Sylvia Plath

A signed contract for Plath's appearance in Seventeen, for her short story "And Summer Will Not Come Again."

• [New York]: Triangle Publications [Seventeen Magazine], 1950.
• Triangle Publications form contract with typed carbon elements printed recto only.
• Signed and dated ("March 17, 1950") by Plath, her mother, and Plath again (as "Witness," using her mother's maiden name).

"Future writer... Those rejection slips from Seventeen" — Plath, caption below her high school yearbook photo.

Plath had amassed almost fifty rejections from Seventeen before finally garnering this acceptance in March of 1950 for her short story "And Summer Will Not Come Again." Often described as Plath's first professional publication (as this contract notes, she was paid $15), "Summer" details her relationship with a high school boyfriend, John Hodges. Published in August of that year, just before she began her freshman year at Smith, the story would mark the first of eight appearances in the magazine over the next several years.

The contract is actually signed twice by Plath, once as herself (noting her age: "17"), and once as "Aurelia R. Schober" (her mother's maiden name) on the "Witness" line — presumably for convenience and expediency. Plath has additionally noted the date ("March 17, 1950").

A rare document marking one of the earliest milestones in the career of one of our most important poets.

Purchased by a previous owner directly from Sylvia's mother Aurelia, who was a personal friend of the buyer.