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H. P. Lovecraft. Autographed Manuscript Signed for the short story, Pickman's Model. Circa mid-1926. Signed by...
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Description
H. P. Lovecraft. Autographed Manuscript Signed for the short story, Pickman's Model. Circa mid-1926. Signed by the author on the first leaf. Includes correspondence with notable Lovecraft colleagues including James F. Morton, August Derleth, W. Paul Cook, Victor E. Bacon, and more. Sixteen leaves, hand-numbered. Manuscript text in ink on the verso of various typed letters signed, manuscript signed by the author on the first leaf and with heavy manuscript edits. Minor edgewear with minor creasing and chipping to some pages, leaves unevenly toned to edges and margins, approximately 25 mm of dampstaining to the bottom edge of leaves 1 and 5 but not effecting legibility of ink. The entire manuscript is written to the verso of fifteen typed letters signed; one letter in two pages (leaves 1 and 5), remaining letters one page each. Housed in custom maroon cloth clamshell case, spine stamped in gilt. Near fine."Pickman's Model" was published in Weird Tales vol. 10, no. 4, in October 1927, though the story was written and set in 1926. This is likely a later manuscript draft; the text and edits present in this manuscript draft follow extremely closely with the typescript currently held in the Brown University Library H.P. Lovecraft Collection, which contains Lovecraft's final manuscript edits and is presumed to have been used for submission to Weird Tales. Lovecraft's work is perhaps best described with a quote from the story itself, "I don't have to tell you why a Fuseli really brings a shiver while a cheap ghost-story frontispiece merely makes us laugh. There's something those fellows catch - beyond life - that they're able to make us catch for a second."
The fifteen letters included in this lot, spanning 1924-1926, contain a laundry list of recognizable names and provide unique insight into the publication timeline of the story and Lovecraft's correspondence and interactions in the years leading up to publication. Though the Brown University Library holds a number of letters addressed from the author, letters to the author are notably scarcer due to Lovecraft's tendency to reuse correspondence for notes, drafts, and manuscripts - as here.
Leaves 1 & 5: James F. Morton Jr., signed "Mortonius," amateur journalist, political activist, museum curator, etc., 17 March 1924. "Mightiest of the Magnates -" seems an appropriate start to this letter from Lovecraft's close friend and member of the Kalem Club, whom Lovecraft particularly appreciated for his brilliant mind and his polite-but-sharp debating skills. The letter is chiefly personal in nature but covers topics including the Blue Pencil Club ("B.P.C."), architecture, stamp collecting, and Lovecraft's writing collaboration with C.M. Eddy Jr. at the behest of Harry Houdini, of which only an unfinished portion survives.
Leaf 2: Victor E. Bacon, signed "V.E.B.," Editor, United Amateur Press, 13 August 1926. One of five letters from Bacon in this lot, chiefly concerning requests for funding and publication details for the United Amateur Press Association (UAPA) publication, the United Amateur ("U.A."). Bacon was recruited by Lovecraft for UAPA and served as editor from 1925-1926; he was later president of the National Amateur Press Association (1930-1931).
Leaf 3: August W. Derleth, author and founder of Arkham House, 23 August 1926. Derleth was a prolific consumer and author of weird tales and a long-time fan of Lovecraft, reflected in this letter in which he expresses his gratitude to Lovecraft for sharing a carbon copy of The Nameless City and discussing purchasing a number of notable titles of the time including M.R. James' The Five Jars, Arthur Machen's Hill of Dreams and The Three Imposters, among others. Derleth would later go on to found the Arkham House publishing firm with the intent to preserve Lovecraft's work in book form.
Leaf 4: W. Paul Cook, signed "Cook," amateur journalist, printer, and publisher, 20 June 1926. Cook was a life-long friend of Lovecraft, a status reflected in the personal nature of his letters to the author. In this letter, Cook discusses various health issues of his wife, himself, and Lovecraft, publishing and editing notes, and the upcoming presidential candidate for the "National."
Leaf 6: Victor E. Bacon, signed "V.E. Bacon," 2 July 1926. As with Bacon's other letters, this letter chiefly deals with membership and funding for the UAPA.
Leaf 7: Unknown, signed "G. D," Chelsea Book Shop stationary, 3 July [no date]. Regarding an upcoming visit to Providence.
Leaf 8: Albert A. Sandusky, signed "Sandy," amateur journalist, The Boston Post, 15 June 1926. Sandusky was particularly known to the author for his creative wordplay and use of slang, as reflected in this letter which colorfully discusses personal business, dentist woes, and Lovecraft's invitation to host a visit in Providence.
Leaf 9: Albert A. Sandusky, signed "Sandy," 28 May 1926. Chiefly personal, touching on further dentist visits, Lovecraft's new home and health, and other day-to-day musings. "Providence, they tell me, is almost as snappy at that as little old N'Yawk, even though Joyce Hawley was all wet when she staged that bath tub ablution racket."
Leaf 10: Wilfred B. Talman, author and late member of the Kalem Club, 19 July 1925. Talman was a frequent correspondent with Lovecraft and eventually collaborated with him in writing the short story, "Two Black Bottles," in 1927. In this letter he thanks Lovecraft for his "words of appreciation" and mentions renewing membership with Mr. Bacon for the UAPA, of which he intended to found a chapter at Brown University.
Leaf 11: W. S. Ball, Sunday editor, Providence Journal, 29 July 1926. Lovecraft was known to assist James F. Morton in locating specimens for the Patterson Museum where Morton was a curator; this letter is a response regarding resources and contacts for locating specific mineral specimens in Rhode Island.
Leaf 12: Victor E. Bacon, signed "V.E.B.," 27 July 1926. Discussion of upcoming U.A. publication and struggling success of the UAPA.
Leaf 13: Victor E. Bacon, signed "Victor E. Bacon," 17 July 1926. Formal UAPA letter requesting donations.
Leaf 14: Victor E. Bacon, signed "V.E. Bacon," [no date]. General discussion regarding writing and publishing related to UAPA.
Leaf: 15 Jacob Moidel, editor, Justice, 28 May 1926. Professional letter thanking Lovecraft for his writing contributions.
Leaf 16: W. Paul Cook, signed "Cook," 21 March 1925. Lengthy editing discussion; Cook notably asks Lovecraft's opinion on M.R. James' A Warning to the Curious and Other Short Stories.
Lovecraft's Friends and Acquaintances, Howard P. Lovecraft Collection. Brown University Library Digital Repository. From the Gary Munson Collection
Auction Info
2021 October 14 The Gary Munson Collection of Horror and Fantasy Rare Books Auction #31172 (go to Auction Home page)
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