TLS, one page, 5 x 8, personal Burwash, Etchingham letterhead, May 8, 1935. Kipling writes to sculptor and medalist Julio Kilenyi at the Hotel des Artistes in New York City. In full: “I have just come home from abroad to find your beautiful medal of Mark Twain. It is the man as I recall him when I first had the honour to meet him, and I send you my very best thanks….” Kipling and Twain met in 1889, when the relatively unknown British writer interviewed Twain, who was then at the height of his popularity. Though Kipling evidently already held Twain in high regard, the esteem grew to be mutual. According to the 2003 biography Mark Twain & Company by Leland Krauth, Twain owned 25 of Kipling’s books in addition to a 27-volume collected edition, commented often and favorably on Kipling’s work, and Kipling became “a small but significant touchstone for Twain in his later writing, public performances, and private life.” In good condition, with short separations along horizontal fold and a few small tears (tape repairs to reverse), a few marginal chips, tape to top edge, and light soiling with a few tiny spots. The signature is unaffected. An excellent association between these two literary giants! RRAuction COA.
