W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/25/1952 - HFSID 293722

W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM
The novelist signs his autograph on a letter to Ralph E. Ward for his collection.
Typed Letter Signed: "W .S. Maugham", 1 page, 5¼x5½. Villa Mauresque, St. Jean-Cap Ferrat, A.M., 1952 February 25. To Ralph Ward. In full: "Dear Ralph Ward, Thank you for your letter. Here is the autograph you ask for. Yours sincerely," Affixed to an 8½x11 page, with the transmittal envelope addressed to Ralph E. Ward, Jr., Melrose Highlands, Massachusetts, postmarked February 26, 1952, affixed above (3 surfaces). William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) wrote eight novels before publishing the partly autobiographical Of Human Bondage (1915). His works also include The Moon and Sixpence (1919), based on the life of artist Paul Gauguin, and The Razor's Edge (1944), the story of a young man's search for spiritual meaning. Maugham was also a successful writer of plays, short stories and travelogues. He worked secretly for several years, beginning in World War I, for the British intelligence service MI-6, the inspiration for his story collection Ashenden (1928). From the collection Ralph Errington Ward (1926-2009) a fighter pilot and squadron commander in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. Ward became President and CEO of Cheseborough-Ponds, Inc., transforming the cosmetics firm into a major home product conglomerate. Adhesive on verso (affixing letter to the page, light show through). Lightly frayed at edges. Horizontal fold at lower center. Otherwise, fine condition.