Journalist and newspaper publisher who established the Pulitzer Prize ‘for the encouragement of public service, public morals, American literature, and the advancement of education.’ ALS, one page, 7.75 x 10, Chas. P. Johnson, Law Office letterhead, June 9, 1877. Letter to fellow journalist Julius Chambers. In full: “Many thanks for your epistle. I will do the same for you whenever you come as near being cremated as your humble servant. What a graphic description you would have written! I hope you are well mentally, physically, morally, and pecuniarily. I have no doubt you are steadily and surely though perhaps only inwardly and invisibly developing toward that literary fame which I am sure must be in store for you, and so far a share of which you already possess. How many editions of your book were printed in this country?” Intersecting folds and some mild edge toning, otherwise fine condition. Accompanied by a page from the April 7, 1984, edition of the CO-OP City Times featuring the letter and an article about Pulitzer.
According to that newspaper article, most of Pulitzer’s early letters were destroyed in a fire shortly before his 30th birthday, with this example one of the few survivors from that period. Chambers was a fellow writer who gained Pulitzer’s admiration after publication of A Mad World and its Inhabitants, an investigation of alleged abuses of the mentally ill. The work stoked his reporter’s instinct and the inquiry, “How many editions of your book were printed in this country?” Interestingly, the letterhead used to pen this letter was of the attorney who once defended Pulitzer in a shooting incident, and also coached him in various law practices. Pulitzer was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C., in 1874, where he worked as a correspondent of the New York Sun. The year this letter was sent, Pulitzer wed Kate Davis, a niece of Jefferson Davis. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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