12 minute read
Literature
502. Andre Breton HandCorrected Typescript. Hand-
corrected typescript draft in French by Andre Breton for an article entitled “La Paix par NousMêmes [Peace by Ourselves],” four pages, 8 x 10.5, no date but circa late 1940s. Breton begins by paraphrasing Charles Fourier, saying (translated): “The terrible events which marked the first part of the twentieth century are only trifles according to those who prepare. The world is approaching a catastrophe of such an order that one can hope that its mere apprehension will be enough to impose perpetual peace.”
Breton quotes Albert Einstein, to affirm the need to “change our way of thinking” and “remake human understanding,” despite “conformisms from left and right,” to move towards “the reorganization of humanity on a organic level,” and eradicate “this drunken and still bloodthirsty nationalism…this rival imperialism of coca-cola and denatured Marxism.” Breton makes several handwritten corrections throughout the text. In fine condition, with slight corner creasing. A timely article from the important Surrealist thinker on the matter of world peace. Starting Bid $200
503. Samuel L. Clemens Signature. Fantastic fountain pen
signature, “Truly yours, S. L. Clemens, (Mark Twain),” on an off-white 3.75 x 2 slip. Attractively double-matted and framed with a portrait of Clemens playing billiards to an overall size of 14.75 x 20.75. In fine condition. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from JSA. A great ‘double’ autograph using both his legal name and famous nom de plume. Starting Bid $200
504. Philip K. Dick Typed Letter Signed. TLS signed
“Love, Phil,” adding a heart with arrow, three pages, 8.5 x 11, February 13, 1981. Lengthy philosophical letter to science fiction author Patricia Warrick, in small part: “So for Plato, the universalis (Forms) are not merely a way of looking at reality, a way of arranging it and structuring it, but, rather, are a way that is congruent with the essential nature (einai) of that reality itself. In the sense that Wittgenstein speaks of, then, the inner analog or picture of reality is that the percipient possesses is congruent with the reality itself—if the Forms are used and if Plato is right. What Plato is saying is that despite the fact that out percept-systems report the flux world that Heraclitus speaks of, in actual fact the only true reality out there consists of the eternal Forms, and we are not seeing reality until we apperceive these Forms.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Starting Bid $200
505. Gustave Flaubert Autograph Letter Signed. ALS signed “Gve.
Flaubert,” one page, 5.25 x 8.25, November 14, 1856 [date annotations by the recipient]. Handwritten letter by Flaubert to his “dear friend,” Jean Clogenson, a friend of Flaubert’s best friend, the poet Louis Bouilhet. In full (translated): “I barely have the time to let you know that the Montarcysts banquet will take place tomorrow Sunday afternoon at 5:30 at Provencal Brothers. Should it be impossible for it to take place at the three Brothers, you will be notified as to where we shall gather by Mr. Lecoupeur, who is waiting, I believe, through your intermediary, some money from his family.” In fine condition, with a tiny chip to the top edge. Starting Bid $200
506. Andre Gide Signed Photograph. Influential French writer (1869-1951) whose wide-ranging musings on politics, sexuality, and personal freedom earned him the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Vintage glossy 4.25 x 6.25 photo of the important symbolist author lighting a cigarette, signed and inscribed in fountain pen, “A John Russell, en bien cordial souvenir, Andre Gide.” Reverse bears an Interfoto credit stamp. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
507. Victor Hugo Original Sketch. Original ink sketch
accomplished by Victor Hugo off-white 2.75 x 4.25 slip, showing a man decked out in formal attire, standing in a profile pose and wearing a top hat. In fine condition. Known as an adept draughtsman, Hugo’s works of art—drawn with everything from pen and ink to soot and coffee grounds—have been the subject of several magnificent exhibitions. Just the second sketch by Hugo we have offered—this is an exemplary piece. Starting Bid $500
A verse by Victor Hugo
