11-12-201711-12-2017
Skinner Auctions
Skinner AuctionsBoston MA
3040BBoston
November 12, 2017 11:00 AMCalender
80

Lovecraft, H.P. (1890-1937) Autograph Letter Signed, 28 December 1935.

Sell one like this
$861$700
Auction: Books & Manuscripts - 3040BLocation: BostonDate / Time: November 12, 2017 11:00AM

Description:

Lovecraft, H.P. (1890-1937) Autograph Letter Signed, 28 December 1935. Single leaf of paper inscribed densely over two pages, to Robert Bloch; very good, 9 x 5 1/2 in.
"Honour'd Ludvig, Abundant congratulations on your radio & theatrical triumphs! You are certainly beginning to make a splash in the world of entertainment-- with national figures buying your scripts, & agents seeking you out to revivify the jaded diners of nocturnal Milwaukee! Hope the good fortune continues, & that I shall before long be able to pick up your performances regularly on my aunt's radio! Meanwhile I await with interest your lexicographical achievement.
I was surely sorry to learn of Weinbaum's death-- only a few brief months after I was first introduced to his refreshingly original work. I had become an especial fan of his-- rejoicing that someone had at last broken through the old interplanetary cliches-- & now there will be no more stores of 'Tweel' & kindred marvels! Young Sterling-- who first brought Weinbaum's tales to my attention, & who is back in Providence over the holidays-- was as grieved as I to learn the melancholy news. The fatal illness seems to have been very unusual, since cancer is certainly rare at thirty-three.
Thanks for the interesting cuttings. I see that the press was not oblivious of your recent dramatic success! I saw that Beacon Hill cult item in the local paper-- & in somewhat ampler form. Whether the 'cult' amounts to anything more than the orgies of decadent pseudo-aesthetes one can't say-- but anyhow, the idea is fascinating. To think I may have been within a stone's throw of a bunch of Cthulhu-worshippers without knowing it! The green cutting told me something I didn't know before-- namely, that the Paul Revere house is not the only 17th century house with an overhang left in Boston. I never heard of the Willis house, but must try to find out something about it. I had always thought that the Vernon (1698) & Clough (1695) houses in the North End (the Pickman's Model district) were the only specimens of that sort left besides the Revere edifice. These were demolished in 1933. The Revere house, now restored to its original condition & used as a museum-- was built in 1676 on the site of Increase Mather's parsonage...after the latter had burned down in one of Boston's historic fires. It will be noticed that the article lists only dwelling-houses. These are, in addition, several pre-Revolutionary public buildings including the Old State House (1713-- now a museum),the old North Church (1723-- still a church),the Old South Church (1727-- a museum) Faneuil Hall (1746),King's Chapel (1749-- still a church),&c. Cambridge-- outside the Boston city limits-- has many structures ante-dating the Revolution, including some of the Harvard buildings. A census would probably reveal that Philadelphia & Charleston contain the most pre-1775 buildings of any American towns, though Newport & Salem still have many. Providence easily has hundreds of buildings older than 1775.
Tomorrow I expect to depart on a week's visit to Belknap-- also seeing Morton, Wandrei, & all the rest of the metropolitan group. Hope the weather will be less bitter than it is right now!
Had a good Christmas-- with tree & usual accessories. Among my gifts was an Egyptian scarabaeus, though I can't swear as to its genuineness.
Hoping that 1936 may prove a year of increasing opportunities & good fortunes for you, I remain, Yrs by the Eye of Ghatanothoa-- Luveh-Keraph"
Estimate $1,000-1,500


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Keywords

Robert Bloch, Weinbaum, Cambridge, Milwaukee, Philadelphia