Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951 8vo (200 x 133 mm). Publisher's black cloth, spine gilt-lettered; one spot to fore-edge, a few stray spots to endpapers. Original dust-jacket, illustration by Michael Mitchell on upper cover and spine, with the photographic portrait of the author by Lotte Jacobi on the rear panel. In quarter red morocco slipcase with folding chemise. An exceptional, bright copy of this contemporary American classic ﻿The Book-Of-The-Month Club picked up The Catcher in the Rye just after it was set in galleys. Salinger, ever averse to publicity of any sort, felt the portrait photo on the back cover, as seen in this copy, was too big. He later lobbied to have the photograph removed, and it has not been reprinted since. The dustjacket on the present copy is remarkably pristine—examples with the photo are already scarce, and ones in the condition seen here are even more so. Salinger worked on Catcher, chronicling Holden Caulfield’s escape from Pencey Prep—reportedly modeled on the Valley Forge Military Academy that Salinger himself attended—to his personal New York City underground, on and off for ten years. It was finally published to mixed reviews, which praised Salinger’s brilliance and insight but condemned the pervasiveness of obscenities in the novel.

View 1 of Lot 108: Salinger, J.D. | A strikingly fresh first edition of Salinger's essential novel

salinger, j.d. | a strikingly fresh first edition of salinger's essential novel

Salinger, J.D. Two typed letters signed to poet Celia Bland. 17 May and 26 August, 1985. [With]: Salinger's first appearance in book form 3 pages (279 x 216 and 216 x 140 mm) on yellow typing paper, signed, from Windsor VT, dated 17 May and 26 August 1985, to Celia Bland (in Oxford, England, and Northeast Harbor, Maine); horizontal and vertical folds. Typed envelopes. Housed in a half blue morocco clamshell case. [With]: [J. D. Salinger, contributor]. The Kit Book for Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. Edited by E. X. Pastor. Chicago: Consolidated Book Publishers, 1942. 8vo (152.5 x 114 mm). Numerous color and black-and-white cartoon illustrations. Publisher’s pictorial boards; some rubbing. Original printed pictorial mailing carton; some wear, but generally good and never used for mailing. Housed in half brown morocco slipcase and chemise. Two fine letters from Salinger to poet Celia Bland with a copy of Salinger’s first publication in book form J. D. Salinger first met poet Celia Bland when she was an undergraduate at Sarah Lawrence College and a friend of Sophie Platt, another Sarah Lawrence student who lived near Salinger in New England. The May 1985 letter was written when Bland was living in England and studying at Oxford. Salinger first muses on his interest in astrology, asking for the date, place, and time of her birth, so that he can evaluate her chart. He then tells her that he’s leaving shortly for a quick trip to California, for his son Matthew’s wedding, noting that he hates to travel. He relates his misadventure in going to England to see his daughter Peggy, only to discover she had gone to the U.S. for a few days; nonetheless he enjoyed his time there, hunting for antiquarian books, going to the theater, and ambling about the city. He notes that even amidst the black outs of World War II, he enjoyed London. Turning to literature, Salinger discusses Virginia Woolf and William Hazlitt, stating that he admires the latter not only for the clarity of his insight, but also for what Salinger perceives to be his outsider status. The August letter begins with Salinger explaining that he is attempting to stop responding to his overwhelming correspondence, joking that he’ll issue a public announcement to that effect in a magazine. Bland is on holiday in Maine when Salinger posts this letter, and he speaks of his love for the state and his own experiences there. He ends on a reflection about his son’s wedding in California, stating that despite his dislike of weddings and social events, he was happy to see him on his wedding day. The copy of The Kit Book for Soldiers, Sailors and Marines included with the letters is a first edition, first issue. Salinger’s contribution, the short story “The Hang of It,” marked his first appearance in a book. The story had originally been published in Collier’s. This publication was created for distribution to military personnel stationed abroad during World War II. Two very fine letters, in which Salinger discusses 1980’s London and his fondness for that city during the blackouts of World War II, his desire to withdraw from the world and avoid social situations (weddings, graduations, boat trips, personal letters, etc.), his opinions of Hazlitt and Woolf, his interest in astrology, and other topics.

View 1 of Lot 109: Salinger, J.D. | Two fine letters from Salinger, with a copy of Salinger's first publication in book form

salinger, j.d. | two fine letters from salinger, with a copy of salinger's first publication in book form

Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern

J.D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951 FIRST EDITION, 8vo (198 x 133mm.), original black cloth, spine gilt-lettered, DUST-JACKET, illustration by Michael Mitchell on upper cover and spine, author photo by Lotte Jacobi on lower cover, extremities slightly rubbed,dust-jacket professionally restored with tissue repairs to spine and extremities and section supplied at front panel First edition of Salinger's enduring classic. One of the great adolescent novels, it follows young Holden Cauldfield's Manhattan adventures after he escapes from Pencey Prep (modeled on the military academy attended by Salinger). The novel originally received mixed reviews and generated controversy owing to the protagonist's "obscene" language (tame by modern standards). Such language, coupled with Holden's desire for rebellion against adult "phonies", has contributed to the novel being periodically banned from some school reading lists to this day.

