WILDER, Thornton (1897?1975). Autograph letter signed (?Old...

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Fine Books & Manuscripts

By Potter & Potter Auctions

Feb 26, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-02-26 12:00:00 2022-02-26 12:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Books & Manuscripts https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/potter-potter/fine-books-manuscripts-21955
Our first book sale of the year features an array of items not seen on the market in over a century. Among the Americana lots crossing the block is one of the rarest and important Revolutionary War narratives, being Ethan Allen’s account of his captivity in British prisons printed in 1779. Prices Realized Potter & Potter Auctions info@potterauctions.com

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• Lot Description
  WILDER, Thornton (1897?1975). Autograph letter signed (?Old T.N.W.?) to author James Herlihy written from Martha?s Vineyard, 25 September 1969. 4 pages, 12mo (178 x 152 mm), on letterhead, creased. With original holograph envelope. Wilder reports that he has had an awful summer, using a Gertrude Stein maxim ?every one is a compound of gregariousness and solitude?, explaining that too much society has made him sick. He is too ?frazzled in mind to write a letter? so he instead jots down various subjects in detail including: the Kennedy?s and Chappaquiddick; deferential ?hippie? women; Wilder?s famous line ?it?s the duty of the old to lie to the young? and what he really meant by it; Erik Erikson?s psychoanalytic histories ?Ghandi?s Truth? and ?Young Luther?; the happiness he felt in writing ?The Ides of March?; and the elements of humor in fiction.
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