KATHERINE MAYO - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 07/26/1931 - HFSID 3762
Price: $320.00
KATHERINE MAYO
Revealing letter by the controversial author, forced to leave an ivy
plant with a roadside woman, and consoled that "she was named Scott, and not
Schwizinski or Blumenbaum, and I think she knew about the Mayflower".
Autograph Letter signed: "Katherine Mayo", 2 pages (front and
verso), 9x5¼. Maiikenshof, Bedford Hills, New York, 1931 July 26. On
personal letterhead to "Dear Mrs. Parke", in full: "I have bad
news to tell: A week ago today Miss Newell and I set out hence to drive to
Morris, returning via Pennsylvania. As we were to pass through Esopus on the
long-planned trip, I had kept your ivy plant to deliver by hand, for greater
speed and safety. But alas! A few miles below Esopus we were stopped by a
quarantine, who forbade the little ivy passage! So, with keen regret, we had to
leave it there by the road. At least it found a friend in the wife of the keeper
of a little wayside shop, by the quarantine. She was called 'Scott', not
Schwizinski or Blumenbaum, and I think she knew about the Mayflower, if not
about William Brewster - which was some consolation! But now, we two are
wondering (having found it only about an hour & a half to Esopus), whether
we can persuade you to drive over and lunch with us on the 12th or 13th of
August. If by happy chance you will come, you shall have full route directions.
And perhaps by these you could take home an ivy. Yours very sincerely".
Accompanied by original mailing envelope addressed in her hand to Mrs.
Alton B. Parker, Esopus, New York.American journalist
and author Katherine Mayo (1867-1940) is best known for her book,
Mother India, her views on the country's treatment of its women. The
book, written after a three-month visit to the country in the winter of 1925,
created considerable controversy after its publication in 1927. More than
50 books and pamphlets were published in response to it, and Mohandas Gandhi
likened the book to a "gutter inspector's report. In addition to expressing her
anti-Hindu views in Mother India, Mayo's other controversial works include
Isles of Fear, a similar book on the Philippines, and Soldiers, What
Next?, a criticism of the veterans' pension system. As this letter
suggests, Mayo also held very strong views against American citizens not part of
the ethnic stock who arrived on the Mayflower. The "Miss Newell" of this letter
was M. Moyca Newell, Mayo's lifelong friend and a wealthy heiress who funded
many of Mayo's writing projects. Mrs. Alton B. Parker was the former
Amelia Day Campbell, second wife of former 1904 Democratic Presidential nominee
Alton B. Parker. Normal mailing folds. Toned. Light stain in top margin. Paper
clip indent in top margin. Corners rounded. Bottom right corner creased. Fine
condition.
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