ALS, one page, 7.5 x 10, personal letterhead, May 7, 1926. Gershwin writes to Miss [K. D.] Hurst, a writer for the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. In full: “Enclosed you will find a list of my shows & compositions & their dates. Please forgive my tardiness in answering your letter. I had every intention of giving you the information you wanted much sooner but your letter got lost in a pile of papers & I only recently found it. I should love to see the article you have written on me for ‘Groves.’ Would you be good enough to send it along to me? Hoping that next time I am in London I shall have the pleasure of meeting you, I am most sincerely....” The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, first published in four volumes in 1878, quickly became the standard reference on virtually every aspect of “serious” music. The third edition, published in 1927, included a brief but favorable article on Gershwin, a printed copy of which accompanies the letter. This inclusion among the giants of music history was quite a notable achievement for Gershwin, given his relative youth and the decidedly “highbrow” bias of the dictionary’s coverage (a situation remedied in subsequent editions by a more ecumenical philosophy and specialist volumes). We are also offering, as a separate lot, the list of works that Gershwin alludes to in the letter. Intersecting folds (one fold lightly touching one letter of signature) and mild scattered soiling (heavier at top edge) with a few small, faint stains not affecting text, otherwise fine condition. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
