Steinbeck authorizes the French production of a war-time play. Typewritten contract signed: "John Steinbeck", 3p, 8x12½ Paris, France, 1947 February 24. John Ernest Steinbeck Jr. signed this contract, dated February 24, 1947, to permit Madame Rose Belin, the Director of the Saint George Theater, to finance productions of his play, The Moon Is Down, in France and Belgium. The contract also provided for the translation of the play into French. Steinbeck had written the play during World War II (1939-1945); it had opened on Broadway on April 8, 1942. After completing the play, Steinbeck immediately adapted it into a novelette with the same title. The Moon is Down deals with the Nazi occupation of a European country; Steinbeck wrote it as a contribution to the war effort while working with the Coordinator of Information, an agency created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) to combat Nazi propaganda with Allied films and literary works. The play was criticized in the United States for its humanizing portrayal of German fascists: however, it was well-received in Europe since it encouraged the resistance underground movement.

A unique collection of letters by two legendary authors! This set includes a typed letter, signed by Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell in 1941, to the wife of a hospitalized friend. In it, she relates how reading Dracula helped her husband John Marsh recover from an illness: "Evidently the shock was beneficial, fro he began to get well the next day." Accompanied by a 1903 handwritten letter by Stoker. Comprises: (1) MARGARET MITCHELL. Typed Letter Signed:  "Margaret", 2p, 6½ x 9½. Atlanta, Georgia, 1941 February 13. To Mabel Granberry. In full: "I cannot tell you how joyful and relieved we were to have your letter of February 11th written from the hospital. I read your letter at least six times to make sure I wasn't being guilty of wishful thinking. How good it is to know that Edwin is 'likely to have good vision in both eyes.' What you and Edwin, Senior and Edwin, Junior must have suffered recently is something I do not like to contemplate. It seems to me that I have spent years in hospital rooms and draughty hospital corridors with seriously ill friends and relatives, so I can understand a little what you have undergone.…"

For an article he wrote featuring art by Luis Quintanilla, Hemingway pencils short notes on a magazine page, describing Quintanilla as, "My best friend in Spain." Autograph Note unsigned, 1p, 10x14. On a magazine page: "This guy [the artist who drew the pictures] is my best friend in Spain. We got him out of jail by the way." at upper right margin and "They cut out my lead to make room for the pictures." at right margin above article. Circa 1935. Page 26 from an "Esquire" magazine that features two drawings and the beginning of an article written by Hemingway. In the 1930s, American novelist and short story writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), who was a frequent contributor to "Esquire", wrote a series of 31 "letters" for the magazine. In this article, he writes about the growing tensions that would result in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Hemingway, who supported the Loyalist side and served as a war correspondent during that war (1937), used his experiences as the background for his most ambitious novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940).

Collection including a charming Christmas letter from the celebrated American author and the original mailing envelope in which it was sent Comprises: (1) Autograph Letter signed: "Harper" in black ink, 2p (front and verso of a single piece of card stock), 5¼x7½. 2009 December 17. On her personal stationery with emblazoned letterhead containing her initials: NHL (Nelle Harper Lee). To "Dear Don" In full: "Santa Claus arrived today!/ The candy is gorgeous and I do thank you for it. You have been so kind to me for so long, you are the best friend I never met!/ Merry Christmas, and may the new year bring you an abundance of good things!/ With love,/ Harper". Corners and edges gently worn. Otherwise, fine condition. (2) Envelope signed: "N.H. Lee" on seal flap with "Post Office Box 278/ Monroeville, Alabama 36461" printed beneath, 8x5½. Addressed to in the author's hand on front to "Mr. Don Salter/ 1201 New St. Francis Street/ Mobile, Alabama 36604". Postmarked Montgomery, Alabama, December 21, 2009. 44¢ Black Heritage stamp affixed featuring Anna Julia Cooper, a prominent African-American scholar and author of A Voice from the South: By A Woman from the South.