Original Black & White Photographic Portrait Signed and Inscribed by Theodore Dreiser to Publishing Executive Arthur Pell
signed
1930 · New York
by DREISER, THEODORE
New York: 7 1/4” x 9 1/2”, 1930. Original black & white photographic portrait of Theodore Dreiser signed and inscribed by the author to publishing executive Arthur Pell. The inscription reads: “For Arthur Pell, In appreciation, Theodore Dreiser. N.Y. Sept. 1930.” Near fine condition with minor evidence of mounting on verso, a 1/4” barely noticeable rubbed spot near the top edge, and two very small tears to the right edge, and one tiny chip to the top left corner. In the photo Mr. Dreiser is sitting in a chair and is posed facing 3/4 to his left. Theodore Dreiser (1871 - 1945) is best known for his novels Sister Carrie (1900) and An American Tragedy (1925) and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930. As Keith Newlin notes in his book ‘A Theodore Dreiser Enclyclopedia’, Arthur Pell began his career in publishing in 1921 as a bookkeeper for Boni and Liveright, which in 1917 secured the rights to reissue Dreiser’s novel Sister Carrie. In the course of business over the publishing house’s development, Pell eventually became a partner in the company and Dreiser’s professional relationship with the firm continued. (Inventory #: 20896E)