making vile and degrading my poor Spain…What your book tells me…makes me understand that what you call utopia is to live history. To live history, is to live in history, in the universal consciousness, and for history, free from the myth of progress. The intimate object of humanity is to realize history, which is the thought of God on the earth of man.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope (addressed in Unamuno’s hand), and a complete translation.Starting Bid $200
523. H. G. Wells Autograph Letter Signed. ALS, one page, 7 x 9, 120 Whitehall
Court letterhead, September 30, 1921. Handwritten letter to Fran Duschinsky, in full: “I’d like to get you that invitation if I could but at present I don’t think I can. I am just going off to America to attend the Washington conference & I may stay in America until next spring. Thank you for writing so freely to me and for sending me the poem & the prose passage. No one shall see your letter. I wish I could help you.” In fine condition, with mailing folds. Starting Bid $200
Woolf on her influential essay A Room of One’s Own—“Many of the arguments were left rather crude, because of my audience—young girls”
524. Virginia Woolf Typed Letter Signed. TLS, one page, 7.75 x 10.5, 52 Tavistock Square letterhead, December 3, 1930. Letter to Mr. Hapgood, presumably editor and author Norman Hapgood, in full: “On the contrary, I remember very well meeting you at Maynard Keynes’. It is very good of you to remind me of it so pleasantly. I have a passion for reading memoirs, and on that account alone should have been delighted to read yours. But I have found them far above the usual interest, and, having finished them, have laid them where my husband will read them as soon as he had despatched the usual run of books that come to him in the way of business. There are many questions about them, that I should like to ask you, but can hardly bother you, all across Europe. I hope there will be a continuation—it is a fascinating story. I am very glad that A Room of Ones Own has interested you. As you probably guessed, many of the arguments were left rather crude, because of my audience—young girls. And I daresay they were meant to stimulate rather than to wind up. There is more to be said about Shelley as you hint. But I am satisfied if I have stirred up interest and led people like yourself to start their own probably better equipped minds. I suppose much of what I say hardly applies to America. With thanks and kind regards from us both.” Woolf adds “young girls” and makes a few corrections to the text in her own hand. In fine condition. Starting Bid $500
