Auction 739 April.

Signed book: Zahradníkův rok [The Gardener's Year]. First edition. Prague: Aventium, 1929. Hardcover, 4.75 x 7.5, 153 pages. Signed and inscribed on a publisher's preliminary page in fountain pen by Karel Capek, and dated March 29, 1929. Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG/None, with slightly bowed boards and rubbing to spine.

Large ink signature, "Truly yours, Mark Twain, Aug. 13/95,” on an off-white 6.75 x 4 album page. In very fine condition.

Attractive purple ink signature, "Rev. C. L. Dodgson, Ch. Ch. Oxford,” on an off-white 3 x 1.5 card. In fine condition.

Fountain pen signature, "Robert Frost,” on an off-white 5 x 5.5 sheet imprinted with the text of his poem 'The Road Not Taken.' In very fine condition.

Two items in the hand of English writer Elizabeth Gaskell: an ink signature, “E. C. Gaskell,” on an off-white 2.25 x .5 slip mounted to an 8.25 x 4.25 backing sheet, which bears an affixed manuscript draft section from Chapter 29, ‘Wedding Raiment,’ of her 1863 novel Sylvia's Lovers, handwritten in ink by Gaskell on a light blue 8 x 2.5 sheet, which reads, in part: “There’s mebbe but one chance i’ a hundred,’ said Sylvia, pleading as it were for Kester, – ‘but – Oh! Philip, think ye there's just that one chance?” In overall fine condition.

TLS signed “Dash,” one page, 8 x 13, October 23, 1943. Letter to Florence Monash, sent from Alaska during his World War II military service. In full: "Thanks for the pictures, honey. I cannot go into the details of my appreciation in a letter that might be read by you know whom—or could I say 'that man' without your thinking I mean Roosevelt? I can only remind you that you are dealing with one who—however old and doddering—has seen only four women since July, but not to speak to. The last woman he spoke to was a girl in the PX at Fort Lawton, Seattle, and his conversation went something like this, 'Coffee and doughnuts, please.' It's unlikely that he even said, 'Darling,' after the 'please,' since his boat was waiting and he was in a bit of a hurry, and wasn't thinking about not seeing women again for a while. See what I mean? It may be that it would be kind sometimes to send him a picture of the face. You understand, now, it's not that he doesn't like nature and beauty and things and all. Why sometimes even when he's asleep—Who the hell's being psychoanalyzed, me or Paul?

We don't mush much—like that phrase?—in this part of Alaska. we're the goers-in for fog and rain on windswept tundra against a volcano or two—some dead, some smoking—on a gray backdrop, and I haven't seen a tree since Seattle. It's bleak and beautiful, with an unreal, fairyland, sort of beauty. Nothing has much color: chalky blues, greens, browns and grays. Most of the time I'm kind of in love with it.

I meant this to be a longer letter, but it's like this. I've been on duty all night and now I see it's opening up just about now, and there are flapjacks and bacon for breakfast this morning. Now I know this might be considered ungallant and by God I wouldn't do it if you were here, but you're a long way off-you've probably finished lunch—and I'm hungry, and—My best to Paul." In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope.

When Corporal Dashiell Hammett wrote this letter, he had been in the army for a year. On July 9, he was transferred to Fort Lawton, in Fort Lewis, Washington, a jumping-off place for military personnel on the way to the Pacific. Then Dashiell Hammett was stationed in the Aleutian Islands with the 14th Signal Service Company since July 31, and he loved it. His biographer, Diane Johnson, writes: 'Here in remotest Alaska, the new calm life suited him. He noticed that he was sleeping less but not missing the sleep, was stronger, and had gained weight. At the end of August, he realized that he had had only one drink since the tenth of July. He lived in a Quonset with men he didn't much like; he worked at the post radio station and did book reviews and was contented.' The American forces were in the Aleutians to prevent the Japanese from using the Islands as a bridge to the mainland, and they succeeded in doing that in early 1944 when the Japanese withdrew.

ALS signed “R. A. Heinlein,” one page on a 5.5 x 3.25 personal stationery postcard, April 7, 1968. Handwritten letter to "Mrs. Hansen," in full: "You are correct; I am not a member of the L.D.S. But I have taken an interest in Mormon history and find theirs an admirable culture." In fine condition, with toned adhesive residue to the reverse.

Signed book: Think and Grow Rich. Later printing. Cleveland: The Ralston Society, 1945. Hardcover, 5.25 x 7.5, 380 pages. Signed and inscribed on the first free end page in fountain pen, "To William Kennedy, with best wishes, Napoleon Hill." Autographic condition: very good to fine condition, with irregular light toning to the signed page. Book condition: VG/None.

