ALS, eight pages on a pair of two adjoining sheets, 4.5 x 7, Reform Club letterhead, April 29, 1903. Letter to “Beloved Bill,” his nephew William James, in part: “Your letter from Marburg delighted me in spite of my feeling, now that I have an address from you, that my past neglect of you has been hideous. Your 2 notes after leaving Geneva gratified only to torment me—so concerned was I perforce to let you wander alone. However, it eases my spirit to think you have a good companion and I bless him for that same. Also I seem to feel that you have fallen on your feet, & you make for me a cheerful and friendly little Marburg, not at all banal, & yet not too weird. May your gruesome studies thrive there, and your superabounding Prof. Zumstein yet not do you to death with knowledge…I’ve had a long & very decent spell of London, while there, cruelly cold April has made very preferable to bleak little Rye (where bleakness does reign:) and I am beginning to be homesick for the garden and land. I have just purchased the most precious thoroughbred & expensive Dachsund pup, & when the time comes I shall settle down on my hilltop again without regret…My last news of your Dad seems to have been the same as yours—a very successful visit to Asheville.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, addressed in James’s own hand. Each a titan of their respective professions, brothers William and Henry James shared a relationship built upon mutual respect, biting honesty in regard to the other’s work, and a robust love for family. A characteristically verbose and thoughtful letter from the legendary scribe, made all the more desirable by its strong familial connection. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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