Irving Stone collection
Date Published: 1939 to 1985
Binding: No binding & hard cover
Irving Stone was a prolific American author of biographical novels of historical personalities such as Lust for Life about Vincent van Gogh and The Agony and the Ecstasy about Michelangelo. In a century in which popular culture appropriated politics, art, literature, and history, Stone was a preeminent purveyor of the accessible mainstream biography.
The collection has 28 items dating from 1939 to 1985, specifically 20 letters, 2 post cards, 1 photo, 1 signed sheet, 1 souvenir typescript, and 3 books.
20 letters:
• 2 ALS on cards with envelopes to Dorothy Dockstader, post-marked 17 and 31 October 1934, re the reception of Lust for Life.
• 10 TLS and 1 TL addressed Dear Pop (Charles Tannenbaum), 27 August ?, 27 June 1939, 18 May 1940, 9 June 1940, 18 June 1940, 18 August 1940, 26 October 1940, 13 June 1942, 31 July 1942, 26 August 1942, and 4 November 1942 re taking Jean to Boulder Dam (Lake Mead and Grand Canyon) and San Francisco, woman building a roof on her house, drawing money from MGM for his Andrew Johnson story, uncovered new Clarence Darrow material, his father’s howl about the circular, Obeler has found the most amazing land value, Mrs. Fisher, Paula, Jean and Ethel having Chinese lunch, the Bocks, a nice Mexican girl that Jean is training, Kenneth weighs thirteen pounds, finished half the book yesterday, Ethel really grand, finally finished the Boise section (94 pp.), visit of Joe and Lilian under the walnut tree, the Andrew Johnson project, Mae Norton, has finished a draft of the trial scene, saw his father’s family, sends greetings from Encino, Ethel and her new writing project, mailed pictures and information to Margaret Fuller in Springfield about the Governor’s mansion, Jean is well and will be dismissed by doctor in a few days, sends his father the typescript of his book on Clarence Darrow to check for “legal boners”, Jean has made only two copies of the typescript, encloses a letter from Peter Sissman (not present) in order to get a book about Darrow in which the Italians “were indicted for conspiracy”, chapter XIII completed, Stephen A. Douglas, Jean has 5 chapters edited and typed, saw Ethel, has a new Mexican girl as a house maid, Paula home yesterday on the Chief with Mr. and Mrs. Leo Spitz, Jean furniture shopping, his lecture tour, starting work on chapter XV, Jean on chapter IX, arsenic poisoning epidemic, first eleven chapters of They Also Ran!, Kenneth sick, in San Francisco for a couple of lectures and research at the Bancroft Library, bumped into Jim Moody at the voting polls.
• 1 TLS to Maude (probably his father’s second wife), 18 July 1942, re his 39th birthday, his family (Kenneth, Jean, and Ethel), the chickens not laying eggs, and without domestic help (“the little Mex”).
• 2 TLS to D.B. Steinman, 27 November 1945 and 27 November 1947, re Steinman’s book, The Builders of the Bridge, and making a film based on it.
• 1 TLS to Lee Firester, 25 April 1951, with envelope (letter and envelope damaged), re Darrow and the Sacco Vanzetti case.
• 1 TLS to John Perry, 9 December 1968, re archives of Clarence Darrow at the Library of Congress.
• 1 TLS to Ladislas Magyar, 8 February December 1985, doesn’t have time to answer his questions in detail, just finished a book on Pisarro and the French impressionists to be published in USA on 26 September 1985, Ljerka Radovic is his translator in Belgrade, been to Yugoslavia several times.
• 1 TLS to Harold Huggins, Sept. 8, 1945. Stone tell Mr. Huggins how pleased he is to hear he has gone through ALL his books!
1 Signed souvenir typescript (ts):
• 1 p., The Agony and the Ecstasy, n.d. but probably 1970s
3 Books (all signed presentation copies)
• The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1944. Cream grey cloth in very good price-clipped dust jacket, signed presentation copy.
• Immortal Wife: The Biographical Novel of Jessie Benton Fremont. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1944. Orange cloth in very good dust jacket, presentation copy signed and dated 9 November 1963.
• Men to Match My Mountains: The Opening of the Far West, 1840-1900. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1944. The Mainstream of America Series. Green cloth in very good price-clipped dust jacket, presentation copy signed and dated 9 November 1963.
4 Ephemera:
• 2 post cards to Janet and James Pitts, post-marked ? 1958 and 22 June 1961, contacting each other (“I am anxious to learn how you are getting along”).
• 1 Signed piece of paper, n.d.
• 1 B&w photo, “Author Brings Subject to Life”, 17 June 1962.
Collection on consignment with LDRB.
/ Good. Item #8743
$1,620.00 USD
$2,223.39 CAD