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Literature
570. Albert Camus Typed Letter Signed. TLS in French, one page, 5.25 x
8.25, Librairie Gallimard letterhead, March 20, 1958. Written from Paris, a letter to novelist Jacques Brenner, in full (translated): “The manuscripts of Dadelson that my wife has given me to be published by Gallimard are in a great disorder. I will not be able to organize them into a manuscript to be published in May when I return from Algeria. I leave in four days. Would you like us to meet at that moment and you could choose a few texts? If yes, please call me at Gallimard at the beginning of May and we will arrange for a meeting.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in the hand of Camus. Starting Bid $200
571. Eric Carle Signed Book with Sketch. Signed book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 25th Anniversary limited edition, numbered 267/500. NY: Philomel Books, 1994. Silver metallic hardcover with tipped-in original multicolored crayon sketch by Carle, 12 x 8.5, 16 pages. The affixed sketch shows the smiling insect holding a flag that reads “25,” signed below in blue ink, “Eric Carle, 1994.” Includes a certificate of authenticity bearing Carle’s facsimile signature, and by the original heavy Plexiglas display case, the sides of which have become loose/detached. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
First printing of Chekhov’s last play, The Cherry Orchard
572. Anton Chekhov: First Printing of ‘The
Cherry Orchard’. First in-print appearance of Anton Chekhov’s last play: Vishnyovy Sad [The Cherry Orchard] published in Sbornik T-va Znaniye, Vol. II. First edition. St. Petersburg: Znanie, 1904. Rebound in a quarter leather hardcover binding, 5.75 x 8, 318 pages. Written by Chekhov in 1903, The Cherry Orchard was first performed under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski in the Moscow Art Theater in January 1904. Chekhov described the play as a comedy, with some elements of farce, though Stanislavski treated it as a tragedy. In very good condition, with a partial split to the front board’s joint, edgewear and rubbing to boards, bumped corners, and and rubbing to leather spine. Starting Bid $200
573. Philip K. Dick Autograph Letter Signed.
ALS signed “Phil,” one page on a 5.5 x 3.5 postcard, March 14, 1981. Handwritten letter to science fiction author Patricia Warrick, marked in the return address area as “Footnote to Letter Three, Card A,” in full: “If he sees the same object (tree x) at two times & two places, & he can be sure that it is the same object, then (he realizes) space & time are not real, since it is logically impossible that the same object can be at two times & two places. This has to be. Thus he abolishes spatiotemporality, conceptually & perceptually.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
574. T. S. Eliot Typed Letter Signed. TLS, one page, 7 x
8, Faber and Faber Limited letterhead, January 14, 1959. Letter to French writer and lawyer Maurice Garcon, in full: “Your letter of the 12th January arrived simultaneously with the number of the Mercure de France. I am very pleased to have my address on Kipling appear in this way, but I am still happier and very proud that it should be followed by your delightful ‘Complement a T. S. Eliot.’ I have written to the Director of the Mercure de France as you suggest. With most cordial good wishes to you and Madame Garcon from my wife and myself.” In fine condition, with a small crease to the lower left corner tip. The January 1959 issue of the French gazette and literary magazine Mercure de France featured Eliot’s discourse on his predecessor, Rudyard Kipling—ostensibly his essay A Choice of Kipling’s Verse—as well as Garcon’s welcome to the newly elected member of the Academie Septentrionale. Starting Bid $200
575. Theodor Fontane Autograph Letter Signed. German novelist
and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century Germanlanguage realist writer (1819–1898). ALS in German, signed “Th: Fontane,” one page, 5.5 x 8.75, November 15, 1894. Beautifully penned untranslated handwritten letter by the great German realist. In fine condition, with a paperclip impression to the top edge. Starting Bid $200
576. Robert Frost Signed Photograph. Vintage color glossy 4.5 x 6.25 photo of Frost at his farm in Ripton, Vermont, seated on a dry-stacked stone wall with friend Harold J. Baily, a lawyer and trustee of the Brooklyn Public Library, matted to an overall size of 6.75 x 8.75, signed on the mat in fountain pen, “Robert Frost (on the fence) sitting pretty with Harold J. Baily sitting prettier, Aug 58 Ripton.” In fine condition, with scattered tiny specks of foxing. A wonderful picture of the adored New England poet that evokes his classic 1914 poem ‘Mending Wall,’ one of the most anthologized and analyzed poems in modern literature. Starting Bid $200
