ALEX HALEY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 266433

ALEX HALEY
Alex Haley sends an autograph letter to a friend wishing they could have a phone call.
Autograph Letter Signed: "Alex", 1p, 7¼x10½. New York, New York, no date, but 1961 January 24, Monday. On his personal imprinted letterhead to Barbara. In full: "This is one lovely time. 4 in the morning and a deadline close at hand. I take just a cigarette break. Watching the smoke curl. I was thinking - or I thought suddenly about you. I wish it were earlier so that I could call you up and for awhile talk. You call whenever you've time and let me know how everything worked out. Okay, I hope, you know --". Lightly creased with folds, near but not touching signature. Staple holes at upper left corner. Lightly stained at blank margins. Pencil note (unknown hand) at upper right blank corner. Accompanied by original envelope, addressed by Haley to: "Barbara McClure, 311 East 55th Street, New York 22, New York". 4-cent stamp affixed, postmarked New York, New York, January 24, 1961. Staple holes at upper left corner near return address. Stained, touching writing, else fine condition. Already known as the author of a definitive biography of Malcolm X, which was based on interviews done with the Black leader in "Playboy" magazine, Alex Haley (1921-1992) created a sensation -- and single-handedly launched a new interest in genealogy with his book, Roots. The saga, which traced his African roots, was first excerpted in "Reader's Digest" before publication in book form in 1976. The story, which was televised as a successful miniseries in 1977, resulted in a number of awards for Haley, including the National Book Award, a special Pulitzer Prize and the NAACP's Spingarn Medal as well as several honorary doctor of letters degrees for his research, which spanned 12 years. Two items.