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SCARCE JACK KEROUAC AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT QUESTIONNAIRE. HIS CAREER GOAL: "BE A GREAT WRITER MAKING EVERYBODY BELIEVE IN HEAVEN"
KEROUAC, Jack.
Jack Kerouac Autograph Manuscript Signed.
February 28,1964.
Autograph manuscript signed, being Kerouac’s answers to twelve typed questions from Robert Dodd, two pages, quarto, 28 February 1964. Kerouac candidly replies to a young man’s questions. Given a ninth-grade classroom assignment to contact his favorite writer, Robert Dodd chose Jack Kerouac. The author provides lengthy answers to the young Dodd's questions. On the question of his changing writing style Kerouac explains: "The Town and the City was my first, young man novel when I was just starting our trying to write like Thomas Wolfe -- Lonesome Traveler is a product of my own style which I developed in later…
Price: $75,000.00 Item Number: 79098
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"I am enormously pressed for time this vacation, and I am ever afraid no such thing will have been done by me in time to be of use to you": Rare autograph letter signed by J.R.R. Tolkien with his list of Old English Literature Questions with annotations and corrections in his hand
TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
J.R.R. Tolkien Autograph Letter Signed and Annotated Old English Literature Questionnaire.
1920.
Rare autograph letter signed by the author of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien regarding a list of 50 questions he has composed examining Old English Literature. The one-page autograph letter signed by Tolkien reads in full, "1 Alfred Street St. Giles Oxford Mar: 17th 1920. Dear Miss Duncan, I enclose a 'mixed bag' of 50 questions on the OE period - some of them on 'Beowulf' (exclusive of special points of commentary), some more general. A few may be of use to you (many are culled from past papers etc.: those of last year are marked). They are…
Price: $48,000.00 Item Number: 121974
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"High School introduced at young age (15 & 16) to Emily Dickinson, who is probably greatest American poet I realize now": Rare Graduate Student Questionnaire Completed and Signed by Jack Kerouac with a lengthy inscription
KEROUAC, Jack.
Jack Kerouac Autograph Questionnaire Signed.
1960.
Rare mimeographed questionnaire sent by a graduate student of City College of New York to Jack Kerouac; completed and signed twice by him with a lengthy inscription in conclusion. Two pages, partially printed the questionnaire begins with a typed letter signed by James A. Sherlock politely requesting Kerouac's response which reads in part: "Dear Mr. Kerouac, I am a graduate student of City College of New York, working upon an original research project aimed at uncovering certain educational factors in the lives of successful writers. As you undoubtedly know, there always has been considerable interest in analyzing the psychological make-up…
Price: $38,000.00 Item Number: 117950
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Rare large format photograph of American cultural icon James Dean; inscribed by him to his photographer Sanford H. Roth
DEAN, James. [Sanford H. Roth].
James Dean Signed Photograph.
Rare large format Sanford H. Roth photograph of cultural icon James dean playing table tennis. Inscribed beneath his image, "To Mr. Roth best wishes James Dean." The recipient, renowned American photographer Sanford H. Roth, was a close friend of Dean's and photographed him frequently. Dean visited Roth's home in California frequently and treated him and his wife Beulah almost as adoptive parents. Poignantly, Roth was in Dean's Ford station wagon driving behind Dean's new Porsche Spyder on the way to the Salinas Road Races on September 30, 1955, when Dean was killed in a late afternoon traffic accident. Roth took…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 124398
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First edition of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird; with an autograph note signed by her
LEE, Harper.
To Kill A Mockingbird.
Philadelphia & New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1960.
First edition of one of the most important American novels of the 20th century which had an initial first printing of 5,000 copies and went on to earn Harper Lee the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Octavo, original half cloth. With an autograph postcard signed by and entirely in the hand of Harper Lee laid in. Addressed to Stewart Richardson, Executive Editor of Doubleday & Company, the postcard reads in full, "Monroeville, Ala. September 5, 1970 Dear Sandy: No, I didn't receive galleys on James Purdy's - but I'd like to. They're probably sitting in New York somewhere. I'll be…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 139543
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Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing; including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis
LEWIS, C.S. [Anthony Colin Spearing].
C.S. Lewis and Anthony Spearing Autograph Correspondence Collection.
Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis. Folio, the collection includes the original composition of Spearing's 1957 English Tripos essay: "The Translation of English Verse (An Essay with some Specimen Translations)" which he sent to Lewis for edits and contains Lewis' marginal notes; two pages of critical notes entirely in Lewis' hand on his Magdalene College Cambridge letterhead containing 28 numbered notes and suggestions for edits to the Spearing's composition; an autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 134067
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"By mail I send you a small volume, some portions of which": Rare Herman Melville Autographed Letter Signed to his wife's cousin Ellen Marrett Gifford
MELVILLE, Herman.
