TYPED DOCUMENT SIGNED by the actress and dramatic monologist RUTH DRAPER, renewing her contract with James B. Pond of The Pond Bureau.

- Over 200 words typed on 11 inch high by 8-1/2 inch wide light gray "James B. Pond / The Pond Bureau" stationery. The document is a contract letter between Ruth Draper and the lecture manager James B. Pond in which Pond writes that "in accordance with your instructions I am booking you for the coming season of 1926-27." He also outlines terms should she need a "manager to accompany" her "or to do special road work". The contract is signed by both James B. Pond and Ruth Draper. Folded for mailing with a tiny tear to the right edge of the top fold and minor soiling along the right edge. Very good. The American actress and dramatic monologuist Ruth Draper (1884-1956) specialized in character-driven monologues and solo dramas. "The Italian Lesson", "A Church in Italy", "Three Women and Mr. Clifford", and "Doctors and Diets" are among her best known works. Inspired by a close family friend, the Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski who later became Prime Minister of Poland, Ruth Draper chose to become an actress and dominated the field of solo performances. Unlike other solo performers of the time, Draper's monologues and monodramas portrayed original characters instead of those taken from literature. She was admired by such personalities as George Bernard Shaw, Thornton Wilder, Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, Henry James, Edith Wharton, and Agatha Christie, among others. She even inspired 2 of Agatha Christie's characters.…