LITERATURE
JAMES BOSWELL ~~ AN EXCESSIVELY RARE LETTER FROM THE SCOTTISH BIOGRAPHER OF DOCTOR JOHNSON
BOSWELL, JAMES. (1740-1795). Scottish lawyer and biographer of Samuel Johnson. Excessively Rare Autograph Letter Signed, “James Boswell”. Four very full pages, small quarto. London, March 14, 1792. Very fine condition. To “Andrew”, the overseer of Boswell’s estate.
MARK TWAIN GIVES ADVICE ON JUDICIAL SELECTION: “…HAVE A LAWYER WHOSE FACE AND MANNER ARE NOT A FATAL INFLUENCE WITH JUDGE AND JURY.”
CLEMENS, SAMUEL L. [MARK TWAIN]. (1835-1910.) American humorist, lecturer and writer. Humorous Autograph Letter Signed, “S.L.C.” One full page, octavo. No date, no place. One spot of toning, else very fine condition. To “Dear Mr. Hall”.
E.E. CUMMINGS — “ONE OF THE VERY FEW / ’YOUNGER AMERICAN WRITERS’ WHO / DESERVES TO BE CALLED A POET…”
CUMMINGS, E(DWARD) E(STLIN). (1894-1962). American poet. Uncommon Typed Letter Signed, “E.E. Cummings”, in red crayon, written in the style of his poetry. One page, quarto. “4 Patchin Place, New York City, 11”, May 16, 1955. Very fine condition. To “Dear Miss Nicolson”.
JOHN STEINBECK ~~ INSCRIBED ADVANCED PROOF COPY OF: THE SHORT REIGN OF PIPPIN IV
STEINBECK, JOHN. (1902-1968). American writer and Nobel laureate, who described in his work the struggle of people who depend on the land for their livelihood; his most powerful novels, include: Of Mice and Men (1937); The Grapes of Wrath (1939); and Cannery Row (1945). Unrevised proofs for Steinbeck’s The Short Reign of Pippin IV. n.p. (NY), n.p. (Viking Press), n.d. (before March of 1957), first edition thus, spiral-bound blue paper wrappers.
D.H. LAWRENCE WRITES TO CURTIS BROWN ~~ ”NEXT WEEK I’LL SEND THE MS [MANUSCRIPT] OF THE PLUMED SERPENT (QUETZALCOATL), MY MEXICAN NOVEL, TO THE NEW YORK OFFICE, ASKING THEM TO MAKE THE CORRECTIONS ON THE DUPLICATE AND FORWARD A COPY TO YOU AT ONCE. I CONSIDER THIS MY MOST IMPORTANT NOVEL, SO FAR.”
LAWRENCE, D.H. (1885-1930). English novelist and poet; his novels: Sons and Lovers (1913), The Rainbow (1915), and Women in Love (1920) made him one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century. Good and enlightening Autograph Letter Signed, “D.H. Lawrence”. Two full pages, quarto. “Del Monte Ranch, Questa, New Mexico”, June 23, 1923. Very fine condition. To “Dear Curtis Brown”. [Albert Curtis Brown, the founder of the Literary agency which bears his name].
JULES VERNE REFERS TO THE SECOND ATTACK OF FACIAL PARALYSIS [BELL’S PALSY] WHICH AFFLICTED HIM THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, AND FOR WHICH HE SOUGHT TREATMENT BY ELECTRICAL STIMULATION
VERNE, JULES (1828-1905) French author; pioneered the science-fiction genre; best known for his novels: A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1872). Uncommon Autograph Letter Signed, “Jules Verne,” in French. One full page, octavo. “Boulevard Bonne, Nouvelle 18”. Paris, Thursday, February 15th, no year. [1855].
A HIGHLY IMPORTANT JOHN STEINBECK ARCHIVE CONCERNING HIS BOOK: NOTHING SO MONSTROUS, ~~ FIRST PUBLISHED AS CHAPTER SIX OF: PASTURES FROM HEAVEN ~~ “ I HAVE NO OBJECTIONS TO THE REMOVAL OF THE SWASTIKA… THIS TOUCHINESS IS… ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE MISTREATED… ANYWAY CHANGE IT FOR ALL I CARE. WHAT NONSENCE.”
STEINBECK, JOHN. (1902-1968). American writer and Nobel laureate, who described in his work the unremitting struggle of people who depend on the soil for their livelihood. Superb, and Highly Important archive of five [5] letters [three Autograph Letters, and two Typed Letters] Signed: “John Steinbeck” and “J.S.” Los Gatos, California, 1936. To Frederick B. Adams Jr., regarding the publication of Steinbeck’s short story: Nothing So Monstrous.
ALSO INCLUDED IS AN ORIGINAL TYPED MANUSCRIPT PAGE, CONTAINING SEVERAL CORRECTIONS IN STEINBECK’S HAND, THAT IS AN EPILOGUE TO THE VIGNETTE.