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AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF 'DESIDERATA'. STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS. 1850-1894. Autograph Manuscript S...
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New York, New York
Description
AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF 'DESIDERATA'. STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS. 1850-1894. Autograph Manuscript Signed ('Robert Louis Stevenson'), a fair copy of his 'Desiderata,' his 1873 memorandum on life, 1 p, 185 x 115 mm, n.p., n.d. (dated in manuscript April 5th or 8th [sic], 1873), some smudges to ink, framed with a later portrait of Stevenson. STEVENSON'S 'DESIDERATA' - A FAIR COPY OF HIS REFLECTIONS ON LIFE AT 22. In January, 1873, Stevenson and his father had a falling out over Stevenson's perceived atheism. Feeling a bit adrift, in April 1873 Stevenson composed this statement on life, profound and yet odd in its youthful resignation. In June of the same year, he met Francis Sitwell, and Sidney Colvin. Colvin became a sort of literary advisor, helping him get his first paid publication, an essay entitled 'Roads' in Portfolio (December, 1873, under the name 'L.S. Stoneven'). In November of 1874, he wrote to Sitwell, including a copy of his 'sketch,' with the note: 'I have found what should interest you dear. A paper in which I had sketched out my life before I knew you. Here is the exact copy, even to the spelling; the uncertainty as to the date was characteristic....' The manuscript, presumably the one he mentions to Sitwell, was found in his papers after his death, and was first published in The Lark in 1895. There was a separate printing by William Doxey in pamphlet form in 1895, and then a private broadside printing of 20 copies by A.S.W. Rosenbach in 1914 (see Prideaux 68). The present copy omits the German declaration before his 'desiderata' ('O dass mein leben. Nach diesem ziel ein ewig wandeln sey!'), as well as the final 'AMEN.' We trace no other autograph copies, except for those mentioned in Stevenson literature. A rare copy of an important bit of Stevensoniana. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing
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AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF 'DESIDERATA'. STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS. 1850-1894. Autograph Manuscript Signed ('Robert Louis Stevenson'), a fair copy of his 'Desiderata,' his 1873 memorandum on life, 1 p, 185 x 115 mm, n.p., n.d. (dated in manuscript April 5th or 8th [sic], 1873), some smudges to ink, framed with a later portrait of Stevenson. STEVENSON'S 'DESIDERATA' - A FAIR COPY OF HIS REFLECTIONS ON LIFE AT 22. In January, 1873, Stevenson and his father had a falling out over Stevenson's perceived atheism. Feeling a bit adrift, in April 1873 Stevenson composed this statement on life, profound and yet odd in its youthful resignation. In June of the same year, he met Francis Sitwell, and Sidney Colvin. Colvin became a sort of literary advisor, helping him get his first paid publication, an essay entitled 'Roads' in Portfolio (December, 1873, under the name 'L.S. Stoneven'). In November of 1874, he wrote to Sitwell, including a copy of his 'sketch,' with the note: 'I have found what should interest you dear. A paper in which I had sketched out my life before I knew you. Here is the exact copy, even to the spelling; the uncertainty as to the date was characteristic....' The manuscript, presumably the one he mentions to Sitwell, was found in his papers after his death, and was first published in The Lark in 1895. There was a separate printing by William Doxey in pamphlet form in 1895, and then a private broadside printing of 20 copies by A.S.W. Rosenbach in 1914 (see Prideaux 68). The present copy omits the German declaration before his 'desiderata' ('O dass mein leben. Nach diesem ziel ein ewig wandeln sey!'), as well as the final 'AMEN.' We trace no other autograph copies, except for those mentioned in Stevenson literature. A rare copy of an important bit of Stevensoniana. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing
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