Two Interesting Items from Carl Van Vechten

INTRODUCING MR. KNOPF, OR ALFRED IN A NUTSHELL BY CARL VAN VECHTEN FOR SAUL MAURIBER. Includes three typed drafts written by Carl Van Vechten, dated February 14, February 22, and February 27, 1952 respectively, with a total of (18) single-sided leaves, with edits in black and red ink and occasional notations in pencil; each draft is signed "Carl Van Vechten" with the third draft signed twice; edits in first two drafts appear to be in Van Vechten's hand with different handwriting used in the third draft; all laid in loose in a tri-fold black cloth-covered folder lined with marbled paper, with a matching slipcase with a gilt-lettered green morocco label. (Tri-fold with only very light wear including faint fingerprints, slipcase with minor scuffing, slight edge wear, and lightly bumped corners; drafts with light toning, expected minor handling wear, and 3rd draft leaves with a few small holes.)

FIVE OLD ENGLISH DITTIES WITH MUSIC BY CARL VAN VECHTEN. Chicago: published for the author by N. Nelson, 1904. Folio; 10, [2]pp. (3) sheets folded and laid in loose in maroon card wraps with lettering in gilt. Inscribed by Carl Van Vechten on the title page: For [Saul Mauriber][(?) / with love / on April 11, 1950 / Carlo!" (Card wraps scuffed with chips, small losses, creases, and a few minor dents at corners, and damp staining concentrated at bottom corner impacting front and back cover; wraps and first (2) folded sheets (four total leaves) split at head and tail with wraps especially fragile; staining to first sheet from wraps; pages lightly toned with occasional small dent or crease.)

11 3/8 x 8 7/8 in.; 13 7/8 x 10 7/8 in.

Private North Carolina Estate

Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) was an Iowa-born writer, critic, and photographer. He formed close friendships with many influential writers, artists, and patrons, including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Mabel Dodge Luhan, and Gertrude Stein, with the latter naming Van Vechten the literary executer of her estate. As a writer, he was closely associated with the publisher Alfred A. Knopf who published many of his books and Van Vechten assisted Knopf in his efforts to find other writers to publish during the firm's early years. Van Vechten also played a key role during the Harlem Renaissance, supporting many of its most important figures. He became well-known later in his life for his portraits of notable creative and intellectual individuals, such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Eugene O'Neill, and W. E. B. Du Bois.

Saul Mauriber was Van Vechten's assistant and the executor of his estate.

These two items indicate the depth and variety in Van Vechten's career, which spanned many art forms and interests. Five Old English Ditties is quite scarce; it is found in only seven libraries and with seemingly none appearing on the market. The draft discussing Alfred Knopf is a one-of-a-kind work that tells a great deal about both the writer and the publisher. Van Vechten writes on the final page: "I have known him as a friend for thirty-seven years and can testify to his fine loyalty. In fact, I have never known him to desert a friend. Moreover he is a warm friend and even his acquaintances sometimes bask in his kindness."