View 1 of Lot 305: J.D. Salinger | The Catcher in the Rye, 1951, first edition

j.d. salinger | the catcher in the rye, 1951, first edition

Salinger, J.D The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951 8vo. Publisher's black cloth, spine gilt-lettered; edges very lightly bumped. Original dust-jacket with $3.00 price on front flap, illustration by Michael Mitchell on upper cover and spine, photographic portrait of the author by Lotte Jacobi on the rear panel extending to top edge; slightest chipping to head and foot of spine, expertly restored at head. First edition of this contemporary American classic, exploring the failures of the adult world. The Book-Of-The-Month Club picked up The Catcher in the Rye just after it was set in galleys. Salinger, ever averse to publicity of any sort, felt the portrait photo on the back cover, as seen in this copy, was too big. He later lobbied to have the photograph removed, and it has not been reprinted since. Salinger worked on Catcher, chronicling Holden Caulfield’s escape from Pencey Prep—reportedly modeled on the Valley Forge Military Academy that Salinger himself attended—to his personal New York City underground, on and off for ten years. It was finally published to mixed reviews, which praised Salinger’s brilliance and insight but condemned the pervasiveness of obscenities in the novel. It continues to provoke the “phonies” to the present day and is often the target of overly concerned parents when spotted on school reading lists. "This novel is a key-work of the nineteen-fifties in that the theme of youthful rebellion is first adumbrated in it, though the hero, Holden Caulfield, is more a gentle voice of protest, unprevailing in the noise, than a militant world-changer... The Catcher in the Rye was a symptom of a need, after a ghastly war and during a ghastly pseudo-peace, for the young to raise a voice of protest against the failures of the adult world. The young used many voices — anger, contempt, self-pity — but the quietest, that of a decent perplexed American adolescent, proved the most telling" (Anthony Burgess, 99 Novels, pp. 53-54.) REFERENCE: Burgess 99

