Letters and Holographic Documents

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

St Louis. MO, 1940. One page autographed letter signed, from Irma Rombauer, author of The Joy of Cooking, and a major figure in the history of American cooking. Addressed to Louise [Diallo],The last name was supplied by the seller and is not indicated on the letter itself. In black ink on cream colored stationery printed in brown, "Mrs. Edgar Rombauer - 5712 Cabanne Avenue - St. Louis - Mo. The letter contains regrets for not staying longer at an event and, most interesting, a full recipe. The recipe, for "Bran Biscuit," appears in very close form in the 1936 edition of the Joy of Cooking and in later editions, and contains both the ingredients list and the step-by-step instructions. With one fold, otherwise fine. Rombauer manuscript material is very rare, and we have not been able to locate another record of it entering the marketplace.

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

1 page. Octavo (ca. 168 x 122 mm). Dated Thursday evening. On mourning stationery. In French (with translation). "I have to attend [?Louis] Laloy's premiere; naturally that is tomorrow, on Friday ... Would you change the enclosed tickets for Saturday? Thanks again ..." Slightly worn and browned; creased at folds and upper outer corner of final blank folio; small rust stain from paper clip to inner margin of final folio, not affecting text. "One of the most important musicians of his time, [Debussy's] harmonic innovations had a profound influence on generations of composers. He made a decisive move away from Wagnerism in his only complete opera Pelléas et Mélisande, and in his works for piano and for orchestra he created new genres and revealed a range of timbre and colour which indicated a highly original musical aesthetic." François Lesure and Roy Howat in Grove Music Online. "Laloy [1874-1944] was a noted defender of contemporary French music and was a close friend of, and mediator between,… Read More

Paris, 1953. One and one half page pen and ink letter (26.5 x 21.5 cm.) on single sheet of pale blue Paul Cushing Child stationery, with ink date stamp ("May 18 1953"), addressed, "USIS. 5 Place de Rome, Marseille (B du Rh)". ~ An early letter from Julia Child, written while she was living in Paris with her husband Paul and working on her first book, the seminal Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Child writes to a Mrs. Fairbanks: "What a nice hour we spent with you the other afternoon. I only wish it could be repeated, as I would love to hear more about Thomas Wolfe and all you know about him. It would also be fascinating for me to hear much much more about your culinary experiences. Mrs. de Santillana [Child's editor] says you are the best cooks she knows, and I can well believe it from the interest you take. It is indeed a fascinating subject and a beau métier. Had a nice talk about friture de cheval pour les frites [possibly french fries cooked in horse fat] with your chauffeur on the way home… 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

1945. Near Fine. 1 typed letter, signed by President Herbert Hoover, on his personal stationery. Thanking Mrs. Joseph W. Jones of Bristol, Tennessee, who had sent a $10 donation to the Boys' Clubs of America in response to Hoover's appeal in the organization's behalf. Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933. After leaving the presidency, he and his wife had lived at Palo Alto, California. Following her death in 1944 he relocated to New York City; the address on this letter is 420 Lexington Ave., NYC. In Near Fine Condition: two horizontal folds; light additional creasing; clean and solid.

1823. Very Good +. 1 handwritten letter, dated 6 March 1823, from Lord Thomas Cochrane to Captain David Porter of the U.S. Navy expressing condolences over the death of Lt. Cocke, who was killed when the Spanish commander in San Juan fired to warn the American ships from entering the port. Lord Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860), later Admiral, had earned the nickname The Sea Wolf during the Napoleonic Wars before being dismissed from the Royal Navy in 1814 following a conviction for fraud on the Stock Exchange. In 1818 he went to Chile and became First Vice Admiral of its navy, leading it during the Chilean war of independence against Spain. In 1820 he was was active in achieving independence for Peru. He left the Chilean Navy on 29 Nov. 1822. Cochrane was apparently on his way to Brazil on 6 March 1823 when this letter was written. On 21 March 1823 he took command of the Brazilian Navy. He left Brazil in 1825, fought for Greece in 1827 and 1828, and was restroed to the Royal Navy in 1832 as a Rear… Read More

Washington, D.C.: Office of the Vice President, 1953. Near Fine. 1 typed letter on Office of the Vice President letterhead with eagl watermark, signed by Richard Nixon, dated 7 July 1953. Nixon was sending forms to Bryan F. LaPlante, Chief, Washington Area Security Operations, Atomic Energy Commission, to obtain a "Q" clearance for Christian A. Herter, Jr., who was to join Nixon's staff. Bears stamp of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission in lower corner. Christian A. Herter, Jr. (1919-2007), had served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives until his father, Christian A. Herter, Sr., was elected governor in 1953. Later that year he became an aide to Vice President Richard Nixon, travelling to Asia with him. In the 1960s he joined Mobil Oil, becoming Vice President in 1967. In 1970, then President Nixon appointed him deputy assistant secretary of state for environmental and population affairs. In Near Fine Condition: lightly creased; one small spot near left-hand edge; otherwise, clean… 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

, . 5" x 8" signed letter from George Francis Train (1829-1904), visionary businessman, powerful financier, charismatic orator, passionate political activist, and legendary world traveler, whose fame was due as much to his successes as to his eccentricities. A short list of his achievements would include establishing a line of clipper ships at age sixteen to sail from Boston around the tip of South America to San Francisco in order to serve those desiring to join in the Gold Rush; creating a track-guided horse tram in the cities of London and Birkenhead, England; partnering with Thomas C. Durant in the formation of the Union Pacific Railroad; organizing Credit Mobilier America to finance construction of the Transcontinental Railroad (later the object of scandal); founding Credit Foncier to raise capital for the purchase of land along the rail route; thrice circumnavigating the globe—first in 80 days, then 67, and finally 60 (reportedly inspiring the Jules Verne novel); and running as an… 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

Linda Blair will forever be remembered for her memorable and frightening performance as a girl possessed by a demon in the movie, "The Exorcist". In this photo she is a young woman, posing topless for the camera. Her autograph is mounted below the photo. The color photo measures 8 inches by 10 inches. Mounted and matted, the photo and autograph measure 12 inches by 16 inches.
The strategically placed Hershey's Kisses are an available option.
Due to the size of this item, shipping prices will be individually quoted.