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Henry Miller
231. Miller, Henry. An Open Letter to Stroker! 7-page holograph manuscript on large parchment (signed), together with 5-page typescript with holograph corrections by Miller, & photocopies. N.p.: May 1, 1978. An unothodox review of Tommy Tarantino's book (no title given), of which Miller writes, "This marvelous book of the century could just as well been taken for a lump of shit, horse shit what I mean. And it is a huge, Gargantuan piece of shit coming straight from a genius, from his mouth and from his ass-hole...And so unknown to most of mankind, the man of the hour is Tommy Tarantino sitting in a cell for life somewhere in the wilds of New Jersey. He wasn't what you call an angel or a saint. Far from it. He was the spawn of our sick society...." Foxing to parchment, creases from folding, else very good; typescript fine. (200/300).
232. Miller, Henry. Parody a la Russe. 2-page holograph manuscript on 8x11 paper. * 4-page typescript. * 4-page carbon typescript. N.p.: n.d.. Miller's fantasy sketch of his imaginary life as Pavel Pavlovitch, with philosophical musings on life. (300/500).
233. Miller, Henry. " Preface for Twelve Months of Love." 3-page typescript early draft with numerous holograph notes & changes. * Carbon of preceding draft. * 4-page typescript First Draft with holograph corrections & notes. * 4-page typescript Second Draft with holograph corrections & half a page of notes. * 5-page carbon typsescript Final Draft with a couple of holograph corrections. * 2-1/2 pages of holograph notes on legal-size paper. * Photocopies of some reference articles Miller used for his preface.N.p.: 1968-70. Published by Playboy Magazine in 1969, this was Miller's article on Japanese erotic "Shunga" prints. Very good condition. (300/500).
234. Miller, Henry - Prefaces. " Preface to Ecce Homo of George Grosz." 14-page First Draft and 15-page Second Draft carbon typescripts with holograph notes in Miller's hand to upper corners. 1965. * "Preface to Book of Nudes by Helmut Lander." 4-page "Carbon of 1st Draft" and 5-page "1st finished carbon" typescripts with holograph notes in Miller's hand to upper corners. 1965. * "Preface to Conversations with Picasso by Brassai." 5-page carbon typescript with holograph corrections. [c.1966]. Together, 3 prefaces. N.p.: [1965]. Rust marks from paperclips, else about fine. (300/500).
235. Miller, Henry. " Russian thinkers etc. for `R.C.' passage." One 11x8-1/2" page of holograph pencil & ink notes for a passage in The Rosy Crucifixion, listing Russian philiosophers & authors, with quotes from them and some brief summaries of their thoughts. N.p.: [1945]. A bit of chipping to extremities, else very good. (100/150).
MILLER ON FEAR OF FLYING
236. Miller, Henry. Schlock or Literature? 2-page holograph manuscript article, signed with Miller's initials, for the Los Angeles Times Book Review section. Accompanied by two A.L.s. from Erica Jong to Henry Miller, one 13 pages (11/18/74), the other one page, enclosing John Updike's review of the book. N.p.: May 25, 1975. The article reviews Erica Jong's Fear of Flying. Miller begins, "Well, well, so Herr Prelutsky thinks `Fear of Flying' a lot of schlock...Naturally a book which sells in the millions is going to be misinterpreted by thousands. As the `dean of American literature' today I must say that this book is literature, and not schlock...I am doing all I can to champion the book. I want to see it read all over the world. The style is natural, free flow. Just the contrary of Hemingway's studied prose which so many Americans consider `good writing.' This is a book which the British have published cautiously. Apparently their mildewed critics don't cotton to it. For them, it's not a woman's book. But it is a woman's book, very definitely so. And it speaks to women, as the thousands of fan letters she receives, testifies. It is more than that. It is a book. Perhaps not the greatest of the century, but a damned good piece of honest writing, whether by man, woman or hyena." Miller became close friends with Jong when she began a correspondance with him, and both of her letters here intimately discuss Fear of Flying and its huge controversy. Rust from paperclip, else near fine. (500/800).
