TLS, one page both sides, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead, September 8, 1954. Letter to actress Katharine Cornell. In part: “O the delight of the sail on the Viking ship that was the dream of Goering, and O, the delicious fun of the sparkling spray! O, the touching welcome of the dogs, and the cheery fire at Chip Chop…How wonderful everything was!—the warm-hearted reception of the film, the delightful compliments I received, the delectable weather and the next day’s lunch with David and Adele Levy and Mrs. Roosevelt. I wish we might all have been together longer, and nothing could have meant more to me than a real talk with Mrs. Roosevelt, but as it was our visit at Chip Chop was most refreshing to Polly’s and my spirits and bodies…I have reread parts of ‘The Darkness Is Light Enough.’ The more I understand the ideas expressed in Christopher Fry’s beautiful language, the more I appreciate the play and enter into the rich thoughts filling your role.” In fine condition, with uniform toning to top half of the reverse. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope and a snapshot of Cornell, Keller, and Polly Thomson, notated on the reverse that it was taken by Nancy Hamilton, showing the group going “across Vineyard Sound for a hospital benefit showing of ‘Helen Keller in Her Story.” Earlier in the summer of 1954, this group had released a documentary entitled The Unconquered, later renamed Helen Keller in Her Story, which was narrated by Cornell and directed by Hamilton. Eleanor Roosevelt attended the benefit showing on Martha’s Vineyard, along with a star-studded list of guests, including Billie Burke, Noel Coward, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Mary Martin, Tallulah Bankhead, Henry Fonda, and Richard Rodgers, many of whom helped promote the film and provided blurbs for advertising. Though the film was never a commercial success, the critical acclaim it received culminated in its receiving the 1955 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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