BASIL RATHBONE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 11/20/1959 - HFSID 257227

BASIL RATHBONE
Rathbone handwrote, signed and dated this letter to Mary Sandman in 1959. In it, he apologized for missing her in Boston, wished her mother a speedy recovery and wrote about his hectic schedule.
Autograph letter signed "Basil Rathbone" in blue ink. 1 page, 7¼x10¼, on stationery from the Sheraton Hotel in Rochester, New York. Nov. 20, 1959. In full: "Dear Miss Sandman, So sorry to have missed you in Boston & so very sorry that the reason you could not stay was your Mother's sickness - God bless you both & make her better - . Thanks so very much for you very [illegible] gift. Since leaving Boston it has been rough. Schenectady 1 night - Utica 2 nights & here for 3 - then move on to Toronto Sunday - We are all tired - but pleased that business has remained excellent - Every good wish as always". Lightly toned, creased and rippled. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Original mailing envelope on stationery from the Rochester, New York Sheraton, postmarked Rochester, New York, Nov. 20, 1959 and addressed to "Miss Mary Sandman," Roxbury, Massachusetts. Lightly toned, soiled and creased. Address is lightly smeared but legible. With three blue ink and lead pencil hearts on flap in unknown hand. 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.