THEATRE OF MILLER'S YOUTH
237. Miller, Henry. The Theatre. 15-page holograph manuscript, signed . Accompanied by 10- page original typescript with holograph corrections by Miller, & photocopy. N.p.: [c.1978]. Miller recalls the theatre of his childhood and youth, with vivid details of his colorful memories: "My earliest remembrance of any theatre is that of the vaudeville house called `The Novelty' not far from out home on Driggs Avenue, Williamsburg. Every Saturday my mother would give me a dime to buy a seat in `Nigger Heaven', as the gallery was called. I was then seven or eight years old. If there were any comedians in those days I don't recall them, or else their jokes were over my head. Mainly there were acrobats, trick cyclists, magicians and such like...It's during my adolescence (12-15 years of age) that I become aware of all the theatres there are or were in Brooklyn. By this time we are living in the Bushwick section, not so very far from Evergreen Cemetery, and Trommer's Beer Garden...I discovered that in the East New York section there were several 10-20-30 theatres, featuring shows like `Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl' or `The Two Orphans.'...The Neighborhood Playhouse had the same authenticity but was more sophisticated and could afford well-trained actors. I recall vividly my first visit - they were giving a play by a well-known British author who had encouraged Joseph Conrad to be a writer and to write in English rather than Polish or French. It happened that night that the leading actress was the beautiful, mature wife of the well- known Richard Bennett. The scene which electrified me was of her sitting in her boudoir before her make-up table, dressed rather scantily and glorious to behold. What got me was that she sat there, looking at herself in the mirror and never uttering a word. Everything that passed through her mind was registered in her facial expressions. Shadows flitted across her face, her eyes flashed, her teeth shone white and bright, her hands made gesticulating movements. It was hallucinating. I had never seen such acting before. And so, when I arrived home, I sat down and wrote her a eulogistic letter. I must have put a return address on the envelope because in short order I received a most gracious invitiation from her to come visit her in her dressing room...." Fine - a great, lengthy piece containing some of Miller's sweetest childhood memories. (600/900).
238. Miller, Henry. Things are Getting Better. 3-page holograph article, signed by Miller (initials), written for the Yale Daily News. Accompanied by 2-page carbon typescript (with small note in Miller's hand) and the T.L.s. from the Yale Daily News requesting the article. N.p.: 1976. Miller was chosen by the Yale Daily News as the "Most Interesting Person of 1976" and was asked to write an article entitled either "Things are getting better" or "Things are getting worse." Miller takes up the challenge by answering to the first statement, avering that 1977 "will be the American dream come true. Evil, for example, will be eliminated once and for all. There will be no distinction between good and bad. In other words, we will all be as angels, only angels with sex. That is to say, not only male and female, but homosexual and bisexual, so that, generally speaking, we will all be buggering each other indiscriminately. As a consequence there will be no need for marriage and divorce, nor for wars or revolutions. The vices such as greed, hatred, envy, jealousy will die out utterly...." Miller continues on in this vein, creating a science fiction of America without poverty, war, transportation (astral projection only), or government. Rust from paperclip, else about fine. (150/250).
239. Miller, Henry. To the Editor of the Los Angeles Times. 4-page holograph letter/article, signed twice, in response to an article published a few days earlier, regarding polygamy. Accompanied by 4-page carbon typescript & T.L.s. from Roderick Mann at the L.A. Times to Miller, in 1978. N.p.: 2/14/76. Miller comes out in favor of plural marriages in his letter to the editor: "...As I see it, there is no real conflict between this ancient idea of plural marriage and the new moern one of living your own life. This man and his `wives' were doing it of their own accord and not at the biddance of the church. Indeed, I believe he was excommunicated from the Mormon church because of his behavior and beliefs. It's also interesting to me that this sort of thing only seems to happen in the Far West, never in the Mid-West or the East. I must confess that I strongly doubt the members of the Women's Liberation Movement can come up with such kindly, cheerful faces!...Unless the man or the woman is sufficient unto herself, she or he cannot give love. One has to be free of fear and anxiety, devoid of jealousy, as capable and potent as one's partner, for a match to survive any length of time, particularly under monogamy. The gentleman with eight wives is so right - monogamy, at least for men and women, is unnatural. It may be o.k. for the birds or the wild beasts. But not for sophisticated civilized men and women." About fine. (200/300).
TROPIC OF CANCER REVISITED
240. Miller, Henry. Tropic of Cancer Revisited. 5-page typescipt with holograph corrections, dated 10-3-69. * 10-page carbon typescript, revised, dated 1-12-70 (page 5 on thicker paper). * 2-page uncorrected long galley proofs. 1970. Various places: various dates. The article, about the filming of Miller's Tropic of Cancer and his stay in Paris during the shooting, was published in Playboy Magazine in 1970. Rust marks from paperclips, else about fine. (300/500).
241. (Miller, Henry) Tropic of Cancer film contracts, rights, & negotiations in two legal-size file folders. Various places: 1969-70. Papers include contracts signed by Henry Miller, letters from studio executives & agents, check stubs, publisher quitclaims (Grove Press), and much more - an interesting archive, should be seen. (200/300).