View 1 of Lot 1142: Salinger, J.D |  Catcher in the Rye; an exceptional example

salinger, j.d | catcher in the rye; an exceptional example

Fine Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, 1951-1989 4 letters (1 ALS and 3 TLS), all signed (“Jerry”), addressed to Mrs. Esther Graham or to Mr. J. Graham, with original mailing envelopes, 1953-1989; a signed and inscribed first edition of The Catcher in the Rye, 1951; a partial The Catcher in the Rye dust jacket, signed by the illustrator E. Michael Mitchell on the same date as the aforementioned first edition, 1951; a rare portrait photograph of Salinger, signed by the photographer Antony di Gesu and presented by Bett Graham to her niece, Pamela, 1952; all items either given or sent to members of the Graham family, documenting their longstanding and, until now, little known friendship with Salinger. In 1949, Salinger met a Canadian couple, Beth (“Bett”) Graham and Michael Mitchell, in Westport, CT, where he was living while finishing his groundbreaking novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The Mitchells had a house nearby and, though it is unclear how exactly they were introduced, they soon became close friends. Salinger would write in their guest house and then read recently written passages from Catcher to the married couple. Michael, a successful magazine illustrator, was asked to design the book’s dust jacket. His striking image of a red carousel horse remains one of the most iconic dust jackets ever created. Even Salinger, notorious for despising his books’ cover art, loved the design. After moving to Cornish, NH, Salinger continued to correspond with the Mitchells, and he occasionally visited them in New York or London. In one of Salinger’s letters to Michael, now at the Morgan Library, he informed the couple that he has “never had two dearer friends,” and refers to their “tri-cornered” friendship (Cowan, Alison Leigh. “Unsealed Letters Offer Glimpse of Salinger. New York Times. February 11, 2010). Bett Graham and Michael Mitchell divorced sometime in the 1960s. From then on, Salinger stayed in touch with them both separately. It is abundantly clear from this archive that the author had a special appreciation for his friendship with the Graham family, especially for Bett and her mother Esther, who he affectionately refers to as “Mother Graham.” Through these unexpectedly warm and revealing letters, spanning nearly forty years, Salinger shows his humor, introspection, and humanity — aspects of his personality which he oftentimes kept hidden. The archive contains: 1) Autograph letter signed “Jerry” to “Dear Mrs. Graham.” Windsor, VT: November 15, 1953 One-page letter (196 x 156 mm), in black ink; old horizontal fold. With postmarked autograph envelope. A short but sympathetic letter where Salinger sends his condolences to Esther soon after the passing of her husband, William. Salinger calls him “the gentlest and best kind of human being.” 2) Typed letter signed “Jerry” to “Dear Mrs. Graham.” Windsor, VT: June 16, 1959 Two-page letter typewritten on one side of a single folded sheet (210 x 271 mm), signed in black ink; old folds, very faint toning along the top edge at center. With postmarked typed envelope. An affable, funny letter from Salinger to Esther Graham, where he discusses Bett and Michael’s recent move to London. He expresses his sadness at not seeing his friends more often, and his desire to go visit them so that they can “all go see the Queen together.” Salinger mentions his grueling work schedule and laments his lonely automat lunches. He goes on to thank Esther for the clipping she sent him and says that the thought of her brother reading his fiction in Glasgow cheers him up. Near the end of the letter, Salinger mentions his 4-year-old daughter, Peggy. He wishes that she could meet Esther and bemoans the fact that his daughter never gets to see Bett and Mike. 3) Typed letter signed “Jerry” to “Dear Mother Graham.” Windsor, VT: March 3, 1971 One-page letter (270 x 210 mm), typed, signed in black ink; old folds. With postmarked typed envelope. Salinger recounts his recent trip to London where he saw Bett, who is now divorced from Michael. He mentions some of their amusing adventures together, including “the police-station stuff and the mixup at Battersea Park,” and praises Bett’s new apartment, her tiny car, and her friends. He goes on to discuss Michael and how, a little while back, he didn’t see him due to a bout of hypoglycemia. Salinger explains that he has been feeling much better recently, “like the gifted sportsman and Oujia player you knew in Westport.” He then updates Esther on his children, who he feels are happy and doing well. 4) Typed letter signed “Jerry” to “Dear J.” Cornish, NH: November 19, 1989 One page letter (270 x 210 mm) to James Graham, typed, signed in black ink; old folds. With postmarked typed envelope. In this heartfelt, yet somber letter, Salinger responds to news of the death of his friend Bett Graham. He writes back to her brother, James, and begins by saying that his memory isn’t what it used to be, before recounting a series of detailed memories. First, he remembers exactly who James is, despite having never met him. He goes on to eulogize Bett, praising her kindness, intelligence, and wit. With his characteristic acerbity, Salinger expresses disdain for the word “compassion,” which he finds overly sentimental. However, he admits that, when referring to Bett, he can make an exception for the word. After a brief digression to discuss Mike, who had already phoned him with the news, he responds to a remark that he thought was disparaging to Bett — a reference to her supposedly turbulent life. He vigorously defends her against this characterization, recalling her selflessness, and imagining her at a kitchen sink washing other people’s dirty dishes — “gloomy thoughts,” he adds. Salinger ends the letter by thanking James for being there with Bett during her last days, and he sends his love to the rest of the Graham family. He signs the letter “Jerry,” before adding “(Salinger)” in typescript. 5) J.D. Salinger. The Catcher in The Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951 8vo (195 x 127 mm). First edition, third printing, inscribed “To Esther and Willie Graham, / with love, / Jerry” and dated September 5, 1951, in blue ink on the front free endpaper; old smudge to the word “Willie” in the inscription. Publisher’s cloth; lacking dust jacket, a few minor spots of rubbing and wear to the extremities, spine title a bit dulled, a slight lean, front hinge cracked. 6) A partial The Catcher in the Rye dust jacket, signed and inscribed by the illustrator E. Michael Mitchell, “To Mother / and Father Graham / with love” and dated September 5, 1951 on the rear flap in light blue ink, the jacket from a Book-of-the-Month Club edition; front cover missing, front flap detached, some creasing, staining, and fraying along edges. 7) Antony Di Gesu. Portrait Photograph of J.D. Salinger reading The Catcher in the Rye. November 20, 1952 Silver gelatin print (216 x 317 mm), double matted and framed. Signed and dated by Di Gesu in gold ink in lower left corner, additionally inscribed in pencil on the frame’s verso, “To: Pamela from Aunt Beth / a portrait of an old friend Nov. 1989.” A studio portrait photograph of Salinger reading from The Catcher in the Rye while smoking a cigarette. This is from one of only two known studio sessions that the author sat for. This print was presumably gifted by Salinger to Bett Graham, who then gave it to her niece shortly before her death in 1989. Anthony di Gesu, the photographer, is known for his celebrity portraits, including Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Irving Berlin, Margaret Mead, and Jonas Salk. He wrote about Salinger’s visit in his unpublished memoir: “On the 20th of November, 1952, J.D. Salinger (author of Catcher in the Rye) came to the studio and said he wanted a portrait of himself for his mother and his fiancée. Since I didn’t [know] as much then as I do now, I set up the camera and light and sat him right down. His expression was so rigid and self-conscious [that] I was at my wits end. Nothing happened. I decided on something I had never done before with an adult. I excused myself, went up to my apartment and came down with ‘Catcher in the Rye.’ I brought him a table and ashtray, set down the book (why the hell didn’t I ask him to autograph it?) and suggested he do anything he pleased. Read to himself. Read aloud or just smoke. “If I’d thought he was going to be so damned famous, I’d have written down everything we talked about to get the expression we did. I took 48 5 x 7 negatives. Serious, thoughtful, smiling, laughing, howling with laughter. White shirt, white background. Black suit, black background. But I don’t remember a thing. “He was pleased with the results, but asked me not to show the portraits publicly. When I asked why, he said when people recognized him, they usually behaved peculiarly because they thought he would write about them. I promised I wouldn’t and I kept that promise for thirty years.” (Anthony di Gesu. From his unpublished memoir. https://sandiegohistory.org/collection/photographs/digesu2/) For a book inscribed by Salinger to Bett Graham, The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, see following lot.

