Literature

Handwritten poems in Danish and French by the beloved fairy tale author

782. Hans Christian Andersen Autograph Manuscript Signed. Beloved Danish author (1805–1875) best known for

such classic fairy tales as The Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes, and The Emperor’s New Clothes. Fantastic autograph poems in Danish and French, one page, 13 x 10.25, signed at the conclusion, “Souvenir de H. C. Andersen, Paris 26 April 1843.” Andersen pens four bilingual stanzas of one of his poems, headed “Le Soldat” on the French side. In very good to fine condition, with a trimmed left edge, some small edge tears, and reinforcement on the back of the separated central vertical fold. An impressive handwritten piece from the famed writer, whose literary manuscripts are very rare in the autograph market. Starting Bid $500

783. Henry Walter Bates: 1st Edition The Naturalist on the River Amazons. Desirable

first edition book in two volumes: The Naturalist on the River Amazons: A Record of the Adventures, Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life, and Aspects of Nature under the Equator, during Eleven Years of Travel. First edition. London: John Murray, 1863. Hardcovers bound in original maroon cloth with spines titled in gilt and pictorial vignette gilt to front boards, 5.25 x 8.25, 351 and 417 pages. Complete with nine wood-engraved plates including frontispieces, folding map, and 32 pages of advertisements to rear of the first volume. Book condition: VG-/None, with ownership bookplates and booksellers’ labels to endpapers, bumped corners, edgewear, rubbing to boards, and minor foxing throughout. Starting Bid $200

Hand-addressed envelope panel by the Russian master of the short story

784. Anton Chekhov Handwritten Envelope Panel. Esteemed Russian playwright and short-story writer (1860–1904). Exceedingly rare address panel from the front of a mailing envelope, 5.25 x 3.25, addressed in Anton Chekhov’s hand to Captain Alexander Ivanovitch of the 22nd East Siberian Front Regiment, 10th Company, with an affixed postage stamp and two postal cancellations, one dated April 13, 1904. Affixed to a slightly larger card and in very good condition, with a few tears and rough edges. Accompanied by a letter in French by his wife, signed “Olga Tchekhova Knipper,” sending her correspondent the front panel from her husband’s envelope, explaining that it was sent by Chekhov from the Crimea, in the south of Russia, while he was serving in the Manchurian Army in the war against Japan in 1904; on the reverse of the second page, she pens a translation of the address written by her husband. Starting Bid $300

785. Samuel L. Clemens Signature. Bold fountain pen signature,

“Yrs truly, Sam’l L. Clemens, Mark Twain,” on the reverse of an off-white 3.5 x 2 calling card. In fine condition, with heavy staining to the back. A desirable twice-signed example. Starting Bid $200

“Love is the law, love under will”—extremely rare letter from “A. Crowley,” written from his newly opened Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum

786. Aleister Crowley Typed Letter Signed.

English occultist, ceremonial magician, painter, mountaineer, and prolific writer (1875–1947) who founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. TLS signed “A. Crowley,” one page, 9 x 5.75, November 2, 1920. Written from the Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum in Cefalu, Sicily, a letter to the publishing house George Bell & Sons, in part: “You will by now have received the balance of the account due to you. I have transferred my interests in the stock to the Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum and authorize you to deliver same to their order. Love is the law, love under will.” In very good to fine condition, with scattered light staining and creasing. The first Crowley letter that we have ever offered. Starting Bid $300

788. Charles Dickens Signed Free Frank. Hand-addressed

and free-franked mailing panel, 4.5 x 3, addressed by Dickens to “Edward Du Bois, 16 Strand Street,” and franked in the lower left, “Charles Dickens.” Postmarked April 2, 1841. In fine condition, with light soiling. Dubois was an English wit and man of letters, known for contributions to the Morning Chronicle, The Observer, and the Monthly Mirror. Starting Bid $200

yours, Charles Dickens, Tremont House, Boston, Fourth February, 1842,” on an off-white 4.75 x 2.75 sheet. In fine condition, with a central vertical fold.

