BASIL RATHBONE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 07/31/1948 - HFSID 257220

BASIL RATHBONE
Rathbone handwrote and signed this letter to Mary Sandman from New York City in 1948. In it, he says that he "shall not be doing much Davis" and not to send a scrapbook, as he will be moving and going on tour.
Autograph letter signed "Basil Rathbone". 2 pages, 7x10¼, 1 sheet, front and verso. Addressed "Biltmore Theatre", dated "Thursday". In full: "Dear Miss Sandman, thanks so much for your letter. I was pleased to meet your mother & Aunt. It was nice of them to come back to see me. No, I am afraid I shall not be doing much Davis this coming winter as I shall be on tour. Yes - dont [sic] send me your scrap book now. We are packing up & renting the home & it would be just one more thank to worry about! Best wishes I am". Lightly toned and creased. Light show-through, which touches signature and handwriting. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Original mailing envelope, postmarked New York City, July 31, 1948 and addressed to "Miss Mary Sandman," Roxbury, Massachusetts. Lightly toned and creased. Blue ink notation in upper left corner in unknown hand. Random ink stains. Torn open at top edge. Otherwise in fine condition. Rathbone (1892-1967, born Philip St. John Basil Rathbone in Johannesburg, South Africa), who appeared on Broadway 23 times and won the 1948 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (The Heiress), is also known for his film work in period costume dramas. He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1936) and King Louis XVI in If I Were King (1938). Rathbone also appeared as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1934), Evremonde in Tale of Two Cities (1935), Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Pompeii (1936), Karenin in Anna Karenina (1936) and Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). In 1939, he was cast as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles, the first of 14 screen appearances as Conan Doyle's master detective. Rathbone also played Holmes on radio from 1939 to 1946.