View 1 of Lot 1065: Salinger, J.D. | The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more

salinger, j.d. | the graham family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more

Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. Part 2

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951 8vo (200 x 133 mm). Publisher's black cloth, spine gilt-lettered; hinges slightly loose, light fading to gilt-lettering. Original dust-jacket, illustration by Michael Mitchell on upper cover and spine, with the photographic portrait of the author by Lotte Jacobi on the rear panel; lightly toned, one or two creases, tiny nicks at head and tail of the spine, abrasion to head of the spine panel and foot of the rear panel, the latter affecting the portrait. In a red slipcase with folding chemise. First edition of this contemporary American classic The Book-Of-The-Month Club picked up The Catcher in the Rye just after it was set in galleys. Salinger, ever averse to publicity of any sort, felt the portrait photo on the back cover, as seen in this copy, was too big. He later lobbied to have the photograph removed, and it has not been reprinted since. Salinger worked on Catcher, chronicling Holden Caulfield’s escape from Pencey Prep—reportedly modeled on the Valley Forge Military Academy that Salinger himself attended—to his personal New York City underground, on and off for ten years. It was finally published to mixed reviews, which praised Salinger’s brilliance and insight but condemned the pervasiveness of obscenities in the novel. PROVENANCE: Lesley Holmes (ownership inscription to front free endpaper)

View 1 of Lot 1102: Salinger, J.D. | A landmark in post-war American literature

salinger, j.d. | a landmark in post-war american literature

English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations

SALINGER, JD Autograph note signed ("Jerry Salinger"), to Molly Bocock an affectionate note written amidst preparations for D-Day ("...You remind me of very good, very real things. There aren't many left..."), 1 page, oblong 8vo, 4 April 1944; loosely inserted in an autograph album with entries by servicemen (chiefly American) training at the School for Military Intelligence, 1941-44, and later entries including guests at the Cumberland Hotel, including the signature of Beverley Nichols and a loosely inserted note by John Manners giving permission for a tour of Haddon Hall (1944), 58 pages, plus blanks, and five loose items, oblong 8vo, 1941-1974 "...I'd like to send you some of my work, and I'd like to take you to a nice place in London where we might get pretty drunk and mellow..." A VERY EARLY NOTE BY J.D. SALINGER WRITTEN TWO MONTHS BEFORE D-DAY. Molly Bocock served in the School for Military Intelligence in Smedley's Hydro, Matlock, Derbyshire. Among the American servicemen who trained at the school was J.D. Salinger, then a young writer with stories in The New Yorker and elsewhere. Salinger had been drafted into the 4th Counter Intelligence Corps and his wartime experiences over the next year - which included D-Day landing at Utah Beach, a meeting with Hemingway in Paris, and the liberation of one of the Dachau Concentration Camps - were to have a profound effect upon his life and writing. Please see shipping calculator link: click here.

