Details
DOUGLAS, Norman. Collection of 15 autograph letters signed ("Norman Douglas") and one postcard signed, Florence, Thüringen and London, 14 March 1925-15 March 1946, all to Montgomery Evans. Together 18 pages, 8vo and 4to, with 14 autograph envelopes, some faint soiling from paperclips, a few light creases, otherwise in fine condition. [With:] Printed check for £10 from Evans to Douglas, 17 November 1931, endorsed by Douglas on verso.
A casual and witty correspondence: 14 March 1925: "... Delighted to hear that you have had nine ancestors hanged, although... I think you should have had a dozen, while you are (or were) about it... As to the new book: yes, I am just bringing out one--a collection of old stuff..." 23 May 1930: "... When do you expect to be back here? By all means bring a harem with you when you do come; Florence, as you say, is very poorly supplied with that article, especially under the new regime. These blasted moralists are ruining the whole world..." 22 May 1931: "As to the copy--freak--of Fountains in the Sand, I really don't remember anything about it. It's so long ago! If I gave it to Conrad, it must have been one of the very first..." Douglas discuss his published works ("So glad you bought those proofs of South Wind," 17 Nov. 1930), the manuscript to Alone, reviews, Pino Orioli ("Orioli is all right, but his business is not doing well just now. Nobody seems to want to buy the kinds of books he deals in," 28 Nov. 1933) and the sale of his manuscripts at auction (21 July 1937). The final letter, after a nearly nine-year gap, refers to the war: "They hunted us out of France by the simple expedient of not giving us enough (of our own) money to live on."
Montgomery Evans, a noted collector of modern literature, formed an important collection of Lord Dunsany material now at the University of Delaware. According to the biography provided by the Southern Illinois University, where his papers are kept, "Evans and Stagg together on a European tour in 1924 met Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Pankhurst, and Sylvia Beach and became friendly with Augustus John, Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Walter de la Mare, and Aleister Crowley (to whom they often refer obliquely)." [With:] DOUGLAS, Norman. Autograph letter signed, Florence, 23 October 1929, to Robert Douglas. 2 pages, 4to, with autograph envelope. "Printers are driving me ½ crazy... I feel sure you will get a publisher--Pino or someone else...I should certainly not bother my head what reviewers might say--to Hell with them! They are quite a contemptable crowd." [And with:] DOUGLAS, Norman. Typed letter signed, Florence, 27 November 1928, to Mr. Johnson of the Windsor Press, San Francisco. 1 page, 4to. Concerning the finances involved in an article Johnson was reprinting. (19)
A casual and witty correspondence: 14 March 1925: "... Delighted to hear that you have had nine ancestors hanged, although... I think you should have had a dozen, while you are (or were) about it... As to the new book: yes, I am just bringing out one--a collection of old stuff..." 23 May 1930: "... When do you expect to be back here? By all means bring a harem with you when you do come; Florence, as you say, is very poorly supplied with that article, especially under the new regime. These blasted moralists are ruining the whole world..." 22 May 1931: "As to the copy--freak--of Fountains in the Sand, I really don't remember anything about it. It's so long ago! If I gave it to Conrad, it must have been one of the very first..." Douglas discuss his published works ("So glad you bought those proofs of South Wind," 17 Nov. 1930), the manuscript to Alone, reviews, Pino Orioli ("Orioli is all right, but his business is not doing well just now. Nobody seems to want to buy the kinds of books he deals in," 28 Nov. 1933) and the sale of his manuscripts at auction (21 July 1937). The final letter, after a nearly nine-year gap, refers to the war: "They hunted us out of France by the simple expedient of not giving us enough (of our own) money to live on."
Montgomery Evans, a noted collector of modern literature, formed an important collection of Lord Dunsany material now at the University of Delaware. According to the biography provided by the Southern Illinois University, where his papers are kept, "Evans and Stagg together on a European tour in 1924 met Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Pankhurst, and Sylvia Beach and became friendly with Augustus John, Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Walter de la Mare, and Aleister Crowley (to whom they often refer obliquely)." [With:] DOUGLAS, Norman. Autograph letter signed, Florence, 23 October 1929, to Robert Douglas. 2 pages, 4to, with autograph envelope. "Printers are driving me ½ crazy... I feel sure you will get a publisher--Pino or someone else...I should certainly not bother my head what reviewers might say--to Hell with them! They are quite a contemptable crowd." [And with:] DOUGLAS, Norman. Typed letter signed, Florence, 27 November 1928, to Mr. Johnson of the Windsor Press, San Francisco. 1 page, 4to. Concerning the finances involved in an article Johnson was reprinting. (19)