242. Miller, Henry. Two unused pieces of personal stationery from Henry Miller's Villa Seurat address (one with heading "Henry Miller" & address, other with "The Booster, founded by the American Country Club of France" with Miller's address listed). Paris: [c.1930's]. About fine. (50/80).
243. Miller, Henry. Untitled. 6-page holograph manuscript on notepaper. N.p.: n.d.. Philosophical musings about who we are and why we are here, beginning, "Almost stepped on a peanut strolling Nevsky Prospekt). Suddenly looked unusual - no, unique. It was alive like myself. Why should I have ever thought it beneath notice? Didn't Sologut once write a whole story about `a gob of spit' - and Gogol about an old, worn-out overcoat? And won't a devout Hindu allow a mosquito to torment him to death without thought of killing the insignificant creature?...Is anything insignificant?...." Fine condition - an interesting essay.(200/300).
1932 WALL CHART
244. Miller, Henry. "Wall Chart." Original notes by Miller on verso of 30x40" broadside titled "Information du Film," dated April 15, 1932. Paris: 1932. Miller's holograph notes are reminders to himself and lists to remember, such as "record dreams," "Cultivate stationery store man - have a drink with him Sunday morning," "Books to Read," "Get card for American Library or Sylvia Beach," "Steal good books from Am. Library," (At his list of books to read, he had noted "Steal" next to a few); "Plan bicycle trips - Strasbourg, Meaux, Provins, Brussels, Amiens, Rouen, Tours, Chinon," "Buy tin file case like Fraenkel's," "Make idiot savant drawings for Emil. Skeletons whose bones are wired with words...," "On cold nights paint the walls - Tackle it con furioso!," "Invite Kaun [?], Zadkine for dinner - but separately!," "Tragic Sense of Life - Unamuno - Multaluli - Louis Couperus (fuck him - he's n.g.)," and many other tidbits. A fascinating chart detailing Miller's daily doings in Paris. Split into two large sections, with creases from folding & tears along creases, this piece is fragile but easily legible - would look wonderful framed. (2000/3000).
245. (Miller, Henry - Literary Agency) 15 file folders filled with papers between Miller and Agence Hoffman (literary agent for Miller) in Paris, ranging from 1961 to 1976. Various places: 1961-75. Includes numerous signed contracts, carbon letters from Miller to Michael Hoffman & actual letters from Hoffman to Miller (incl. some contentious wrangling from time to time), royalty statements, copy letters from other publishers, etc., etc. Very good or better - an important group of material. (600/900).
246. (Miller, Henry - Literary Agencies) 3 folders containing papers between Miller and 3 different literary/movie agencies: Halsey Agency (L.A.), Lawrence Pollinger (London) & Scott Meredith Agency (New York). Various places: 1960's-70's. Includes carbon letters from Miller (some signed) and actual letters from agencies, some with Miller's holograph notes and additions. There are 5 holograph signed letters of various lengths (1-3 pages) to Scott Meredith from Miller expressing frustration and interest in ongoing projects, eventually attempting to terminate their agreement. A fine and interesting group, with the 5 holograph letters being among the highlights. (700/1000).
IMPORTANT DURRELL LETTERS
247. (Miller, Henry) Durrell, Lawrence. Holograph signed letter from Durrell to Miller on printed newstand headline advertisement reading "Fernandel est mort!" With drawings around letters by Durrell in purple & pink pen. Geneva: n.d.. The letter to Miller reads, "Dear Henry - in Geneva last week I stole this off a newstand and though it might make a wall decoration for your studio. It is not so much a man who has vanished but a whole epoch of cinema in the personality of this great comic, who was too intelligent to be a clown. Love, Larry." A great, showy piece, with a couple short tears to extremities & creasing from folding, else very good. (200/300).
248. Miller, Henry) Durrell, Lawrence. 1-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller, detailing Durrell's current literary work and his divorce from Ghislaine. Sommieres: Aug. 7, 1977. Durrell writes about his stay near Aigues Mortes for the summer: "It enabled me to finish the huge Rainbird book called Treasury of the Greek Islands, which is a romp I am sure you will enjoy, if only because it invokes your name so often. Then I have pushed LIVIA to within 40 pages of the end. Wow, it is getting delicate as the so called `real' characters are getting infiltrated and changed by the `imagined' characters of their own creation. O dear, the third volume is going to be hell. I don't know if I can bring off this cat's-cradle, roman-gigoyne. The main issues it raises are those to which we know the answers but most people don't; namely is the `ego' a stable entity, and is time something to jump out of or get strangled in...I think very gently and in friendly fashion we shall push our divorce into action at the end of this month, though it will take a few months to mature. I have no other candidates for the sceptre and throne. I made a fearful and costly mistake here...It is all my fault. She has really nothing with which to reproach herself - I am the fool and the clown...." Miller's holograph note to file at top. An excellent letter combining work and lost love - fine condition. (200/300).