AQS on an off-white 8.5 x 5 sheet, signed at the conclusion in ink, "Oliver Wendell Holmes, Boston, Dec. 8th 1870." Holmes pens a stanza from 'The Chambered Nautilus.' In full: "Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, / As the swift seasons roll! / Leave thy low-vaulted past! / Let each new temple, nobler than the last, / Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, / Till thou at length art free, / Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!" Attractively cloth-matted and framed with a print of Andrew Wyeth's 'Chambered Nautilus' to an overall size of 21.75 x 22. In fine condition. A superb example from arguably his best known work.

ALS in French, one page, 5.25 x 8.25, March 20, [no year]. Handwritten testimonial to a newspaper, in part (translated): "You have understood me nobly, Sir. Your journal is the field of generous ideas." In fine condition.

Signed book: The Perennial Philosophy. Later printing. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1945. Hardcover, 5 x 8.25, 312 pages. Signed and inscribed on the first free end page in fountain pen, "For Georgia Brandon, with all good wishes, Aldous Huxley." Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG/None, with a few bumps and scuffs to boards.

ALS signed “I love you, H.,” and incorporating her full name within the text, one page both sides, 8.5 x 11, January 20, 2009. Handwritten letter to Felice Itzkoff, in full: "Could you track down this child & mother and send them this note? It's a poor effort, but I was so touched by it that I feel I must send a line. (Harper was named after her maternal great-grand-father, no doubt!) You are not Harper Lee's bloodhound for nothing!" In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, addressed in Lee's own hand.

ALS, one page, 4.5 x 7.25, no date. Handwritten letter to woodcut engraver and illustrator Ebenezer Landells, who was a fellow founder of Punch. In full: "Coyne will not be down till Monday next—It is of no use meeting unless we are all there—Send words what is to be done by bearer." In fine condition, with light toning at the top.

ALS in German, one page, 5.5 x 5.75, December 14, 1943. Untranslated handwritten letter by Thomas Mann. In fine condition, with some faint toning.

Fountain pen signature, "A. A. Milne," on an off-white 5.5 x 7.5 sheet of personal stationery. In fine condition, with central vertical and horizontal folds, and a few creases. Accompanied by a handwritten letter of transmittal from his secretary.

Signed book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. First edition, second printing. NY: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic), 2007. Hardcover with dust jacket, 6.5 x 9.25, 759 pages. Signed on the title page in black ink by J. K. Rowling. Autographic condition: fine, with a hologram label affixed to the signed page. Book condition: NF/NF.

The recipient of this signed book was a winner of the ‘Scholastic’s J. K. Rowling Open Book Tour Sweepstakes,’ which culminated with a presentation and book signing by Rowling at Carnegie Hall on October 19, 2007. A ticket stub from the event is included, as is a letter of congratulations and instructions from Scholastic sent to all eligible contest winners.

Vintage glossy 3.5 x 5.5 photo of Georges Simenon with a pipe and fedora, signed and inscribed in fountain pen in French. In fine condition.

Autograph poem, signed "S. F. Smith," on an off-white 7.5 x 10 lined sheet, September 1864. Smith pens his poem, "The American Flag in Nature," in part: "All nature sings wildly the song of the free, / The red, white, and blue float o'er land and o'er sea; / The white-in each billow that breaks on the shore, / The blue-in the arching that canopies o'er / The land of our birth, in its glory outspread— / And sunset dyes deepen and glow into red." Inlaid into a larger 9.25 x 13 sheet and in fine condition. Accompanied by an engraved portrait featuring Smith's facsimile signature.

Vintage fountain pen signatures, "H. G. Wells" and "Orson Welles," on an off-white 3.25 x 2.25 card. In fine condition, with paperclip impression to the left edge.

H.G. Wells wrote The War of the Worlds in 1898, pioneering science fiction with his story of a Martian invasion of Earth that explored themes of imperialism and human vulnerability. In 1938, Orson Welles adapted the novel into a radio drama for CBS, presenting it as a series of realistic news bulletins that described a fictional alien invasion in real time. The broadcast became famous for causing widespread panic among listeners who believed the events were actually happening, cementing Wells and Welles in cultural history.

AMS signed and dated at the head, "Leonard Bernstein, Apr. 8, 1935," four pages on two sheets, 6.5 x 8.5, entitled: "A Musical Dream." The 16-year-old Boston Latin School student pens an essay, in part: "There is so much talk in the air about Utopias of different sorts that I venture to present my own little plan for an ideal musical world. If we enter a house of worship, we very often hear a sermon on the subject of a religious Utopia, one in which all nations, races, and groups shall worship a common God and see Him in a common light. Socialize religion! In periodicals, page after page is given over to the discussion of a Utopia in which the basis of exchange shall be production. Socialize government! Then why not socialize music?