salinger, autograph note signed, 1944, with related autograph album

(Salinger, J.D.) — Jane Austen The Complete Novels of Jane Austen. New York: The Modern Library, [1940] 8vo (195 x 130 mm). Second Modern Library edition. Signed and inscribed by Salinger in ink on the front free endpaper, “To Bett / hoping that these Austen novels will mean something important to you. / With affection, / Jerry Salinger;” the contents with occasional light toning and soiling, a small loss to the lower corner of the title page, the front free endpaper and half title are separated from the text block but still attached to the upper board. Publisher’s green cloth boards, with Modern Library logo; wear to boards, the spine missing, the front hinge cracked, the upper board holding to the linen cloth “cords,” a well-read copy. Housed in a custom clamshell case. A presentation copy of The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, one of J.D. Salinger’s favorite reads, gifted to his longtime friend Bett Graham. Though the inscription is undated, he may have given it to Bett soon after her separation from Michael Mitchell to provide some much-needed entertainment, consolation, or inspiration from one of Austen’s strong-willed heroines. Salinger was a voracious reader throughout his life – he had a rotating bookcase next to his bed where he kept his favorite books within arm’s reach morning and night (the bookcase and its contents were exhibited at the New York Public Library in 2019). One of his favorite authors was undoubtedly Jane Austen. It is interesting to note that, though their lives were separated by over a century, Austen and Salinger both wrote coming of age novels whose protagonists search for a way to live authentically in conventional adult society, a society that they perceive as inherently hypocritical. Both authors regularly use satire to criticize this hypocrisy or, as Holden would call it, “phoniness.” In addition to this connection, Salinger mentions Jane Austen at least three times in his short stories – first in “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” (The New Yorker, March 20, 1948, and then twice in “Hapworth 16, 1924,” (The New Yorker, June 19, 1965). In “Uncle Wiggily,” his unhappily married protagonist, Eloise, is asked by an old friend why she married her husband. Eloise replies, "He told me he loved Jane Austen. He told me her books meant a great deal to him. That's exactly what he said. I found out after we were married that he hadn't even read one of her books." Hapworth, takes the form of a long letter sent from summer camp by seven-year-old, Seymour Glass, to his parents. At one point, the precocious child describes Miss Overman, an old-fashioned librarian,– “In her heart of hearts, she would zestfully live out her remaining years as a charming, intimate neighbor of Elizabeth and Jane Bennett, continually being approached by those equally delicious heroines of Pride and Predjudice for sensible and worldly advice.” Later on, while listing books that he would like Ms. Overman to send him, along with Cervantes, Tolstoy, Dickens, and De Balzac, is a plea for, “Jane Austen, in entirety or in any shape or form, discounting Pride and Prejudice, which is already in possession. I will not disturb this incomparable girl’s genius with dubious remarks; I have already hurt [the librarian] Miss Overman’s feelings inexcusably by refusing to discuss this girl, but I lack even the slight decency to regret it very much. Quite in a pinch, I would be willing to meet someone at Rosings, but I cannot enter into a discussion of a womanly genius this humourous, magnificent, and personal to me; I have made some feeble, human attempts, but nothing at all meritorious.” While inscribed copies of Salinger’s own books come up with some regularity, this is the first time that another author’s novel with an inscription by Salinger has been offered at auction. It provides a revealing glimpse into Salinger’s personal relationships and literary tastes, calling attention to certain oftentimes overlooked aspect in his biography – his friendships with women and his longstanding appreciation of Jane Austen. For an archive of letters, a rare studio photograph, and more, all given to Bett and members of her family, see previous lot. RFERENCES Sanford, Jaclyn M. "The Bildungsroman and the Theme of Authenticity in Jane Austen’s Emma and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye." Master's thesis, Harvard University, 2019

View 1 of Lot 1066: (Salinger, J.D.) — Jane Austen | Inscribed copy of Austen’s Complete Novels, given to his close friend Bett Graham

(salinger, j.d.) — jane austen | inscribed copy of austen’s complete novels, given to his close friend bett graham

Typed letter signed ("J D S"), 1 page (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 279 x 215 mm), Windsor, Vermont, 13 November 1975, to "Tim Hebert and Gerald Macey c/o Oral History Class"; with original stamped and postmarked envelope.

salinger, j.d.

The Library of an English Bibliophile, Part II

8vo (184 x 121mm.), first English edition, original blue cloth, dust-jacket, some slight edge-wear to the jacket

the catcher in the rye. london: hamish hamilton ltd., 1951

Fine Books and Manuscripts Including Americana

3 pages (11 x 8 ½ and 8 ½ x 5 ½ in.) on yellow typing paper, signed (“x x JDS” and “JDS”), from Windsor VT, dated 17 May and 26 August 1985, to Celia Bland (in Oxford, England, and Northeast Harbor, Maine); horizontal and vertical folds. Typed envelopes. Housed in a half blue morocco clamshell case.

3 pages (11 x 8 ½ and 8 ½ x 5 ½ in.) on yellow typing paper, signed (“x x JDS” and “JDS”), from Windsor VT, dated 17 May and 26 August 1985, to Celia Bland (in Oxford, England, and Northeast Harbor, Maine); horizontal and vertical folds. Typed envelopes. Housed in a half blue morocco clamshell case. [with]: [J. D. Salinger, contributor]. The Kit Book for Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. Edited by E. X. Pastor. Chicago: Consolidated Book Publishers, 1942. 8vo (6 x 4 ½ in.). Numerous color and black-and-white cartoon illustrations. Publisher’s pictorial boards; some rubbing. Original printed pictorial mailing carton; some wear, but generally good and never used for mailing. Housed in half brown morocco slipcase and chemise.

