[Rarebooks] FS: Theodore Dreiser Photograph Inscribed to his wife

[Charles Agvent]

In our new Spring Catalogue, to be posted on our home page in two weeks 
to coincide with our appearance at the New York Book Fair, we will be 
listing a couple of fine Dreiser inscribed books including an 
association copy of SISTER CARRIE.

DREISER,  Theodore.  SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH. A Fine 8" x  10"  informal
photographic  portrait of a seventy-year old Dreiser standing with one
hand  in  his  pocket and the other leaning on a desk.  INSCRIBED  and
SIGNED   at  the  bottom  on   his  light-colored  pants:   "To/Lovely
Helen/with  love--/from T.D./Hollywood/January 1942." Helen Richardson
first  met  Dreiser in 1919 and married him in 1944. Dreiser left  his
entire  estate  to her in his will and, after her death in  1955,  she
was  buried  next  to him. In 1942, however, Dreiser  and  Helen  were
often  apart  with  Dreiser often romantically involved  with  another
woman.  Just  a  few months after inscribing this  photograph  to  his
future  wife,  Dreiser had an eleven-day fling with one of his  ardent
female  admirers.  Still,  Dreiser's inscription  captures  the  great
feeling  he  had for Helen from the beginning. W. A. Swanberg  in  his
biography  DREISER sums up well their relationship: "Although he still
threatened  at times to leave her, Dreiser needed Helen for  survival,
Helen  knew  that he needed her, and he knew that she knew" (p.  478).
The  photograph  has  a  slight  wrinkle in  the  upper  right  corner
restricted  to the white border and not affecting the image and a very
short  closed  tear  at the bottom left margin which just  enters  the
image. Near Fine and a touching association.                  $1500.00

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books.  We are celebrating our 20th year of business and are proud to be 
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(UACC).  Please feel free to contact us with any wants or offerings. 
Thank you.

CHARLES AGVENT
291 Linden Road
Mertztown, PA  19539-8750
610-682-4750
agvent at erols.com
Visit our home page:  http://www.erols.com/agvent