A Guide to the Letter to Mr. Wood, June 16, 1930 Marquis, Don, Letter to Mr. Wood 7887-b

A Guide to the Letter to Mr. Wood, June 16, 1930

A Collection in the
Clifton Waller Barrett Library
The Special Collections Department
Accession Number 7887-b

Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
USA
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Reference Request Form: https://small.lib.virginia.edu/reference-request/
URL: http://small.library.virginia.edu/

Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Special Collections Department

Repository

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

Accession number

7887-b

Title

Letter to Mr. Wood, June 16, 1930

Physical Characteristics

This collection consists of a 2-page letter, TLS.

Language

English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Letter to Mr. Wood, Accession #7887-b , Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased from Timothy H. Bakken, Halvor Americana, Clarenton Hills, Illinois, on April 27, 1993.

Scope and Content Information

Marquis writes a long whimsical letter on the subject of requests for autographs indicating that he becomes alarmed if he doesn't receive any for a few weeks, and pictures an article or story based on the concept of an author worrying about the lack of requests and writing himself letters under assumed names, asking for his own autograph, in order to bolster his self-esteem which could then be made into a "mild satire of the whole celebrity tribe." He also mentions examples of people believing their own publicity statements in the theater, Hollywood, and the newspaper world. Marquis ends by saying, "The kindest thing anyone can do is to ask authors and artists generally for autographs: it inflates them, and a football always bounces farther when it is full of wind. If they pretend they don't like the requests, they are liars."