CARL VAN VECHTEN - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/06/1958 - HFSID 84741

CARL VAN VECHTEN
He signs a typed letter, sharing a dirty joke.
Typed Letter signend: "Carl", 1 page, 6¼x9¼. New York, N.Y., 1958 September 6. To "Dear Doris" [Julian], in full: "Here is a story which I am sure will amuse Stephan: It seems a cullud boy in Atlantic City who earned a firstful of pennies was observed to buy a coke and was observed to go under the board walk. A peeper saw him there taking a swig of drink, then masturbating, and finally throwing a penny into the ocean. This sequence was repeated several times until the peeper asked what the boy was doing. 'I'se living the life of a tycoon today,' was the answer. 'I drinks … I fucks … I throw my money away.' Where does Mr. Beresford live? Love to you, the boys and girl, the animals and birds, the flowers and the vegetables." [Ellipses and dialect spelling in original.] Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) was a writer, music and dance critic, and portrait photographer who joined the staff of the New York Times in 1906. he published several collections of essays and 7 novels. He was an avid promoter of the black artists and intellectuals represented in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, but his best-selling novel [Explicit] Heaven (1926) proved controversial, for its portrayal of Harlem life as well as for its title. From the 1930s onward, Van Vechten's primary interest was in photography; many literary and artistic figures posed for his camera. His longtime friend Gertrude Stein, for whom he became literary executor, said that "… having your photograph taken by Carl Van Vechten was a sure sign that you were 'somebody'." Doris Julian was a longtime friend and correspondent of Van Vechten's; Stephen Van Ophuigsen was her son. Fold creases through signature. Fine condition.