I submit that it would be a very uninteresting world if people did not have differences of opinion, and bring those differences into an open field of combat. Yet the little idea I have devised seems to me to be the only solution for peace in musical circles.

The Keynote of my Utopia is: give every composer a 'break'! Whether or not he seems promising…let him have a fair chance to plead his case! Veritable wars have arisen among musicians over the competence of particular music-makers…

There is a certain Mr. D— who is designated as being a confirmed hater of Wagner's music-dramas. Now, surely, a person who has the intelligence to decide for himself that Wagner is contrary to his every idea about what music should be must have the intelligence to see that there is much to be said for Wagner. He should admit that the music is strangely eloquent—unlike anything else ever written. He should recognize the intense emotional display in the music. He should consider that there must be a reason that the Opera House sold out for 'Die Walkuere.'

The other factor in the building of my Utopia is the education of the lay class—or the laymen who show any interest in this field—to mark a composer for what he is worth…Here is a typical female gush: 'Me? Oh, I just adore music. Do you know Gershwin's Rhapsody? Or, is it Ravel's? These composers are so confusing….' The Rhapsody has inherent quality; that cannot be denied. But that is not the reason for the above gushing. That was brought on by the sweeping success of the piece among the people at large, and is valid in so far as it is sincere.

First educate your people; then teach them to consider carefully, with the education they have, the merits and faults of each composer. Then shall the wolf lie down with the lamb, and the Schubertian with the Strawinskian." In fine condition.

AMQS on an off-white 6 x 3.5 card, signed below in ink, "Edward Elgar, Chicago, Ap. 1907." Elgar pens four bars of music from one of his works. In very good condition, with a stain touching the first bar of music.

Choice 2.5 x 4.25 carte-de-visite photo of the great composer in a bust-length pose by Fritz Luckhardt, signed on the mount in ink, "F. Liszt." In very fine condition.

ALS in French, signed “F. Liszt,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 7.5, April 9, 1866. Handwritten letter to his friend Joseph d'Ortigue, arranging a small recital with fellow composers Hector Berlioz and Berthold Damcke. In part (translated): "Yes, dear d'Ortigue, I need you to do me a favor, and I hope you will do it heartily. United at heart on so many essential matters, I really would like us to become one in spirit on others. For this, I think a half hour of frank talk should suffice.

From the very first days of my arrival here I have told Léon Kreutzer that I did not want to let my old friends have an equivocal opinion about my sincere and serious good will in Music. Before I leave, I am going to explain my pieces to him by hand and with the help of the piano under my fingers, and I will ask you, dear d'Ortigue, to attend this private meeting, along with Berlioz and maybe Damcke (if Léon wants to invite him).

Do not think that I am playing the role of Oronte and saying 'my verse is pretty good!' For your part, don't be more like Misanthropes than necessary, and let me communicate loyally with you, for our reciprocal instruction." He adds a handwritten postscript, signed "F.," in full (translated): "I will have the great pleasure of seeing you tomorrow night at Madame Mathieu's, and on Friday at 2:00 for [Cesar] Franck's organ performance at Sainte Clotilde that interests me greatly." In fine condition.

ALS in Italian, one page both sides, 8.25 x 10.75, personal letterhead, January 30, 1922. Handwritten letter regarding the performance of Il Trittico at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In part (translated): "Last night was the greatest evening—tremendous—a complete triumph. There were many disputes in the theatre—always a sure sign of success for me. You know how it was for the premiere of Butterfly. Thus a really complete and hard-won success. But I am dead tired…Foranzo has given all of himself as far as the lights and scenery…the performance was marvelous—a million times better than the one in Rome." In very good to fine condition, with some light staining and creasing.

Il Trittico is a trio of one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini—Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi—that premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1918. Each opera presents a distinct mood and setting, ranging from dark verismo tragedy to spiritual drama to sharp comedy. Together, the three works showcase Puccini’s versatility in blending intense emotion, vivid orchestration, and memorable melodic writing.

ALS in Italian, signed “G. Verdi,” one page, 5 x 7.75, no date. Untranslated handwritten letter by Giuseppe Verdi to his close friend, Giuseppe Demalde. Addressed on the integral leaf in Verdi's own hand. In fine condition, with a small area of seal-related paper loss to the integral address leaf.