249. Miller, Henry) Durrell, Lawrence. 1-page holograph letter to Henry Miller about an old, dying mutual friend in Greece. Mykonos: n.d.. Durrell was in the Greek Isles starring in a film about himself, "But the purpose of this note is to say that Colossus is in pretty bad shape, glued to his bed with paralyzed legs and an assortment of complications centred around prostate. Very depressed too and talks of suicide...It would be an excellent act if you rang him collect one evening and cheered him up. I did my best, gave him all your news, and he wept homerically...It is all very sad - but the worst is lonliness he says. Try. All the best, Larry." Creases from folding, else fine. (150/250).
250. (Miller, Henry) Durrell, Lawrence. 2-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller about wine, women and song. Sommieres: Sept. 25, n.d.. A wonderful, lyrical letter expousing the virtues of women and the grape harvest: "Dear Henry: your marvellous long letter arrived this morning to chime with the great vendange which is in full swing; under my garden wall groups of sharpshooter-looking Spanish, Italian and French girls move, got-up like parrots, plucking the grape harvest. The moon is full to heartbreak point these days and autumn is striking like a great big gong..." Durrell goes on to describe two loves of his life, but adds, "Anyway, I think you are right about badly aspected marriage houses - and yet you keep on marrying them. But I think that now with this marvellous Ambassadress you have struck oil, a real geyser. She is a magnetic girl with the distinction of Vega at full, burning blue and steadfast up there...While I was in Paris my tracks crossed with another super woman, Miriam Woorms who adores you. I always thought her the most beautiful creature of all and was quite knocked out when that bomb went off and shot out her eye; now with a black patch she still looks fine. I wish to hell I had had an affair with her, but she adores and is faithful to her husband, who is a sweetie and worth it. And so life runs on...Yesterday it was so sunny I swam in the pool and then decided to go to Avignon. I picked up a tall willowy dark girl, auto stopping, on the run from some awful boyfriend. I took her to Avignon to put her on the train but suddenly she decided she would like to stay with me a day or two. What luck for an vieux monsieur..." A wonderful letter encompassing so much of Durrell's personality. Fine condition. (300/500).
251. (Miller, Henry) Durrell, Lawrence. One-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller with 3 holographed red hearts and elaborate, colorful drawing by him taking up much of the letter. Sommieres: Dec. 15, n.d.. Durrell wrote this letter around Christmas, reporting the usual interesting news & memories of the old days: "...Little Buttons sends her love for Xmas. She has re-emerged briefly and is just as mischevious as ever and still very pretty; what luck to tumble into her arms on a wet Saturday...Ghislaine is fixing up a flat in Paris. I think with some regrets but really we were not suited - her notion of a foyer was the salle des dparts at Orly. She wore me out with her gambols and expense...Just reading Brassai's solid documented and thoughtful book about you and incidentally us. What he brings out so well is that our friendship and admiration for each other was so firm that it withstood every kind of harsh test like changing ideas, changing notions of good and bad writing - it was unique in that; down deep we firmly believed in each other as artists even when being critical and feeling that the other had taken a fausse route...What an epoch to live through. Now all that is left is senile seniority and ennui. Can we throb to Mailer and Roth? I can't. Bellow yes. This is where one feels the arteries getting hard...." Fine, with colorful, attractive drawing. (300/500).
252. (Miller, Henry) Two signed carbon typed letters, one from Michael Hargraves to Lawrence Durrell asking for his aid in information on the relationship between Michael Fraenkel and Henry Miller for his edited Hamlet book on the two, and one from Lawrence Durrell to Hargraves in response, offering memories, and with his holograph added note to Miller in red ink. San Francisco & Sommieres, 1979. Durrell writes to Hargraves: "I am not fully in the know concerning Fraenkel because I never met him; I missed him by a few weeks when I arrived in Paris. Miller was keen on his BASTARD DEATH at the time; me not very. It smelt of pretence and was wordy and windy...He seems to have been an endearing man and they would tease him to death and play upon his quirks like his meaness over money. I think Alf Perles could probably give you the information you seek..." Creases from folding, else about fine. (150/250).
