JAMES A. HERNE - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED - HFSID 19813

JAMES A. HERNE
Short note written by playwright James A. Herne in pencil, asking the recipient to "Kindly take care of Mr Whittemore' [sic] boy- and his little friends.". Mounted to a sheet of white paper.
Autograph note signed "Jas AHerne" in pencil. Pencil notations in bottom left corner in unknown hand. 1 page, 4¼x3½, mounted to a 8½x5½ sheet of white paper. In full: "Mr Ross Kindly take care of Mr Whittemore' [sic] boy- and his little friends." American playwright Herne (1839-1901), born James Ahern, was one of the first American playwrights to incorporate dramatic realism into his plays, and is often considered a bridge between 19th Century melodramas and the more realistic drama of the 20th Century. Probably his most enduring play today is Margaret Fleming (1890), a controversial play about marital infidelity. Herne was a traveling actor until his 1878 marriage to first wife Katherine Corcoran, who encouraged him to focuse on writing plays. His first play, Hearts of Oak (1878) was a success, as was his 1892 play Shore Acres, but his other plays like Margaret Fleming, Drifting Apart (1885) and Minute Men (1886) weren't as successful. Two of his plays, The Reverend Griffith Davenport and Sag Harbor, were produced on Broadway, and Hearts of Oak and Shore Acres were twice adapted to film during the silent era. Lightly toned, stained and rippled. Body of note is cut off at right edge. Show-through from adhesive touches body of note, but not signature. Slightly irregular edges. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.