ALEXANDER HUMPHREYS WOOLLCOTT - TYPED LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 225870

ALEXANDER HUMPHREYS WOOLLCOTT
Woollcott signed this undated typed letter to a Mr. Tracy, telling him what Woollcott considered a perfect Christmas present: "Don't give your friend something to put in the attic... Give him something to put in the cellar."
Typedletter signed "A. Woollcott" in blue ink.1 page, 7x8½, on Woollcott's personalized stationery with his New York City address and grid-like impressions. With small biography of Woollcott affixed to lower left corner. Addressed to "Mr. Tracy". In full: "My dear Mr. Tracy: If you are planning to give me a present this Christmas, I beg of you NOT to make it something indestructible which would only add to the litter of my life. Eventually, I would shove it up in the attic and then be haunted every time you came to call for fear you'd notice it was nowhere around. Such a gift is dictated by the same kind of vanity which makes some men stipulate in their wills just what kind of marble horror is to keep their memory green. The gracious and truly modest gift is always something perishable - a song under the window, flowers for the living room, or, better still, something to drink. Best of all, something to drink. Don't give your friend something to put in the attic. For sweet charity's sake, give him something to put in the cellar. The safest bet is whiskey, and you could hardly do better than Seagram's Pedigree, that rare, eight-year-old Imported bonded whiskey, of which Seagram's, and with good reason, are so proud. But why, as they say in the drama, am I telling all this to you? Well, it's because the Seagram people have seduced, bribed and corrupted me into doing so. Besides, it happens to be true. Here's hoping,". Woollcott (1887-1943, born in Phalanx, New Jersey) was an American author, critic and actor, as well as self-appointed head of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of writers, critics and wits that gathered every day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 to 1929. Woollcott became drama critic for the New York Times in 1914, five years after joining the paper's staff as a cub reporter, and subsequently wrote for the New York Herald and Worldand The New Yorker. His articles and criticism were often dosed liberally with his biting, often savage wit. He also forayed into radio with a book review show in 1929. This show turned into his famous show The Town Crier in 1933, which lasted until 1938. Woollcott also wrote several books and wrote, directed and appeared in several Broadway plays. But his greatest contribution to theatre is as the inspiration for Sheridan Whiteside in the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939-1941). The play ran for 739 performances and lampooned Woollcott's overbearing manner. Lightly toned and creased. Biography is torn on bottom. Adhesive residue on verso, which has discolored paper (does not touch signature). Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.