508. Victor Hugo Autograph Quotation Signed. Highly desirable AQS signed “Victor Hugo,” one page, 10.25 x 4.75, no date. Wonderful and scarce stanza by the great French romantic poet, of his poem ‘O, my love letters…,’ from his major early poetry volume ‘les Feuilles d’automne’ (‘Autumn Leaves’), published in 1831. In full (translated): “Let us forget! Let us forget! When youth is dead, / Let us be taken by the wind which carries it away / To the dark horizon. / Nothing is left of us; our work is an issue. / Man, wandering ghost, passes by, without even leaving / His shadow upon the wall.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
509. Victor Hugo Autograph Letter Signed. ALS in
French, one page, 6 x 8, July 22, 1872. Handwritten letter in which the great poet shows his longtime commitment to greater social justice, advocating the responsibility of writers towards their country. In full (translated): “In presence of homeland’s distress, writers must lead by example and make sacrifices. The tax which you suggest would yield profit without hindering the circulation, and I agree with your excellent thought.” In fine condition, with two small holes to the left edge. Starting Bid $200
Love letter to Victor Hugo: “I have so many sweet things to tell you, so many kisses to give you and so much love to teach you”
510. Victor Hugo: Juliette Drouet Autograph Letter Signed. French actress (1806-1883) who abandoned her career
after becoming the mistress of Victor Hugo, to whom she acted as a secretary and traveling companion. ALS in French, signed “Juliette,” four pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.75 x 7.5, October 3, 1848. Handwritten letter to illustrious French writer Victor Hugo by his lifetime lover, allowing one to glimpse their daily life and bearing witness to Juliette Drouet’s amorous devotion. In part (translated): “I shall not see you tonight, my beloved. This thought weights as heavily as a piece of lead upon all the hours before tomorrow, and makes me find them fatally heavy, slow, monotonous and gloomy. However, I am doing what I can to make time pass, but while I make various exercises with my feet, hands and eyes, my thoughts and my soul are counting second after second every hour of absence with a painful impatience. O, how much I would like to be dead, so as not to leave you again. God knows how much I would suffer, should I see you love another woman.” In fine condition, with a tiny loss to the corner tip, affecting the last letter of her signature. Starting Bid $200
writer, poet, literary collector, and politician (1736–1796) best known as the ‘translator’ of the Ossian cycle of epic poems. Macpherson’s ‘translations’ from the Gaelic bard Ossian were first published in 1761, and their authenticity was immediately challenged—most famously by Dr. Samuel Johnson. ALS, one page, 7.25 x 9, no date but docketed July 7, 1770. Handwritten letter to Mr. Spottiswood, asking for advice on how to proceed with two petitions to the Treasury. In part: “I returned from Edinburgh, Sunday last, and called at your Chambers on Monday—where I was told, you was out of town and not to return till this day. I delivered in the Baron’s Reports upon both the petitions referred to them—and they are as favorable as I could wish them to be. I delayed to push the thing at the Treasury till your return—I am a stranger to the method of proceeding.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
512. Maurice Sendak Signed Sketch in Book. Signed book: Dear Milli. First edition. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1988. Hardcover with dust jacket, 10 x 9.25. Signed and inscribed on the half-title page in black felt tip, “For Joan, Maurice Sendak, May 1, 91,” adding a great sketch of Carol from Where the Wild Things Are, saying “Boo!” In very fine condition. Starting Bid $200
513. George Bernard Shaw Autograph Letter Signed. ALS signed “G. Bernard Shaw,” one page, 8 x 5.25, Everyman, The World News Weekly mailing card letterhead, October 9, 1933. Scathing and humorous handwritten letter from Shaw to an apparent publisher, in part: “Drop politics, about which you know nothing; and suppress your correspondents, who are mostly idiots...Cease trying to discredit your competitors by displaying advertisements of them headed ‘Are you against Fascism & Communism etc.’ It would be much more candid to word it ‘Are you a born fool: if so, read etc etc.’” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Rare page from Thoreau’s manuscript for ‘Life Without Principle,’ a philosophical essay published in the Atlantic Monthly
