EDWIN MARKHAM - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 07/24/1903 - HFSID 32508

EDWIN MARKHAM
The poet penned and dated this letter in 1903 to Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady, thanking him for his book The Bishop and congratulating him on  let the head of a boys school know that "its direct attack, the savage lunge of its style".
Autograph letter signed "Edwin Markham". Erased pencil notations in top right corner. 1 page, 8¼x10¾, affixed to cardstock Waterleigh, Staten Island, New York. July 24, 1903. Addressed to the Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brody. In full: "Dear Mr. Brady: you have my thanks for the unexpected gift of your book 'The Bishop'. I like its direct attack, the savage lunge of your its style. In you human yet saintly bishop, his head red with the tincture of tenderness, you have added a fine character to the literary valhalla [sic] of out West. All good fortune to your ruddy pen." Markham (1852-1940, born Charles Edward Anson Markham in Oregon City, Oregon) is an American poet and lecturer best known for his social protest poem The Man with the Hoe (1899). This poem is based on a painting by Jean-Francois Millet about a peasant. Markham used this peasant to represent exploited men and women the world over. He also wrote Lincoln, Man of the People (1901), which was almost as popular as The Man with the Hoe. Lightly toned, soiled and rippled. Staple holes in top right edge. Random ink stains. Lightly rounded corners. Folded once horizontally and twice vertically and unfolded. Otherwise, fine condition.