MILLER, Henry (1891-1980). A collection of corrected typescripts and letters, [late 1920s-after 1979]. 6 typed drafts of magazine articles with autograph annotations, together with 16 autograph and 3 typed letters, postcards and memoranda. (qty)

MILLER, Henry (1891-1980).  A collection of corrected typescripts and letters, [late 1920s-after 1979]. 6 typed drafts of magazine articles with autograph annotations, together with 16 autograph and 3 typed letters, postcards and memoranda signed to David Edgar (8) and Benjamin Benno (12), Paris, New York and Big Sur, California; with two related items. Together c.108 pages, autograph and typescript, various sizes. A collection of typescripts and letters centering on Miller's friendships with the artists David Edgar and Benjamin Benno. Miller sent copies of his unpublished essays and articles to friends for their feedback. The present collection contains a typed fair copy of "Looking Down from the Empire State", sent to Madeleine Boyd, his agent; a carbon-copy of a typed draft of "Into the Future" with a manuscript address "To David Edgar from Henry"; an early typed draft of "The Wisdom of the Heart" with manuscript corrections; a carbon copy of a typed draft of "The Brooklyn Bridge" with manuscripts corrections, sent to David Edgar ("En souvenir de notre amitié terrestre, conjugal, austère, et cetera. Henry"); and drafts of "Benno the Wild Man of Borneo" and "Chez Benno", signed ("by Henry Miller") and sent to Benjamin Benno. Henry Miller began his career in Paris where he met other bohemian expatriates, notably the artists David Edgar and Benjamin Greenstein Benno. He left New York in 1930 with 10 dollars lent to him by a friend. In Paris, he and his circle continued to live hand-to-mouth: one memorandum to Benno in this collection accompanied a loan of 10 francs ("all I could muster up at the moment"). In another note he asks Benno for a loan in return ("I’m dead broke and rustling for a meal to-night"). He remained in Paris until the outbreak of war, his career having reached a milestone with the publication of his novel "Tropic of Capricorn" in 1939. After returning to New York he continued to correspond with his friends in Paris, in one instance here asking Benno to give his love "to the Harveys and to Marcel Duchamp if you see him". He socialised within Greenwich Village's artistic circles, writing in one note about a plan to send a copy of a book to the café owner Romany Marie ("that old wag ... That’s almost as good as broadcasting it over the radio"). Miller moved to Big Sur, California, in 1944/5, where much of the correspondence in this collection originated. Notably, one autograph letter to David Edgar (12 September 1954) contains messages from Miller and from his friend and biographer Alfred Perlès, who lived with him in California while he wrote his biography. Benjamin Benno died in New York in 1979, as an annotated copy of his CV in this collection attests; Miller died the following year. Please note that only a small part of the lot is illustrated. Provenance: David Edgar – Elizabeth R. Edgar; Sotheby's, New York, 6 May 1981, lots 78, 81, 83, 84, and 85; Sotheby's, New York, 29 & 30 June 1982, lot 510. (qty)