JULIA MARLOWE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 01/11/1918 - HFSID 132071

JULIA MARLOWE
Shakespearean actress Julia Marlowe wrote this letter in 1918 to say that she couldn't do something for the Women's Stage Fund because she spent every Sunday reciting for soldiers and sailors.
Autograph letter signed: "Julia Marlowe", 2p, 5¼x6¾, 1 sheet, front and verso, on stationery from the Biltmore in New York City.New York City, New York, 1918 January 11. In full: "Dear Mrs. Harris: I am so very sorry that [illegible] word has not been sent you sooner in regard to your request for the Women's Stage Fund but [illegible] home as has been so much engaged in the preparation for Mr Sothern's departure for Europe that most things other than that have been overlooked. I am so sorry to say that I cannot do the thing you ask of me - I am engaged every Sunday reciting for the soldiers and sailors at the Service club Entertainments, and my health at this time does not permit of my under taking [sic] more. With every good wish, dear Mrs. Harris in all your undertakings. I am, Very Sincerely yours". JULIA MARLOWE (1866-1950) was born to English parents who emigrated to the United States in 1870. EDWARD HUGH ("E. H.") SOTHERN (1859-1933) was born in the United States, the son of an English actor, and educated in England. Both found success on the stage, Sothern making his American debut in 1879, his English one in 1881. After regional performances, Marlowe appeared in the first of more than 70 Broadway plays somewhat later (1895). However, it was as Shakespearean co-stars that Marlowe and Sothern had their greatest success. Acting partners from 1904, business partners shortly thereafter, and a married couple from 1911, Marlowe and Sothern were considered the outstanding American Shakespearean talents of their era, paired in Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, Macbeth and other plays. Fragile. Lightly soiled.Large separation along horizontal fold on page 1. Missing bottom left corner. Folds and creases (not at signature). Otherwise, fine condition.