Sold by Captain Ahab's Rare Books, ABAA, Stephenson, VA, U.S.A.
Association Member:
AbeBooks Seller since June 16, 2010
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Original typed letter, signed, from B. Traven to Ruth Ford, writing under his "Hal Croves" alias. Composed on a single sheet of watermarked stationary from the Balneario spa-hotel in San Jose de Purua (measuring 6.25" x 9 5/8"), dated January 20, 1948; 31 lines (202 words), signed "Love, H.C." in pencil. Two old horizontal folds from mailing and a few faint creases smoothed out; Near Fine, housed in a custom clamshell case.A letter from the mysterious Traven to American screen actress and model Ruth Ford (1911-2009), who he refers to as "Glorious" and with whom the author maintained a romantic correspondence between 1947-1961. The letter is written just one week after the release of the film adaptation of Traven's novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, commenting on a slew of early reviews and the very favorable critical reception. "T.'s agent just sent him a dozen reviews of the picture "Treasure of Sierra Madre".Every critic, including the reviewers of the trade papers of the movie industry, predict that it will be the outstanding picture of 1948, a tremendous box office success to be sure as it is a picture Hollywood has never dared to make before and in spite of that it is a he-man picture with not a single woman in, female audiences went just as enthusiastic about it if not more so than male spectators." He goes on to comment that Walter Huston "of course stole the picture," just as he'd told John Huston he would, and that in his opinion, the film could have been cut by 25 minutes due to "too many rather dull sequences in which do not add anything to the story of to characterizations." It has been documented that Traven, who was notoriously private and shunned publicity, appeared in Mexico during filming and presented himself as Hal Croves, acting as B. Traven's literary agent who had power of attorney, interacting with John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, and others. Huston's film, of course, was a sensational hit at the box office, earning $2.3 million in the U.S. alone, and winning Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay. A fine letter, with excellent content.
Seller Inventory # 4547
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Captain Ahab's Rare Books
Amir Naghib, Proprietor
111 Rotunda Drive
Stephenson, VA. 22656
Email: captainahabsrarebooks@hotmail.com
Phone: 305-206-8196
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