514. Henry David Thoreau Handwritten Manuscript. Fantastic handwritten manuscript by Henry David Thoreau containing a segment of his important essay ‘Life Without Principle,’ one page both sides, 7.5 x 9.5, originally published in ‘The Atlantic Monthly’ in 1863 and in which Thoreau offers his program for a righteous livelihood. Thoreau writes, in part: “I see advertisements for active young men, as if activity were the whole of a young man’s capital. Yet I have been surprised when a man has with confidence proposed to me, a grown man, to embark on ‘some enterprise’ of his, as if I had absolutely nothing to do my life having been a complete failure hitherto. What a doubtful compliment this is to pay me! As if he had met me half way across the ocean beating up against the wind—but bound nowhere—& proposed to me to go along with him! If I did, what do you think the underwriters would say? No! no! I am not without employment at this time of life at this stage of the voyage. To tell the truth I saw an advertisement for able-bodied seamen when I was a boy sauntering in my native port—and as soon as I came of age I embarked. The community has not bribe that will tempt a wise man.” Professionally inlaid into a slightly larger sheet, as issued in the first volume of the 1906 ‘manuscript edition’ of Thoreau’s works, published by Houghton Mifflin. In fine condition. Starting Bid $1000
Tocqueville urges the speedy printing of Democracy in America: “Please, I beg you, make your men work as fast as possible. Yesterday, Gosselin was already on the verge of lacking copies of the book”
515. Alexis de Tocqueville Autograph Letter Signed. French political
thinker and historian (1805–1859) best known for his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution. ALS in French, one page, 5 x 7.75, April 17. Handwritten letter to Mr. Fournier, a printer, sent during the printing of the second volume of ‘Democracy in America.’ Tocqueville urges the printer to make haste in order to meet demand and send him proofs of the text. In full (translated): “I hereby enclose the second part of my first volume. In two days at the latest, I shall have the second volume handed out to you. I do not worry at all about this reprinting. I know that you will take into account the small changes which I have indicated with your usual care. Please, I beg you, make your men work as fast as possible. Yesterday, Gosselin was already on the verge of lacking copies of the book.” Addressed on the integral leaf to “Mr. Fournier, printer, in Paris.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
516. Paul Verlaine Autograph Poem 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. Autograph poem in French, signed “Paul Verlaine,” one page, 5.25 x 8.25, January 30, 1894. Verlaine pens a “Memory of Manchester,” celebrating the time he spent in the English city. Verlaine makes note of his “enormous worship” for Shakespeare, whom he extolled during conferences in front of the local intellectual elite, a fact recalled in this poem. In very good to fine condition, with a small hole, a rough left edge, and light toning along the central horizontal fold. Starting Bid $200
“These Names Shall Live”—authorial autographs from Barrie, Milne, and more
517. Writers: J. M. Barrie, A. A. Milne, Laurence Binyon, and Others Autograph Quotations Signed. Unusual
8.75 x 11 vellum-bound notebook with illuminated title page, “These Names Shall Live,” containing 21 lengthy handwritten quotes signed by their well-known authors, dating from 1923 to 1932. Highlights include an aphorism by Peter Pan playwright J. M. Barrie (“Those who bring happiness into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves”), a quotation from When We Were Very Young by Winnie-the-Pooh creator A. A. Milne, a sixteen-line poem titled “The Linnet” by Walter de la Mare, four stanzas from “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon, a long quotation from “History of the Great War” by John Buchan, and an eight-line stanza from John Galsworthy entitled “The Downs” (from Verses New and Old). Other contributors include Hugh Robert Mill, Arthur Benson, E. V. Lucas, Ian Hay, and Roger Ingpen. In fine condition. Starting Bid $500
