Letters and Holographic Documents

London: Constable and Company Ltd., 1943 and 1944. First Edition. Letter. Very Good to Near Fine in a custom slipcase. Laurence A246 for the printed book. This collection, all housed in a green cloth chemise within a half green morocco slipcase gilt-lettered on the spine and front cover, consists of seven items related to the book: a single page typed Manuscript Revised Contents Table dated 21 August 1943 with several corrections in Shaw's hand numbering about 30 words; three examples of proof pages for the title page with simple corrections by Shaw including the elimination of "Machiavelli Modernized" from the title (noted by Laurence as being eliminated by Shaw in the final page-proof); and three AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED by Shaw with his initials (two on postcards and one on both sides of a small sheet of paper), one letter in Pitman's Shorthand (with a typed transcript), all to John Wardrop regarding proofs and the index for the book as well as Shaw's wife's illness. Some excerpts: "I always sign… Read More

1983 - 1990. Letters. Folds from mailing. Near Fine. Superb archive of seven letters from the author of ANGELA'S ASHES to R'Lene Dahlberg, fellow teacher at Stuyvesant High School, friend, wife of author Edward Dahlberg, and muse. Mostly chatty correspondence, all but two pages handwritten by McCourt, complete with hand-addressed envelopes and mostly written in New York City. In one letter McCourt describes being at Rockaway Beach with his daughter Maggie who is searching for her lost hamster with a friend: "The little bugger won't come out. I've tempted him with everything from carrots to watercress. I've made assorted seductive noises. I've exposed mineself. I've even promised him a night out with a hamsteress. To no avail. Maggie & Clare are less interested in hamsters than in boys. It's all boys now. Boys, boys, boys. I'll break her face. She checks herself out in the mirror by the hour. I told her cut it out. She [sic] wearing out the mirror. Also, I'm getting an education in teeny bop mating… Read More

2 pp. of a bifolium. Octavo. Dated Monday morning. Postmarked [?]January 12, 1835. With "Weynen Superfin" blindstamped to upper portions of leaves. Integral address panel with the recipient's name and the address of the Austrian Embassy in Paris to final page. With fully intact red wax seal. In Italian and French (with translation). Bellini tries to secure the Count a place at the première of his latest opera and invites the Count's wife to one of its dress rehearsals. "... I met your cousin at Madame Graham's and I begged him to tell you that I had gone to the Bureau des Italiens to try to grant your wish ... therefore, if the day of the first performance falls on a day when the halls are occupied almost entirely by subscribers, you'll get priority ... Tell [the Countess] I am sorry I am not yet able to leave my desk, since I'm always working on the opera. I hope she will want to honor me by coming to some dress rehearsal, to give me advice with her delicate musical taste ... " Slightly worn… Read More

Vietnam, Thailand, and elsewhere in Asia as well as the United States, Europe, and the Middle East ca. 1964-1974: Compiled by Jacob Harris, an American who served as a Senior Police Advisor in Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War, 1964 - 1974., 1964 - 1974. First edition. A large and remarkable archive of images from Vietnam and Thailand, covering the decade from the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the beginning of the buildup of American forces in Vietnam to a year before the evacuation of the American embassy. Most notable are the many images showing the training of local security forces by American civil and military advisors. The collection was compiled by Jacob Harris, an employee of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Public Safety (OPS), whose task was to train Vietnamese and Thai police and counterinsurgency forces. Most of the images, in the form of photographs and photographic slides, were created by Harris, his wife, or his associates, and… Read More

TURGENEV, IVAN. (1818-1883). Russian novelist, poet, and playwright; his novel Fathers and Sons is a masterpiece of 19th-century Russian literature. AMsS. ("Ivan Tourguineff"). 1p. Small 8vo. Bade[n], 1869. In French with translation on stationery blind-embossed with his initials. A quatrain from part of a longer work ("Stances Irregulières") that Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) sent to King Frederick the Great's sister, Princess (later Queen) Louisa Ulrika of Sweden (1720-1782), in January 1747.
"S'occuper c'est savoir jouir
L'oisiveté pèse et tourmente;
L'âme est un feu, qu'il faut nourrir
Et qui s'éteint, s'il ne s'augmente"
[Translation:]
"To keep busy is to know how to enjoy
Idleness weighs and torments;
The soul is a fire, which must be fed
And which goes out, if it does not grow"Following his education in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Turgenev left for Berlin to study philosophy and history at the university where he became enamored of Germany and its development since the Age… Read More

