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Lot #1096
Thomas Edison Typed Letter Signed

An anxious Edison cancels his "phonograph speech"—"You people who can speak well will not understand this"

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Estimate: $2000+
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Description

An anxious Edison cancels his "phonograph speech"—"You people who can speak well will not understand this"

TLS signed “Thos. A. Edison,” one page, 8 x 10, From the Laboratory of Thomas A. Edison letterhead, August 25, 1922. Letter to John W. Lieb in New York City, in full: "I have decided not to make the phonograph speech. It is worrying me so much that I must drop it to get rid of the worry. You people who can speak well will not understand this." Attractively double-matted and framed to an overall size of 14.25 x 16. In fine condition, with some fold-related creases. A great letter by the famously hesitant public speaker.

Provenance: from the estate of Senator Carl Levin. A lifelong Democrat, ardent advocate for civil rights, and staple of the United States Senate from 1979 to 2015, Senator Levin was also a longtime client of RR Auction. As a collector, he favored his political heroes—Harry S. Truman, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, Jr.—as well as those figures emblematic of the American spirit, like Robert Frost, Joe Louis, and Helen Keller.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Fine Autograph and Artifacts Featuring Animation
  • Dates: #649 - Ended December 07, 2022





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