Crane, Hart

3 pages on Cunard Lines letterhead (8 x 5 in.; 203 x 128 mm)), R.M.S. Tuscania, off Newfoundland, 9 December 1928; horizontal fold; minimal wear. With autograph envelope, postmarked Halifax, Nova Scotia, 10 December 1928.

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"I would be given the only really handsome English waiter in the salon!" Hart Crane's 1928 voyage from New York to London.

"Ahoy Sam!" In this letter written at the beginning of his crossing on the R.M.S. Tuscania, Crane writes in high spirits to his good friend Samuel Loveman of New York's Rowfant Book Shop. "The ship is rearing like a high strung broncho [sic] — and I'm out walking the quarter deck much of the time — enjoying the rythmical [sic] lift and plunge of it. We've had high seas running and sleet and rain since Sandy Hook and I've been down for every meal. O it's great! The bad gin pains are leaving my head — and taking only the bad memories with them — not the pleasant thoughts of you and Mary and others.

"This is a pleasant boat — not at all crowded — and such nice people. English servants know how to be pleasant as well as efficient. And of course I would be given the only really handsome English waiter in the salon! Rather tough food — but I'm getting used to it. The whisky — which is all I've tried thus far — is like balm of Giliad — or whatever Poe said. A little goes a long ways — and really doesn't sadden one."

As a postscript, the author of Voyages writes, "Melville makes fine reading on this trip."