This is a unique collection of paper ephemera regarding an 1895 celebratory dinner honoring Stephen Crane, whose The Red Badge of Courage was at the time a modest success in its second printing. The event was hosted by Elbert Hubbard, the influential publisher, editor, and founder of the Roycroft arts and crafts community. These items belonged to Edith Maclure Love, a friend of both Stephen Crane and Elbert Hubbard. The following items are included in this sale: -Two handwritten letters from Stephen Crane to Elbert Hubbard, both signed -Program and menu from an event by The Society of the Philistines honoring Mr. Crane, December 19, 1895 -First issue of Roycroft Quarterly magazine featuring a medley of Crane's works, a souvenir of the dinner The two brief letters are written from Hartwood, N.Y. and dated Dec. 5th and Jan. 28. The year is not stated but 1895/96 is very likely. The first letter references Mr. Crane traveling to Buffalo for the upcoming dinner in his honor on Dec. 19, 1895. It is… Read More

Set of five (5) autographed signed letters (13 pages in all) and one autograph signed card, all written to gay film critic and historian David Ehrenstein, all in their original hand-addressed envelopes. Generally ABOUT FINE, as follows: -- 1 p., envelope date-stamped 10 January 198-, but Ehrenstein was able to recognize this as the first letter in their correspondence, and from 1985. Jarman responds to Ehrenstein's positive review of his memoir "Dancing Ledge." -- 3 pp., dated February 26, year of date on envelope smudged, but one can make out the final digit 5, hence 1985. Jarman discusses his recent film The Angelic Conversations (a film in which Jarman's onscreen imagery of two young men passionately making out, is accompanied by a soundtrack of Judy Dench reading Shakespeare sonnets). -- 3 pp., July 26, 1985. Further discussion of The Angelic Conversations. He discusses the question of sex scenes vs. love scenes in his films and the homoerotic elements in the Shakespeare sonnets. He talks about… Read More

[Santa Barbara; Cambridge, 2003. A convolute of correspondence, photographs, and other materials documenting the relationship between American icon Julia Child, and Beverly Jackson, reporter, novelist, collector, and a legend of the social circles of Santa Barbara. The two were long-time friends, and neighbors in Santa Barbara's Montecito. ~ Contents: Fifteen original notecards or postcards, typed or handwritten, signed by Julia Child; one TLS; one fax, and one TLS in photocopy. Some on Child's Montecito Shores, Santa Barbara stationery, some on notecards of Julia Child Productions (SB), and some on notecards from the Irving Street, Cambridge home. Most of the correspondence is short, polite "thank yous" and quick inquiries, for visits, meals shared, etc. ~ Eight original photographs (various sizes & dates), including black and white press print by Alan Berliner (of Julia with Robert Mondavi and Robert Balzer); Julia with Reginald Faletti (1978) by Jackson; color snapshots of Julia in her kitchen,… Read More

CHURCHILL "BUYS" BALFOUR A CAR!CHURCHILL, WINSTON S. "Confidential" typed letter signed by "Winston S. Churchill" as Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the name of the recipient "Bran" and part of the date "13" handwritten by Churchill.One page with the blind-stamped stationery "Treasury Chambers, Whitehall, S.W.," dated August 13, 1928. 4to.The letter concerns funds that Churchill raised to purchase a car and cover living expenses for former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour: "The subscription list is the Balfour Testimonial Fund being now closed. I feel that you, who so kindly subscribed to that fund, will like to know how much was subscribed and to what purpose it has been put. The total amount received from members of both Houses of Parliament was £4,918.6.6. [~$450,000 in 2021] The car has been paid for and the balance has been handed to Lord Balfour to be used for his personal benefit in any way he may think fit. I may add that I have received from him a letter expressing his grateful thanks to the… Read More

112+[1 ad] pages with diagrams and errata laid in. Square folio (12 1/4" x 10 1/4") bound in original publisher's wrappers in original onionskin jacket with a handwritten letter signed by Marcel Duchamp housed in a handcrafted archival enclosure by Octavaye. (Bibliotheca Van der Linde-Niemeijeriana: 2273) First edition.
Letter by Marcel Duchamp to Richard Hulbeck 25 October 1947. Reads as follows: Dear Hulbeck, The pictures are not back and I am afraid won't be back for some months. Schweizer, the representative there is in France and is coming back in a few weeks or days. He will have exact information about the return of the shipment. Don't worry and I will call you up some day soon. Affectueusement Marcel.
Richard Hulsenbeck (1892-1972) was a German writer, poet and psychoanalyst. In 1920 he was editor of the Dada Almanach and wrote Dada siegt-Eine Bilanz des Dadaismus. After emigration to USA in 1923 he changed his name to Hulbeck.Curiosity has impelled the authors to elucidate a question which… Read More