Dickens stayed at Tremont House in Boston from January 22 through February 5, which marked the beginning of his very first American tour. As word spread of the internationally renowned author’s presence, the city buzzed with excitement: masses of enlivened fans grew anxious to greet him; publishers scrambled to reprint editions of his work; newspapers lauded his masterful writing; and enterprising locals produced commemorative trinkets and decorations to capitalize on the occasion. Starting Bid $200

The prolific frontier author chronicles his wagon train trek through Arizona

789. Zane Grey’s Handwritten Diary. Zane Grey’s handwritten diary from a trip to Arizona to the Beaver Dam Canyon in Eastern Nevada, 75 pages in ink and pencil, 3.5 x 5, dated from September 25–November 4, [1919-1920?]. His journey begins, in part: “We left Flagstaff on Sept. 15 with the largest outfit I ever got together. 21 horses, 3 wagons and we had grain hauled extra from Winslow so far as it could be brought by truck.” He discusses the weather throughout the journey, sights and experiences along the route, and the people he traveled with. In fine condition. A fascinating firsthand account of a Western journey by the well-known author, whose tales of the American West have captivated readers for over a century. Starting Bid $200

791. Herman Melville Signature. Scarce ink signature, “Her-

man Melville,” on an off-white 2.75 x .5 slip, nicely matted and framed with a portrait to an overall size of 11 x 16. In fine condition. A hugely desirable autograph from the author of Moby Dick, Typee, and Omoo. Starting Bid $200

“I shall most certainly not agree to have my work meddled with by an American”

792. George Bernard Shaw Typed Letter

Signed. TLS signed “G. Bernard Shaw,” one page, 7 x 4.5, personal letterhead, January 30, 1937. Letter to Robert Messulam, in part: “A perfect picture is not possible. At all events I cannot design one. I do not write for the approval of all picture goers in all towns and in all spheres of life, but for people who have a cultivated taste for the particular class of work that my name is identified with. I shall most certainly not agree to have my work meddled with by an American or American-trained expert. If you want his work you need not come to me. If you want mine there is no occasion for his services. On the whole I think you had better conclude that you have come to the wrong shop.” In fine condition, with old adhesive remnants along one reverse edge. Starting Bid $200

Accepting an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau agrees to lecture on his Cape Cod excursions

793. Henry David Thoreau Autograph Letter Signed. ALS signed “Henry D. Thoreau,” one page, 7.75 x 9.75, February 8, 1850. Handwritten letter to Charles Northend, written from Concord. In full: “I am informed by Mr. Emerson that you invite me through him to read a lecture on Cape Cod before your Lyceum on Monday the 18th. I will do so if you do not inform me of a different arrangement before that time. P.S. The illegibility of my MSSs is mainly owing to a steel pen to which I am unused.” In fine condition, with small old tape stains to the corners.

On February 6th, Ralph Waldo Emerson had written to Thoreau on behalf of Charles Northend, requesting that he give a lecture on his travels in Cape Cod at the South Danvers Lyceum. Thoreau accepted the offer—$10 plus travel expenses—and delivered the talk on February 18th. In a preface to the lecture, which was a combination of three he had prepared on his Cape Cod sojourns, he excused any apparent disjointedness: ‘I purpose to read this evening as many extracts as the time will permit from a long account of a visit to Cape Cod made last October, particularly those parts relating two Nauset beach. As I had already condensed three lectures into two, and I am now invited to roll those two into one so as to give some sort of connected account of my journey, you can imagine how unconnected and incomplete this lecture may be.’ Thoreau would later compile the stories of these excursions in his 1865 work Cape Cod. With great references to Emerson and his famous Cape Cod trips, this is an ideal handwritten letter by Thoreau. Starting Bid $1000

Tolstoy cites Dickens, Hugo, and Dostoevsky in his study of “the universal art”

794. Leo Tolstoy Signed Manuscript. Manuscript draft in Cyrillic for a portion of the fifteenth chapter of Leo Tolstoy’s 1897 essay ‘What Is Art?,’ five pages, 8.75 x 10.5, endorsed vertically in the margin of the first page, “Here are more changes in chapter XVI. All the rest was sent with [illegible], L. Tolstoy.” The text of the draft is predominately penned in another hand, with the addition of a couple words by Tolstoy. In small part: “The highest Christian art summons in people those feelings which, through love of God and one’s neighbor, draw them towards greater and greater union, which make them ready for and capable of such union. The art of the whole people, everyday art summons the feelings which show them that they are already united in the oneness of life’s joys and sorrows...If I were asked to point to examples of each of these kinds of art in modern art, then, as examples of the higher religious positive art and lower negative art in the written word I would point among more recent works to V. Hugo and his Misirables [sic], his Les pauvres gens, to almost all of the novellas, stories, and novels of Dickens: [A] Tale o[f] Two Cities, Scrouge [sic], [The] Chimes and others, to Uncle Tom’s Cabin; to Dostoevsky, most of all to his Dead House; to Adam [author] [Adam Vede and others] Bede and other works by George Eliot.” In fine condition, with scattered light stains. Starting Bid $500