Typed Letter Signed “Carl Van Vechten” Written to the American Autograph Dealer Mary Benjamin
March 29, 1952 · New York
by VAN VECHTEN, CARL
New York: 1 page, quarto, March 29, 1952. The great American autograph dealer Mary Benjamin had sent VAn Vechten some letters of the 19th century dancer and courtesan, Lola Montes, on approval to which he responds: “These ARE amusing, but FAR TOO EXPENSIVE for my purpose, which is to amuse a great dancer who collects souveniers of her great predecessors. She is only faintly interested in Lola, who after all did not make dancing her principal profession. Did you know she is buried in Brooklyn? Her later career was devoted to temperance and religious lectures.". In a two line handwritten postscript he adds: "Dorothy Caruso has sent me an autographed copy of her book!". CARL VAN VECHTEN (1880-1964). American writer. Patron of the Harlem Renaissance. Literary Executor of Gertrude Stein. Dance critic and noted photographer. (Inventory #: 13870J)