2 typed letters signed to poet celia bland. 17 may and 26 august 1985

The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951

Your Own Sylvia: Sylvia Plath’s letters to Ted Hughes and other items, property of Frieda Hughes

Sylvia Plath Typed letter signed, with lengthy autograph postscript, to Ted Hughes ("dearest love teddy...") fulminating against the English literary scene following a rejection of Hughes's fables ("...people have the right of judging your life and work here who are narrow, bigoted, and just plain ignorant; worse, there is no higher court of appeal than this monolithic london..."), with her opinion of the latest New Yorker, rumours about the mental health of J.D. Salinger leading to significant comments on madness and art, also her latest plans for submissions to magazines and competitions, with a 26-line autograph postscript in which she expresses how much she misses living as his wife ("...it is so hard for me to be deprived of doing all the woman-things for you - cooking & bedding & listening & telling you how fine you are & how all my faith is in you. I walk in the thought & love of you as in a sheath of radiance which keeps me. in spite of the nightmares, the strange instinctive guilt I feel at being your wife, and cut off from all the symbolic, rich gestures and acts of a wife..."), scattered autograph corrections, 6 pages, 8vo (177 x 140mm), blue writing paper, headed stationery of Newnham College, Cambridge, 20 October 1956 "...heard rumors yesterday that j.d. salinger is supposed to be in a mental hospital. I feel strangely about him for some reason; I am sure insanity is the most necessary state for a fine artist--that 'divine madness' where the terror & piercing insights he has daily are not locked in retreat or raving but made into works of art; a kind of flickering wild light of susceptibility playing over psychic states which, if frozen, would become intolerable and result in madness. I wish I knew about j.d. salinger..." Salinger had been one of the authors whom Plath had requested to interview during her ill-fated guest-editorship at Mademoiselle magazine in 1953. Her comments about madness here echo Ted Hughes's opinions; he had written to her in a letter earlier that month that madness meant "your thoughts have autonomous life, whereas sane people have them in harness, under their will, in slavery" (quoted in Clark, Red Comet, p.469). LITERATURE: The Letters of Sylvia Plath: Volume One, pp.1313-17

View 1 of Lot 18: Sylvia Plath | Typed letter signed, to Ted Hughes, on madness and art, and the literary scene, 20 October 1956

sylvia plath | typed letter signed, to ted hughes, on madness and art, and the literary scene, 20 october 1956