Rare books, documents, correspondence, and ephemera, 1964. Chambers, Whittaker: Witness: New York: Random House, 1952. First edition, first printing. Octavo. Original black boards and red top-stain and original dust jacket (not price-clipped). Faint toning to endpapers and spotting and dusting to page block; minor rubbing and edgewear to dust jacket, else near-fine. A bright and exceptional first printing of this notoriously brittle classic. Chambers, Whittaker: Cold Friday: New York: Random House, 1964. First edition, first printing. Octavo. Original blue cloth with gold titling to spine and green top-stain and original dust jacket (not price-clipped). Small abrasion to front free endpaper and minor rubbing and edgewear to dust jacket with small closed tear to top hinge, else near-fine, which is uncommon for this increasingly hard to find book. Chambers, Whittaker: Can You Hear Their Voices? A Short Story: New York: International Pamphlets, 1932. First edition. Stapled pamphlet. 5 x 7 inches, 31… Read More

Royal Air Force Station Cattewater, Plymouth, 1929. This is an 18 April 1929 autograph letter signed by T. E. Lawrence to an Arab Revolt comrade, notable for Lawrences bold statements about both his public image and his uncomfortable, equivocal relationship with the opposite sex. Lawrences letter, on a single 9 x 7 inch (22.9 x 17.8 cm) sheet of laid paper, inked in 20 lines, reads: 338171 A/C Shaw | R A F. Cattewater | Plymouth. | 18.4.29 | Dear Leeson | Well have to meet in London probably, unless I | ever get to Nottingham again. That is as near as I | am likely to get to Manchester. And when? | God knows: not till after the Schneider Cup race, for which | Im a cross between clerk and deck hand on a | RAF Motor Boat. | You do well to distrust the newspaper stories of me. | Gods, what a foul imagination they do conjure up! Because | I dont drink or smoke or dance, all things can be invented. | Please believe that I dont either love or hate the entire sex of | women. There are good ones & bad ones,… Read More

Colonial Office, Downing Street, London, 17 July 1922. This is Winston Churchills 17 July 1922 autograph signed letter to T. E. Lawrence accepting Lawrences resignation from the Colonial Office, accompanied by the original, franked envelope addressed and initialed in Churchills hand. This letter underscores the friendship and collaboration of two titanic twentieth century personalities and their shared work in securing post-First World War peace and political stability in the Middle East. From early 1921 to mid-1922, T. E. Lawrence of Arabia worked for then-Secretary of State for the Colonies Winston S. Churchill. Churchill had asked a reticent Lawrence to commit for a year. He gave Churchill more than he had promised, both in time and in achieved outcomes. Then, in July 1922, Churchill reluctantly released Lawrence from service. The autograph letter signed by Churchill fills the entire 8 x 10 inch (20.3 x 25.4 cm) front panel of a single, folded sheet of Churchills Colonial Office. Downing Street,… Read More

Dated March 24, 1674/5 .. Single page ink autograph letter with signature of William Petty, endorsed on verso by John Evelyn. At the lower margin is an ink note "Sir William Petty, to John Evelyn by whom it is endorsed, W. Upcott". This letter was taken from an old card folder with items connected with Samuel Pepys. The folder was put together by Willam Upcott (17791845) a well known librarian and author, who also collected large quanties of books, manuscripts, letters and other ephemera. Upcott revised for the press the first edition of John Evelyn's Diary, brought out by William Bray in 1818, and for the edition of 1827 he collated the copy with the original manuscript at Wotton and made corrections. In 1825 he further edited Evelyn's Miscellaneous Writings. The sheet is approximately 190 x 150 mm, 7½ x 6 inches, a narrow strip of paper pasted on verso at lefthand margin, neat note at lower margin by William Upcott, otherwise in very good condition. "Sir, I gather by circumstances that Sir Richard… Read More

There thosands of book on the life of Abraham Lincoln. This ten volumes are RARE AND HISTORICAL. "This has full and Authorized Record of his Private life and Public career. By his two private secretaries. John G. Nicolay and John Hay. With the assistance of Robert Todd Lincoln and the private papers and manuscripts in his possession."Rare Photographs, Maps, Private and Official Papers in Facsimilie.
The ten volumes are in very good shape. Vol. 6 has a slight tare on the top of the spine. The insie papes are all in good condition. This collection is a treasue of American History.