Herman Melville Autograph Letter Signed.
1888.
Herman Melville autographed letter signed to his wife's cousin Ellen Marrett Gifford completely in his hand, which reads, "164 E. 26th St. Nov. 6th 1888 My Dear Mrs. Gifford: By mail I send you a small volume, some portions of which, I hope may prove more or less interesting to you- Lissie tells me she is about writing you, so I leave her to hell you whatever news there may be. Your friend H. Melville." In near fine condition. Housed in a custom chemise and clamshell box. Melville signed letters are rare.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 129820
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"Members of the general public, such as myself, have a right to form and express their own opinions on the relationship between science and society": Rare typed letter signed by George Orwell regarding his views on science, scientists, and society
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
January 9, 1946.
Rare typed letter signed by the acclaimed author of Nineteen-Eighty Four, George Orwell; part of a long correspondence with scientist Edward R. Ward regarding his views on science. One page, typescript, the letter reads: '9th January 1946 Dear Mr. Ward, Your letter has been passed on to be by "Tribune". I am sorry that in their correspondence columns I should have answered what was really an abridgement of your original letter; but I had not seen the latter, and I did not know that what was printed was a shortened version. I cannot enter into what might become a prolonged…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 133445
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"Love, Jerry Salinger": Scarce autograph note signed and entirely in the hand of J.D. Salinger; signed by him two months and two days before he saw combat at Utah Beach on D-Day
SALINGER, J.D.
J.D. Salinger Autograph Letter Signed.
1944.
Scarce autograph note signed by J.D. Salinger on April 4, 1944, two months and two days before he saw combat at Utah Beach on D-Day. One page from an oblong octavo autograph album bound in full leather, the note is dated 4/4/44 and reads, "Dear Molly - I just don't have anything bright to say. But I'd like to send you some of my work, and I'd like to take you to a nice place in London where we might get pretty drunk and mellow. Maybe later in The War or after. I'd like that. You remind me of very…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 117208
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Rare George Orwell Typed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
June 1945.
Rare typed letter signed "Geo. Orwell", to Gerry Byrne announcing that "my wife died three months ago, very suddenly and unexpectedly", writing about the aftermath of her death including his relief that their son Richard was too young to to miss her ("...He is now 13 1/2 months old and is extremely well. He has twelve teeth and is almost able to walk..."), apologising that he cannot come to speak at a Labour Party campaign meeting ("...I am up to the eyes in the election myself, apart from other work. I don't even know of anyone suitable..."), 1 page, 4to,…
Price: $19,500.00 Item Number: 142701
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Rare autograph letter signed by Herman Melville to his publishers Harper & Brothers
MELVILLE, Herman.
Herman Melville Autograph Letter Signed.
Rare autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand of Herman Melville to his publisher, Harper & Brothers. One page, the letter reads in full, "Harper & Brothers New York. Pittsfield Oct. 8th Gentlemen: Herewith is an article, which, if it suit, will you, according to what you have said to me, send me the money for, without further trouble to yourselves or me. Very truly yours H. Melville." The letter likely dates from 1885 when Melville's financial circumstances were becoming dire. The article he references, The Apple-Tree Table, first appeared in serial form in 1850 and was later published…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 139021
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"What threatens us today is fear": The original typed manuscript of Faulkner's important public address to his daughter Jill's graduating class at University High School in Oxford Mississippi; with autograph corrections and deletions in his hand
FAULKNER, William.
Address to the Graduating Class of 1951 of University High School, Oxford, Mississippi.
The original typed manuscript of Faulkner's important public address to his daughter Jill's graduating class at University High School in Oxford Mississippi with autograph corrections and deletions in his hand. Three pages, carbon typescript, the text contains 8 strikethroughs and 6 autograph corrections in Faulkner's hand in ink. In this important public address, Faulkner clarifies for a young audience the terms for survival and optimism in the Cold War era, ideas which he first expressed publicly five months earlier in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. In the spring of 1951, Faulkner was in Paris, New York, and Lexington, Kentucky, where…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 135874
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"Your work has contributed mightily to our success": Jack Kerouac's Personal Advance Copy of Hugh Hefner's The Twelfth Anniversary Playboy Reader
HEFNER, Hugh M. [Jack Kerouac].
The Twelfth Anniversary Playboy Reader.
Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965.
Jack Kerouac's personal advance copy of The Twelfth Anniversary Playboy Reader. Quarto, original cloth. Laid in is the original transmittal letter on Hefner's Playboy Press letterhead dated September 8, 1965, which reads in part: "Dear Mr. Kerouac: Here, with my personal compliments, is your advance copy of The Twelfth Anniversary Playboy Reader, which is being published by Playboy Press. It is a hallmark in the history of Playboy, a distinguished compilation of the very best prose we have published in our magazine during its first twelve years. Your work has contributed mightily to our success, and I am very pleased…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 126103
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"I'm wearing a necklace and ear-rings so that the mountains can enjoy looking at them!": Exceptionally rare collection of autograph letters signed by reclusive author P.L. Travers
TRAVERS, P.L.
