Autograph Letter Signed, to "Dear Mr. Metcalf."
[referring to two of his books] Two pages, on the first and third page of bifolium stationery engraved "Albany Chambers, Queen Anne's Gate S.W." Dated by Maugham "June 14", and bearing a "Received" ink-stamp dated "15 Jun 99". In this letter Maugham refers to, without naming, his third book (ORIENTATIONS) and his eighth book (THE LAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN). As an employee of the London publishing house T. Fisher Unwin, Horace Metcalf communicated with authors; he has also been referred to as a "gatekeeper" for Unwin himself. The text of the letter reads:
I have duly received the six copies of my immortal work & thank you for forwarding them. I have just got ready my book of travel sketches in Andalusia, which I want to bring up to you. Will you let me know if the Great Man will be visible to-morrow or Friday. | Yours v. truly | [signed] W. Somerset Maugham
"My immortal work" is Maugham's joking reference to his third book ORIENTATIONS, which was published by Unwin in mid-June 1899. The "book of travel sketches in Andalusia" would be, six years later, THE LAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (Heinemann 1905). Maugham wrote down "sketches and impressions" when, just out of medical school, he had spent six months living in Seville in 1898:
A draft of the book was ready the following June [1899]... But... no publisher [apparently including Unwin!] would have the book at any price. It was entirely rewritten in 1902 and by the beginning of 1903 it was in Heinemann's hands, though he did not want to publish it... [Toole Stott].
The letter is in very good condition, bearing a few heavy numbers and letters and a "Received" ink-stamp, and with a couple of small holes (all from Metcalf's filing?), and on the back some evidence of prior mounting. See Toole Stott A3 and A8. From the major Maugham collection of Craig V. Showalter. Item #15918
Price: $675.00