AWARD

[‘My British public is not being discriminated against’: Lawrence G. Blochman, American writer of detective fiction.] Typed Letter Signed to Eileen M. Cond, English autograph collector, discussing English publication of his books.

Author: 
Lawrence G. Blochman [Lawrence Goldtree Blochman] (1900-1975), American writer of detective fiction
Publication details: 
18 September 1954; 370 Riverside Drive, New York 25, N.Y.
£280.00

1p, 4to. Twenty-three lines. Large sprawling signature ‘Lawrence G. Blochman’. In fair condition, worn and creased on lightly-discoloured paper. The recipient, an enthusiastic autograph collector, has evidently asked him to sign a bookplate to be stuck in his latest book ‘’Recipe for Homicide’. Her note has finally reached him ‘through channels (via my English publisher through my London agent to my New York agent)’. He is glad she finds the book entertaining, ‘even though you had not yet, at the time of writing, discovered the culprit’.

[Peter Ustinov, film and theatre actor.] Autograph Card Signed ('Peter (USTINOV)'), describing himself as a 'lousy correspondent', regarding his mother's death and his own 'shyness'.

Author: 
Peter Ustinov [Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov] (1921-2004), Academy Award winning film and theatre actor, author [his mother the artist Nadia Benois [Nadezhda Leontievna Ustinova] (1896-1975)]
Publication details: 
Paris. 23 June 1975.
£120.00

Seventeen lines of text, on both sides of a piece of grey card. In good condition. Written in felt-tip pen, and difficult to decipher in places, as for example the Paris address and name of recipient. Begins: 'Surprise, surprise, dear [?], it is no longer true that I have not answered a single letter. Dear Nadia was so popular a person that I am still struggling with an Everest of condolences, and this far happier event has given me a momentary pause in my labours'.

[Vertès, Hungarian-French costume designer.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Vertès') to 'Cher M. Ede', accompanying a Typed Signed Article on his oscar-winning collaboration with John Huston on the 1952 film 'Moulin Rouge'. Both documents in French.

Author: 
Vertès [Marcel Vertès] (1895-1961), Hungarian-French costume designer and illustrator, winner of two Academy Awards [John Huston (1906-1987), American film director; Eliot Elisofon; Oswald Morris]
Publication details: 
Letter dated 4 January 1954. No place. Typed account without date or place.
£450.00

Vertès won two Oscars for his work on John Huston's 1952 biography of Toulouse-Lautrec, 'Moulin Rouge': Best Art Direction (with Paul Sheriff) and Best Costume Design. The second of the present two items is an article Ede had invited Vertès to write on his role in the film; the first is the covering letter with which it was sent. ONE: Autograph Letter Signed to 'Cher M. Ede'. 4 January 1954. 2pp., 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. He is enclosing 'le petit texte', which he hopes will be to Ede's taste.

[ Printed pamphlet. ] The Winning Plans of the European Peace Awards | Offered in the British Empire, France, Italy, and Germany for "The best practical proposals for restoring peace and prosperity in each of those countries [...].

Author: 
Edward A. Filene, foreword; Alice La Mazière, introductory note [ European Peace Awards; British Peace Award; Albert Mansbridge ]
Publication details: 
The European Peace Awards. 'Rouffe, Imp., Paris'. [ 1924. ] 'Additional copies of this pamphlet can be obtained for 1 sh. per copy, post free, on application to: Dr. Albert Mansbridge c/o British Peace Award, 13 John Street, Adelphi, London W.C.2.'
£80.00

Full title: 'The Winning Plans of the European Peace Awards | Offered in the British Empire, France, Italy, and Germany for "The best practical proposals for restoring peace and prosperity in each of those countries through international co-operation"'. 180pp. Dimensions of pamphlet 19.5 x 9 cm. Three copies on COPAC: at Birmingham, the British Library, and Senate House. Nicely printed by Rouffe of Paris, with separate sections on the British, French, German and Italian Peace Awards, with an 'Annex' on the American Peace Award.

[ Albie Sachs, South African activist. ] Typescript of his book 'Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter', with variations from the published version.

Author: 
Albie Sachs [ Albert Louis Sachs ] (b.1935), African National Congress activist and former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Publication details: 
Without date or place, but between 1988, when the events described occurred in South Africa, and the publication of the book in 1990.
£250.00

113pp., 8vo. On 57 leaves, stapled together, with white card backing. No title-page. Worn and aged, with first leaf detached, but in fair condition overall. In 1988, in Maputo, Mozambique, where Sachs was exiled as an ANC activist, he lost an arm and his sight in one eye when a bomb was placed in his car by agents acting for the South African Regime. Sach's memoir is an important document in the history of the South African freedom struggle. Widely praised on its publication, it received the Alan Paton Award in 1991.

Syndicate content