GEORGE BERNARD SHAW - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED 07/28/1945 - HFSID 257321

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
Playwright Bernard Shaw writes to an admirer who has requested to use photographs of him in a book that is being written.
Autograph Note Signed: "G. Bernard Shaw", 1p, 5½x3¾ postcard. 4 Whitehall Court, London, 1945 July 28. On verso of postcard to James A. Bowman. In full: "I do not own the copyright in the hundreds of photographs which are taken of me, and have no power to authorize you to reproduce them [typed] in the book which you are writing, entitled 'We Met Them By Mail.' You must apply to the photographer. I have no objection personally." Lightly soiled, stain and worn. Included is original mailing envelop, 5¾x3¾ addressed by Shaw: "James A Bowman/108 Northview Avenue/New Castle, Penna U. S. America" Cancellation stamp through "s" of James and all of last name. Paper remnant at left border. Dublin-born British playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) wrote this note the year his production, Geneva, was on stage. In the play, which he revised in 1947, Shaw satirically portrays the League of Nations. Shaw's pieces were characteristically instructional, often including a teacher character, such as the popular Pygmalion (1913), which featured teacher Henry Higgins. Shaw began writing plays in 1892; his first, Widowers' Houses,voiced his opinions on society and world reform. His other works include Man and Superman, Candida, Saint Joan and Major Barbara. Throughout his 58 years as a playwright, Shaw covered many topics, but let his humor speak for itself. The winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, he was lauded by the Nobel Committee "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty." Two items.