Collection of P. L. Travers Autograph Letters Signed Archive.
1974-1993.
Exceptionally rare collection of 28 typed and hand written letters and notes signed by the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers. 36 pages, the letters are a collection of 20 years of correspondence between Travers and close personal friends John and Jacqueline Rutherfurd and offer an intimate glimpse into Travers' personal life and many travels. In one note dated August 10, 1981, Travers writes: "Dear Jaqueline, I write, with a newly overhauled portable (and see how it works and imagine what I will have to say to them when I get back to London!) from Chandolin, the highest lived-in-all-the-year-round village…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 92809
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Rare George Orwell Typed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
October 1944.
Rare typed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne Typed letter signed ("Geo. Orwell"), to Mrs Amy Byrne excusing his delayed reply ("...I have been away again, and also somewhat distraught with the move into here..."), writing with relief that he has brought his young son down from Newcastle ("..It is no joke travelling with a child now..."), with other personal news and hoping that they will be able to visit the Byrnes at their home in Liverpool, 1 page, 4to, 27b Canonbury Square, Islington, London, 23 October 1944. "...I'd like to show you the baby (his name…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142498
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Rare George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed.
June 1944.
Rare autographed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne detailing his usual weekly routines between his home and the offices of Tribune, in order to make lunch arrangements to meet her and her husband, also promising her a book ("...I'll try & find a copy of 'Burmese Days for you. These Penguins are sold out as soon as published nowadays, but I believe I have a few copies somewhere... signed E. Blair"), one page, 10a Mortimer Crescent, London NW6, 23 June 1944. Amy Charlesworth, with whom Orwell had corresponded in 1937, had now married her second husband…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142004
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William Faulkner's Officer of the Légion d'Honneur
[FAULKNER, William].
Officer of the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur Diploma Awarded to William Faulkner.
Republique Francaise, 1949.
Partially printed diploma awarded to William Faulkner as an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur, conferred on him be the French government five months after he accepted the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. One page, partially printed and completed in a calligraphic hand, the diploma is signed by three French officials with an embossed seal. In near fine condition. Matted. The entire piece measures 15 inches by 18.5 inches. From the collection of William Faulkner.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 139733
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Rare autograph note signed by F. Scott Fitzgerald; sent by Fitzgerald to childhood friend and "first love" Marie Hersey as a young man during his first Christmas home from boarding school
FITZGERALD, F. Scott.
F. Scott Fitzgerald Autograph Note Signed.
Autograph note signed calligraphically ("Scott Fitzgerald"), to Marie Hersey, commemorating his first Christmas home from boarding school. 1 page on cardstock, 5.25 inches by 3.25 inches, adhesive residue to verso where previously pasted down. A charming note from a lovesick young Fitzgerald to his childhood friend and "first love." The card contains Fitzgerald's printed signature on the upper left "Scott Fitzgerald" and the inscription "Sacred to the memory of Xmas 1911" in the center; in the lower left Fitzgerald has drawn three small irregular ovals, with the explanation that they are "Tears." In the right portion, he had evidently mounted a small piece of mistletoe [no longer present] as he has inscribed "The Misletoe"…
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 142895
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First edition of Lucy Madox Rossetti's Mrs. Shelley; extra illustrated and bound by Bayntun; with an autograph letter signed by Mary Shelley laid in
ROSSETTI, Lucy Madox. [Mary Shelley].
Mrs. Shelley.
London: W. H. Allen & Co, 1890.
First edition of Lucy Madox Rossetti's biography of Mary Shelley; extra-illustrated and with an autograph letter signed by Mary Shelley laid in. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant morocco by Bayntun with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, quadruple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, extra-illustrated with 77 engraved plates of portraits and views, 11 of which are hand-colored including a frontispiece portrait of Percy Bysshe Shelley. With a fragment of an autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand…
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 133425
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Rare Autograph letter Signed by The Author of the Prophet Kahlil Gibran to Skidmore College Founder Ludy Skidmore Scribner
GIBRAN, Kahlil.
Kahlil Gibran Autograph Letter Signed.
1928.
Rare autograph letter signed by the author of The Prophet Kahlil Gibran on his letterhead, which reads, "March 25 1928 My dear Mrs. Scribner, I regret very much that I shall not be able to dine with you on Thursday April the Twelfth. Had I not already made another engagement, for that same evening, nothing could have given me a greater pleasure. You are indeed most gracious to ask me an and I grateful to you. Cordially yours Kahlil Gibran." The recipient, Lucy Skidmore Scribner, was married John Blair Scribner. The couple resided at 21 East 48th Street in New…
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 144143