Rare first edition of Now We Are Six signed by A. A. Milne
577. A. A. Milne Signed Book. Rare signed book: Now We Are Six. First edition, first printing. London: Methuen & Co., 1927. Hardcover bound in original red cloth with gilt borders and illustrations on covers, 5 x 7.5, 103 pages. Signed on the title page in fountain pen by the author, “A. A. Milne.” Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG+/VG, with bands of toning to endpapers, slightly bumped corners, trivial wear to spine ends, and minor adhesive remnants to front pastedown (likely a removed bookplate); dust jacket has several edge chips, a minor loss at front flap hinge, toned edges, spine darkened, and light soiling. Starting Bid $300
Salinger refers to an “old story” in a scarce letter to a reader
578. J. D. Salinger Typed Letter Signed. TLS signed “J. D. Salinger,” one page, 8.5 x 11, June 1, 1970. Letter to Stephen Largarticha, written from his secluded home in Cornish, New Hampshire, evidently replying to a comment on one of his literary works. In part: “I’m glad if that old story read all right.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, postmarked at Windsor, Vermont, where Salinger kept a P.O. box. In addition to his classic 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger was a prolific author of short stories, which were widely published throughout the 1940s in periodicals like the Saturday Evening Post, Esquire, Collier’s, and Cosmopolitan. Starting Bid $500
Rare French letter from the Russian realist, referring to Pauline Viardot
579. Ivan Turgenev Autograph Letter Signed. Highly influential Russian author (1818-1883) whose 1862 novel Fathers and Sons remains one of the pillars of nineteenth-century literature. ALS in French, signed “I. Turgueneff,” one page both sides, 5.25 x 8.25, October 6, 1872. Handwritten with reference to the mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot. Turgenev fell madly in love with Viardot after hearing her perform in The Barber of Seville in Russia in 1843, and he lived with the Viardot family on the Rue de Douai in Paris from 1871 until his death. In part (translated): “I am annoyed to hear you still suffer from your cold—but at least, you don’t have pertussis, which is something...Mme Viardot came back from Nohant and she returns to work tomorrow. My gout still doesn’t want to leave me be; however, I am doing better and I hope I will soon be well like everyone else. You will resume your chess games with me when you’ll come back to Paris. You will have to settle in Paris eventually. “ In fine condition, with light creasing to the bottom edge. Starting Bid $200
580. H. G. Wells Signed Photograph. Scarce, crystal-clear vintage mattefinish 5 x 8 portrait of Wells working at his desk, affixed to its original 7.75 x 10 mount, signed in the lower right in fountain pen, “With the warmest gratitude, H. G. Wells, August 1918.” In very good to fine condition, with old adhesive residue to the edges of the trimmed mount. A marvelous image of the prolific British author, whose visionary sci-fi works include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). Starting Bid $200
581. H. G. Wells Autograph Letter Signed. ALS, one page both sides, 4.5 x 3.5, 47 Chiltern Court, Clarence Gate stationery card, October 28 [1934]. Handwritten letter to noted English writer and poet Richard Aldington, in full: “Forgive a belated call that missed you. I had your message for the London Clinic, I was very busy & then I went to bed with a cold & today when I started out all fevered with gossip to tell you about Women Must Work & all sorts of things, I found you gone. I hope you’re healing well. Where are you now?” In fine condition. Published in 1934, Women Must Work is an early novel by Aldington on female independence. Starting Bid $200
Handwritten invitation by Walt Whitman to visit his Camden home
page, 5.25 x 7.75, September 22. [no year]. Handwritten letter to a gentleman, written from his home at “431 Stevens Street, Camden, N. Jersey.” In full: “Seeing your arrival & temporary stoppage announced in the paper, I send you my address, in hope you may give me a call. It is very easy to get to, by Market St. ferry.” He adds a postscript, in full: “I shall be in, every day this week from 9 till 11, & from 2 to 4.” In very good to fine condition, with trimmed edges, and old repairs on the reverse to fold splits and loss to the upper right corner. Starting Bid $300