253. (Miller, Henry) Miller, Eve. 5 A.L.s. (3 to 11 pp. each) from Eve, Henry Miller's 4th wife, to Henry. * Group of 21 original photographs & 1 slide of Eve (some with friends, child, etc.). 8x10 or smaller, a couple labled on versos in Miller's hand. Big Sur: c.1950's-65. Friendly letters regarding family members, particularly Henry Miller's guardianship of his retarded sister Lauretta, along with a copy of a letter from Henry Miller to Charles Rembar about Lauretta. The photographs show Eve mostly during the years of her marriage to Miller (though one shows her at age 17 or 18). One was used in a publication The Intimate Henry Miller. Very good to fine. (300/500).
254. (Miller, Henry) File regarding the film of and lawsuit over Quiet Days in Clichy. Various places: c.1970-75. The film version of Henry Miller's Quiet Days in Clichy was seized by U.S. Customs when it arrived in the Port of Los Angeles and impounded to await a trial on the charge of obscenity. That trial was held on July 6, 1970 before Federal Judge William P. Gray, who ruled that the film was not obscene, and was soon released to arthouse theatres around the country. File includes letters from Miller's lawyer, a few carbon letters from Miller (signed), one in particular to his lawyer detailing reasons the film should not be judged obscene & with numerous holograph additions by Miller; newspaper clippings, film monetary accounts, telegrams, reports of international openings and censorships (particularly in Canada - Scandinavia seems to have embraced the film the most), signed film rights between Miller & Knud Thorbjornsen; a T.L.s. from Hans Reitzel to Miller regarding the film; signed carbon letters between director Jens Thorsen and Henry Miller (incl. one in which Miller criticizes the film's actors), publicity, etc. (600/900).
255. (Miller, Henry) Folder relating to the film rights, publicity, etc. for Just Wild About Harry, adapted from Miller's book A Smile at the Foot of the Ladder. Various places: c.1968. Folder includes the signed film agreement between Miller & Robert Bushnell (& also 2 signed addenda), foreign contracts, proposals, etc. Fine. (200/300).
256. (Miller, Henry) Group of 23 magazines, clippings & xerox copies of articles by or about Henry Miller, many with his holograph notes to covers or xeroxes. Various places: [1960's-70's]. Overall very good condition, many with Miller's holograph notes, a number initialed by him; from his personal files. (100/150).
ERICA JONG TO HENRY MILLER
257. (Miller, Henry) Jong, Erica. 10-page A.L.s. to Henry Miller, in black & green pen, on personal stationery. New York: May 10, 1974. A great letter that cover all sorts of ground: "...About `my triumph' - I certainly am no stranger to horrible reviews - but I am not exagerrating at all when I say that Fear of Flying's being published, by a commercial press, in 1973, owes everything to your bravery in Paris in the 30's. I wonder if I would have had that courage to go on writing when everything conspired to stop me, ban my books, destroy & defame them. I wonder. Part of what makes a writer is life-force & energy - which you certainly have in abundance. Somewhere in Tropic of Capricorn, you say that `one must write & write & write, even if everybody in the world advises you against it, even if nobody believes in you. Perhaps one does it just because nobody believes...'...Everything in our civilization conspires against the artist - & even when they flatter you and besiege you to `lecture' & be `on' television - it's partly in an effort to destory or pervert your talent & your truth..." In describing a lecture by Anas Nin that Jong went to, she writes, "One thing that surprised me was Anaïs Nin's remark that she deliberately edited out the sexual parts of the diaries because she did not want to suffer the fate of Violet Le Duc. I love Nin's work, admire her greatly as a writer, yet I'm surprised at her capitulation to male standards (in that regard). It is true that any writer who dares to use sexuality is still very severely censured in some quarters & women writers suffer doubly because of the double standard. Women who write freely about sex are presumed to be whores. (I get the most unbelievable phone calls in the middle of the night.)...People are astonished to find me likeable & reasonable because they assume that any woman who uses the words I use has to be a boiling bitch, a vagina dentata, a castrating shrew...I love what you say about my being sick of myself after Fear of Flying. I was so tired of Isadora & her Jewish suffering, so tired of her agonizing. I wanted to do something totally different. Like a small perfect novel. But I don't know whether I have that kind of talent..." Jong goes on to discuss her writing, poetry, the fight between Kate Millett and Henry Miller, etc. Rust marks from paperclip, else near fine. (250/400).
