EDGAR WILSON "BILL" NYE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER DOUBLE SIGNED 04/15/1887 - HFSID 845

EDGAR WILSON "BILL" NYE
Edgar Wilson Nye signs an autograph letter twice about a profile and photographs that were taken of himself.
Autograph Letter signed twice: "Bill Nye", and "EWH", 1p, 8½x5½. Hudson, Wisconsin, 1887 April 15. On his personal letterhead from A. E. Davis & Company Publishers, Chicago, to S. S. Rockwood, New York. In full: "I take the first moment to tell you that I have received the handsome pictures executed by you at your great observatory in Union Square. The profile, if that's the proper term for it, is great. It convinces me that I am indeed a noble brute. You also succeeded in photographing a hair that I did not know I had. God bless you for that Mr. Rockwood. I hope to see you in May when I shall begin work on the World and try to make it a paper that the people of New York will not be ashamed of. What the World needs is a brainy humorist who will write as little for it as possible. Sincerely Yours [signature] P.S. I will strive to get the negatives we talked about in New York and take it with me when I go. I promise a copy or two at Gen King's in Brooklyn and have no copies of it. [initials]."Edgar Wilson Nye (1850-1896), commonly known as Bill Nye, wrote a humor column for the "Boomerang", the newspaper he edited in Laramie, Wyoming. His collections of humorous remarks, such as Forty Liars and Other Lies (1882) and Bill Nye's Chestnuts, Old and New (1886) gained nationwide popularity. He was also a popular draw on the lecture circuit, a major entertainment of the day. Nye's comments included sage remarks about the West and feigned ignorance of the culture of the East and of Europe, as in "Wagner's music is better than it sounds." Lightly creased and soiled. Binder hole at top center. Slightly frayed at left and bottom edges. Otherwise, fine condition.