Livres & Manuscrits du XIIIe au XXIe siècle

Koltès, Bernard-Marie [Sallinger]. Manuscrit autographe complet. 1976. 68 pages sur 44 feuillets de papier quadrillé in-4 (283 x 210 mm) ; encre bleue, noire ou rouge, avec quelques ratures et corrections. Exceptionnel manuscrit d’un des auteurs dramatiques les plus singuliers de la fin du XXe siècle. Texte complet d’une des premières pièces de Koltès, inspirée par l’univers de l'écrivain américain J.D. Salinger. Écrite en 1976, cette pièce est le résultat d’une "commande" du metteur en scène lyonnais Bruno Boëglin qui la créa en 1977. Elle ne fut publiée qu’à titre posthume, en 1995, aux éditions de Minuit, accompagnée d’un bref avant-propos de l’auteur, rédigé en 1978, la genèse de ce travail mêlant la subjectivité et la parole des comédiens, d’un metteur en scène et d’un écrivain afin de trouver un langage commun autour de l’œuvre de Salinger. Le manuscrit correspond au texte définitif, avec des corrections, des passages remaniés ou biffés où des variations inédites peuvent se lire. Sallinger suit à la trace les errances physiques et mentales des membres d’une famille de la classe moyenne américaine, dans un New York "abstrait, nocturne, déconnecté", au moment de la guerre du Vietnam. Le personnage principal, un jeune homme "grossier, très beau et très insupportable" prénommé Le Rouquin, est comme l’écho fraternel du personnage créé par Salinger dans L’Attrape-cœurs. Le premier feuillet, à l’encre noire avec quelques petites corrections, présente les personnages et les "décors" de la pièce. Suivent 22 feuillets, à l’encre bleue (numérotés au stylo rouge) : mise au net du texte correspondant à la première moitié de la pièce environ, avec de très rares corrections, le plus souvent à l’encre rouge. La suite du manuscrit, à l’encre noire, bleue ou rouge, est bien davantage une étape de travail comme en témoignent plusieurs mots rayés ou corrigés, des passages de plusieurs lignes biffés, repris avec de légères variantes, une division des tableaux (en chiffres romains) qui ne sera pas celle de la version définitive, ou des ajouts tracés d’une écriture plus ou moins hâtive. On relève également des répliques isolées destinées à être réintégrées dans le corps du texte. Cependant on retrouve le texte entier de Sallinger, des premières aux dernières répliques, y compris les parfois très longues didascalies qui décrivent sur deux ou trois pages des actions muettes. Les rares variantes seront par exemple le mot "temps", indiquant une pause dans le jeu, qui sera ultérieurement remplacé par le mot "silence", ou encore l’emploi répété du juron "shit" (orthographié ici "sheat") qui deviendra "what a mess", des hésitations sur certains passages comme lors d'une des prises de parole d’Anna (feuillets 23 et 24 du manuscrit et p. 89 de l’édition) : "Tant qu’il demeure quelque part une intelligence qui dépasse toute autre", devenant "S’il pouvait demeurer quelque part dans toute l’Amérique un seul être lucide et sage", puis "Si elle existait seulement cachée quelque part au fond de l’Amérique, cette intelligence totale qui demeure un signe de ce qui est supérieur et de ce qui est bas", et enfin "S’il pouvait demeurer, caché quelque part au fond de l’Amérique, un seul être lucide, un seul être [/esprit] qui fut indiscutable, je courrais le chercher et l’appeler à l’aide […] Mais je crois que la dernière intelligence s’est depuis longtemps fait sauter la tête à [/d’un] coup de revolver ". On relève également de légères variations dans le texte de la scène finale, juste avant que le Rouquin ne se suicide lorsqu’il mêle dans son discours le français et l’anglais. Un dernier feuillet présente d’ailleurs le texte en français (avec copie dactylographiée) que Koltès traduira, ou fera traduire, en anglais. François Koltès a consacré à son frère cadet un film, Comme une étoile filante, pour lequel il a notamment recueilli les souvenirs de Bruno Boëglin concernant Sallinger : "J’avais lu ‘La nuit juste avant les forêts du Nicaragua’, premier titre, puis j’avais lu le roman ‘La fuite à cheval’ puis je l’avais rencontré… Ça s’est fait vraiment comme ça… pas plus compliqué. Il y a eu des réunions… où on parlait beaucoup de Salinger, pas beaucoup de son écriture, pas du tout, pas du tout ce que j’avais fait moi avant, comme comédien ou metteur en scène, pas du tout le trajet des autres personnes qui étaient mêlées à l’aventure […] Quand il m’a donné le manuscrit [...] je me disais c’est pas possible j’y arriverai pas… Il y avait huit ou neuf monologues qui faisaient quatre ou cinq pages et dedans était contenu absolument – je ne suis pas un spécialiste des textes de Bernard – mais, était contenu absolument tout ce qui allait devenir son œuvre d’écrivain de théâtre" (Bruno Boëglin, entretien avec F.K., 1997). Une très grande partie des manuscrits de Bernard-Marie Koltès sont aujourd’hui conservés à la Bibliothèque nationale de France, grâce à divers achats ainsi qu’à des dons de François Koltès.

View 1 of Lot 97: [Sallinger]. 1976. Manuscrit autographe complet de cette pièce inspirée de Salinger. L'un des derniers manuscrits de l'auteur en mains privées.

[sallinger]. 1976. manuscrit autographe complet de cette pièce inspirée de salinger. l'un des derniers manuscrits de l'auteur en mains privées.

Consisting of novels from Katharine Hepburn's library including: Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger; The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg; On The Farm by John Updike;  The Looking Glass by John LeCarre; and The Incredible Misners by Alva Johnston, most with original dust jackets, and most from the 1950s. 15 items

a group of fifteen novels

Vivien: The Vivien Leigh Collection

i) Laurence Binyon. The Golden Treasury of Modern Lyrics. London: Macmillan, 1927, small 8vo, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO LAURENCE OLIVIER (“To the greatest English Actor | of the twentieth century, | on the occasion of his | Greatest Performance | so far. | Richard III. Sept 1944 | from Yvonne and Jamie Hamilton”) on a preliminary blank, full blue morocco; 