258. (Miller, Henry) Jong, Erica. 2-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller on personal stationery, about Fear of Flying and other subjects. New York: Aug. 7, 1974. Jong reports that "I've been slaving away on the screenplay of Fear of Flying so that I can have a rough first draft ready to take to California...I am as dubious about Hollywood people as anyone could possibly be. For all the talk about money, money, money, I've yet to receive a single check - I'm sure this can go on for months...I wish Fear of Flying could be done as a kind of modern female `Tom Jones.'...In general it seems to me that great novels make disappointing films and that mediocre novels make great films. It would probably be easier to write an original screenplay than to adapt Fear of Flying. I am so infernally tired of the book by now. Writers have a funny fate in relation to their public. When you are struggling and unknown and could really use a rousing cheer after you finish a paragraph, nobody's there to give it. But when you are already through with a book and it seems years behind you, you are constantly meeting people who are reacting to it for the first time and for whom it really is brand new. There's a considerable amount of frustration on either end of the process...." An interesting letter with several holograph corrections & additions. Fine. (200/300).
259. (Miller, Henry) Jong, Erica. 3-page A.L.s. to Henry Miller on personal stationery & 2-page A.L.s. to Miller on variant personal stationery. New York & Malibu:. Oct. 4, 1974 & Feb. 27, 1975. The first letter compliments Miller on his performance on the Merv Griffin show and discusses her plans to come to L.A. to work on the screenplay of Fear of Flying. The second letter explains plans to publish a French translation of Fear of Flying and a possible appearance on French television. Paperclip marks to first, else about fine, easily legible. (200/300).
260. (Miller, Henry) Jong, Erica. Chatty 3-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller about Jong's life in general, and book fallout. New York: June 16, 1976. Jong writes about hating life in New York, missing Malibu terribly, a mutual friend with a drug overdose, and her book/film project: "...I think I am emerging from this long depression about the lawsuit and the movie. The worst part of it was that I was manipulated by con men who I really trusted (the lawyers and agents) and used as a pawn in a power struggle. I felt as if I had been shorn of all my own motivation, and I feel that I never should have gotten involved in the film or the lawsuit at all...My new book How to Save Your Own Life is in the works and will be published in March, 1977. It has been sold to an English publisher...and there is a lot of excitement about it. I would love you to read it, but I know your eyesight isn't so hot...I think I am going to ask the publisher to send a galley to you. I would love to be able to use your comments - particularly the remark that it is too erotic...." Fine. (150/250).
261. (Miller, Henry) Lawliss, Chuck. Portrait of the Artist as Literary Lion and Vice Versa. 4-page carbon typescript of an article about an afternoon spent with Miller, incl. interview. With one holograph note by Miller to top corner, accompanied by several copies and a T.L.s. from Lawliss at Art in America magazine, thanking him for a lovely afternoon and discussing the upcoming article on Miller's paintings and watercolors for the magazine. N.p.: 1973. Rust from paperclip, else about fine. (100/150).
LETTERS FROM NORMAN MAILER
262. (Miller, Henry) Mailer, Norman. 2-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller about his book about Miller, Genius and Lust. N.p.: May 8, 1976. Mailer begins by explaining his reasons for titling the book as he did ("I think of you more as a monarch than a demiurge...") and his hopes that the book will interest youth in Miller: "You're tremendously admired in the colleges, and I know what I'm talking about because I must have lectured to make my living (I'm in a miserably opposite situation financially from your own, which is that I make as much as two thousand dollars a year, year after year, and never have a cent, and now owe the government one hundred thousand bucks, owing not only to my disorder and hoggishness but to the comprehensible lack of mercy in my five ex-wives and my seven splendid children - you're one of the few people in the world who will perceive the epic, the comedy, and the grind of such finances)...I'm working on my novel now and don't dare go too near other novels when I write. It's lack of a skin to protect myself against other people's styles and ideas, particularly if they're good. Besides, what a fearful novel I'm into. Its about Egypt in the Twentieth Dynasty, about 1140 B.C. In the language of rock climbers I feel as if I'm in a chimney which is a mile high and am working my way up inch by inch. Piles of soot, tons of Egyptian bat shit. Cheers, Norman." Rust from former paperclip, else near fine, with Miller's small "File" note to upper corner. (200/300).
