Joyce, James.

informing him that "Messrs Povolovsky sent me from Paris a book about the sculptor Duchamp-Villon - a presentation copy with a couple of lines in John Quinn's handwriting", and enquiring about "the boy" (presumably the book's author, Walter Pach) since Sylvia Beach informs him that he "has heard very bad news of his health", also mentioning a concert by George Antheil and informing his friend that he is "in convalescence after an operation the results of which will not be known for a few months", 1 page, 4to, Saint Malo, 25 July 1924; with an autograph note signed by Ford on the verso, to Ruth Hamilton Kerr, "Here is a letter of Joyce's to stick in the copy of Ulysses", hoping that the book itself has reached her in New York, and promising to send a Conrad letter ("...but all the letters of his I have kept have rather private passages in them..."), Paris, 28 July 1924; with typed envelope; in a red folding box in a red morocco-backed slipcase, fold tear

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Unpublished: not in the Letters of James Joyce. Ford and Joyce had been introduced by Ezra Pound in 1914. In 1924 Ford, now editor of the Transatlantic Review, published a fragment of Finnegans Wake - giving it, for the first time, the title "Work in Progress". The book mentioned in this letter is presumably Raymond Duchamp-Villon: sculpteur (Povolozky, 1924), with a biographical notice by the artist and critic Walter Pach, an American who had been closely involved in the Parisian avant-garde since before World War One. Ruth Hamilton Kerr was Ford's American literary agent.