i) Laurence Binyon. The Golden Treasury of Modern Lyrics. London: Macmillan, 1927, small 8vo, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO LAURENCE OLIVIER (“To the greatest English Actor | of the twentieth century, | on the occasion of his | Greatest Performance | so far. | Richard III. Sept 1944 | from Yvonne and Jamie Hamilton”) on a preliminary blank, full blue morocco;  ii) Bernard de Fontenelle. A Plurality of Worlds. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1929, 8vo, number 1119 of 1600 copies, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“… from Jamie | September 1944 | with love”) on the front free endpaper, original vellum wrappers;  iii) Ben Jonson. The Masque of Queenes. London: The King’s Printers, 1930, folio, number 131 of 350 copies, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH WITH A 16 LINE VERSE (“…In sign of her ascent to fame | through ten triumphant years, | As month by month her flight became | the envy of her peers. […] with love and congratulations | from Jamie May 15 1945”) on the front free endpaper, original red boards, slightly soiled; iv) Franz Werfel. The Song of Bernadette. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1942, 8vo, first UK edition, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“Darling Vivien | with love from Yvonne and Jamie | Nov 5 1942”) on the front free endpaper, original blue cloth;  v) Nancy Mitford. The Pursuit of Love. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1945, 8vo, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“…with love from | Jamie 1945”) on the front free endpaper, original blue cloth, boards slightly soiled;  vi) James Thurber. The Thuber Carnival. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1945, 8vo, later edition, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“…with love from | James, August 1945”) on the front free endpaper, original pictorial cloth; vii) Clifton Fadiman. Reading I’ve Liked. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1946, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“…with love from | Jamie. September 1946 | “Skin of our Teeth””) on the front free endpaper, original red cloth; viii) Derrick Leon. Tolstoy. His Life and Works. London: Routledge, 1946, 8vo, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN AND LARRY (“…with love from | Jamie. August 1947”) on the front free endpaper, additional autograph note paperclipped in, original black cloth, cloth soiled; ix) Nancy Mitford. Love in a Cold Climate. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1949, small 8vo, proof copy, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN AND LARRY (“…with love from Jamie | Summer 1949”) on the half-title, original paper wrappers;  x) Lucy Norton. The Journal of Eugène Delacroix. London: Phaidon Press, 1951, small 8vo, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“Darling Vivien | with Jamie’s love | July 1952”) on the front free endpaper, original yellow cloth;  xi) Hamish Hamilton. Majority 1931-1952. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1952, 8vo, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN AND LARRY (“To darling Vivien and | Larry, with love from | Jamie. May 1952”) on a preliminary blank, original red cloth;  xii) Alan Moorehead. The Traitors. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1952, 8vo, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“Darling Vivien, | Happy holidays | and love from | Jamie. June | 1952”) on the front free endpaper, original red cloth;  xiii) E.B. White. Charlotte’s Web. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1952, 8vo, first UK edition, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“To Vivien, who | loved Stuart Little, | from Jamie | 1952”) on the front free endpaper, original blue cloth lettered in red, spine slightly browned;  xiv) J.D. Salinger. For Esmé – with Love and Squalor. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1953, 8vo, first UK edition, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO VIVIEN LEIGH (“Darling Vivien | from Jamie | May 1953”) on the front free endpaper, original blue cloth (14)

a collection of books inscribed by james and yvonne hamilton, comprising:

English Literature, History, Children’s Books & Illustrations

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Hamish Hamilton, 1951. 8vo, first English edition, original blue boards lettered in silver, browning to endpapers, slightly bumped

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Hamish Hamilton, 1951. 8vo, first English edition, original blue boards lettered in silver, browning to endpapers, slightly bumped WITH AN ORIGINAL DUST-JACKET BY BRUCE INGMAN, 193 by 492mm., Indian ink, acrylic, coloured pencil and collage, signed and dated by the artist ("Bruce Ingman October 2017") with note by the artist

the "first editions: re-covered" copy of:

American Literature. A collection of 47 volumes, including:

American Literature. A collection of 47 volumes, including: Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's, first english edition, Hamish Hamilton, 1958-Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night, Grey Walls Press, 1953-Hemingway, Ernest. To Have and Have Not, first edition, New York, Scribners, 1937, without jacket, some wear; For Whom the Bell Tolls, first english edition, Cape, 1941; The Old Man and the Sea, first english edition, Cape, 1952-Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird, first english edition, Heinemann, 1960-Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With the Wind, first english edition, Macmillan, 1936, dust-jacket chipped-O'Neill, Eugene. The Iceman Cometh, first english edition, Cape, 1947; A Moon for the Misbegotten, first english edition, Cape, 1953; Long Day's Journey into Night, first english edition, Cape, 1956-Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye, first english edition, Hamish Hamilton, 1951-Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, first english edition, Heinemann, 1939, all in original cloth with dust-jackets except where noted, some signs of wear, ownership inscriptions and so on, together with 35 others similar (47)

american literature. a collection of 47 volumes, including:

Escape Artists: The Non-Conformists Online

each signed in Cyrillic and dated '68-69', '70' and '71' respectivelytwo collage and spray-paint on card; one collage, spray-paint, felt and woodcut on cardWhen Brusilovsky moved to Moscow in the early 1960s and joined the non-conformist movement, he was at the height of his successful career as a book and magazine illustrator, having designed the first Russian edition of J.D.Salinger’s 'Catcher in the Rye'. It was at this time that he started experimenting with Surrealist-inspired collages, and is credited with introducing the term to a wide audience in a 1962 newspaper article. His collages and assemblages from the 1960s and 1970s often failed to pass censorship of the puritan Soviet art authorities due to their erotic and absurdist nature and were routinely banned from official exhibitions. He lives and works between Moscow and Cologne.

Results for "J.D. Salinger"