263. (Miller, Henry) Mailer, Norman. 2-page T.L.s. from Mailer to Miller, with holograph corrections. In original typed envelope with Henry & Tony Miller's holograph notes to cover. Brooklyn: Dec. 23, 1977. Mailer writes to greet Miller at Christmas & New Year's, and to discuss the paperback design of Genius and Lust: "I hope you like the print of Ingres on the paperback since that was my choosing. They were going to put on a painting of a half-nude babe that would have left the book indistinguishable from five hundred other schlock paperbacks and I said, `Let's try that old conservation Monsieur Ingres.' To my surprise, they went along. Of course, you may not like it particularly...Incidentally, Norris Church (the red-headed lady who did that portrait of you for the hardcover) and I are going to have a baby in April. The will make my eighth kid and my sixth wife - married and unmarried. We're not alike in many ways, but a similarity here and there, perhaps...." Creases from folding, else fine. (150/250).
LETTERS OF ANAÏS NIN
264. (Miller, Henry) Nin, Anaïs. 2-page carbon typed letter to Henry Miller written in 1933, unsigned but with note in Miller's hand at end "(From Anas Nin)." N.p.: 1933. Nin writes to Miller (though not actually addressing him) about a visit she had with Dr. Otto Rank, with whom she studied psychoanalytic techniques: "...What I needed was the high challenge, the acid test, and I got it. And where Rank stands after thirty years of struggle, research, etc., there I stood equally firm, firmer I'm telling you, despite all contradictions in my soul. It remains a fact that I conquered, and not the least important fact that I consider the conquest a victory over myself. And if this contains anything of revelation, of wisdom, of real vision, take it as a gift which only you have made it possible for me to offer. You have been the teacher, not Rank. Not even Nietzsche, nor Spengler. All of these, unfortunately, receive the acknowledgement, but in them lies the dead skeleton of the idea. In you was the vivification, the living example, the guide who conducted me through the labyrinth of self to unravel the riddle myself, to come to the mysteries...." A wonderful, important letter with early insights into Nin's relationship with herself and with Henry Miller. Paperclip, else very good. (200/300).
265. (Miller, Henry) Nin, Anaïs. 1-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller regarding the editing of her diaries, with holograph corrections. N.p.: Nov. 16, 1968. Nin writes to Miller: "Dear Henry: I will make the changes you request, but I am astonished at them, for now that you are a beloved and respected person to the whole world, how can you not laugh at all these adventures, you with your great sense of humor who felt free to write anything, and free to let others write anything (Fred or Durrell)...It is the world who will be amazed. All that episode to me is highly comic, ironic. And the way you quote the part where you say you can't do it anymore, and I say but what about me? We were both laughing. There was good humor, good feeling then...Yet in your letter about the entire diary there is not one moment of amusement, one moment of warmth, of friendliness...You who taught me detachment, to see beyond the personal as well. You who taught spontaneity and freedom and humor about our humanity. Diary 3 explodes the myths about all of us...." A fine and riveting letter about Miller's censorship of Nin's diaries. (300/500).
266. (Miller, Henry) Nin, Anaïs. 1-page A.L.s. to Henry Miller, regarding his film. On Japanese hotel stationery (Nin loved to gather stationery from worldly hotels to write letters on). N.p.: Apr. 13, 1969. Nin's letter begins: "Dear Henry: Your film is wonderful and truly captured your personalities - all of them. It is moving and beautiful and natural. You are a natural actor - and what came through was the blending of humor and sorrow, of playfulness and gravity both. It is you...." Miller's holograph note "Nin" next to Anaïs' signature. Fine. (200/300).
267. (Miller, Henry) Nin, Anaïs. 1-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller, regarding male chauvanist pigs, specifically Gore Vidal. N.p.: Nov. 10, 1971. Nin's letter begins, "Dear Henry: I have not forgotten that letter, or your attitude towards my work and towards me and I have said so in countless interviews. The intelligent women in the feminist movement understand. It is only the others, the hate hostile ones who don't. I don't like them any more than you do. They are hostile to me because I will not attack [a] man (who has done so much for me and taught me so much)...As for Vidal, that is another matter. He is a dangerous and destructive madman. Everyone now says so but I don't know who will attack him. He attacked Mishima in a hideous low way, he hates you because you were successful with women, loved by women, and he is impotent. He now writes pretending we had an affair, and it is so ridiculous. Yet one can't answer or it is demeaning, one would have to get on his vulgar level. His tying you with Charles Manson is all the more distorted when it is he who is a killer, a gunman for the New York Review of Books, and you have brought only joy and freedom to your followers...About publicity, I dislike it intensely, and we have had our share of hostilities, you and I. That goes with the love we get..." Miller's holograph note "Nin" next to Anaïs' signature, and small note in upper corner. About fine. (300/500).
LETTERS FROM MILLER'S BEST FRIEND
268. (Miller, Henry) Perlès, Alfred. 1-page T.L.s. with 7-line holograph postscript. Wells: Dec 17, 1979. Perlès was one of Miller's best friends during his starving Paris years - the two shared an apartment when Miller first arrived. Perlès writes to wish Miller a happy birthday, saying, "Old friends keep dying right and left and I don't want to be the sole survivor like Robinson Crusoe on a desert island without even a Man Friday. So hold on, Joey, will you please? It's a small favour I'm asking you. Although you never sent me your JOEY book (can't think why not), I ordered some copies from Capra Press. It's a beautiful production and I take your `loving portrait' of me as a handsome tribute. Many thanks, Joey, but does your portrait truly portray me? That's the question. Of course, I realize that you talk of me as of someone fifty years ago, i.e. a different person from what I am now. People are subject to metamorphosis in less than fifty years, as you must know. And in your loving portrait I see myself like a faded photograph in an ancient family album. I don't mind being called a clown and a scoundrel (I often call myself worse names), especially since I know I attracted you and you love me as such. As for myself, I both loved you as you were then and still love you as you are now, a different person...." About fine - a wonderful letter. (200/300).
269. (Miller, Henry) Perlès, Alfred. 1-page T.L.s. to Henry Miller, describing an anguished visit with his wife to his native Vienna, which he hadn't visited since 1947. Dorset: 7/6/79. Perlès gives a moving description of his sadness at seeing Vienna after so many years: "Anne and I went to Vienna last month, where we spent a week. It was my first visit to the place since 1947 when my home- town was still under the four-power occupation and the people were starving. Then I wept for the Viennese, but this time for Vienna. The place has changed almost beyond recognition from the days of Emperor Franz-Josef under whose reign I was born. Of course, much else has changed, too, in the last 81 years. Including myself. I wandered through the streets in a haze, they might as well have belonged to Philadelphia or Pittsburg [sic], Pennsylvania, where I've never been. I felt like an alien in my own hometown. But then I'm an alien no matter where I go...The city is very prosperous now, with a much harder currency than the English pound...I did take a day off and went all by myself to Htteldorf, where I'd spent the best years of my childhood and early adolescence. Great changes there, too. The garden of the house where we then lived and which, in memory, was the most beautiful garden in the world, more beautiful even than the Luxembourg, has been turned into a carpark! And the delicatessen shop across the street has given place to a supermarket. It was a pilgrimage-cum-swansong to the remote past to which I can never return. Walking through the old familiar streets I shed a few tears, just for good measure, and returned to town to meet my beloved spouse in an expensive Konditorei...." About fine. (80/120).
270. (Miller, Henry) Perlès, Alfred. Two T.L.s. to Henry Miller. Dorset: May 11, 1976 & . They remained life-long friends; each called the other "Joey." Condition of both letters is not so good, as they were written on flimsy post-office issued stationery; one with top section detached but present, the other with pieces of corners lacking (a bit of text lost). The first letter begins, "...It feels good to be away from Cyprus and in an intelligible land again. Intelligible? The whole country around here is impregnated with Hardy's spirit and his novels, which I don't seem able to understand. It's all very feudal still...." He goes on to discuss language differences between Chinese and Turkish, and things in general. The second letter regards Miller's Book of Friends, of which he says, "Your former Rabelaisian lustiness seems to have given way to a new mood of nostalgia, don't tell me you're getting old, Joey. Is there any more coming? Surely you can't end up with Alec Considine, the least sympathetique of your friends...Your sense of humour still comes through in patches, in such sentences as `As everyone knows, there is no more enjoyable fuck to be had than from a woman in tears.' It's the `as everyone knows' that made me laugh...." (100/150).
MILLER'S HANDPRINTS, SIGNED
271. (Miller, Henry) Two handprints by Miller (right & left hand) on separate 8x11 paper, each initialed & dated by him 9/57. Together with photocopies & copy of a 1966 report on Miller by handwriting analyst Dorothy Sara, with Miller's holograph filing instructions attached. N.p.: 1957 & 1966. The handwriting analyst found Miller to be "a man of good taste, intellectual quality of mind, and the ability to translate his ideas into words and action...he has a broad-minded attitude toward people and situations...He has a quick wit, he likes being with people who have alert minds so there can be a stimulating exchange of ideas...."An interesting lot - the two signed palmprints would look great framed. (200/300).
Section I: JACK LONDON...Lots 1-118
Section II: JOHN STEINBECK...Lots 119-182