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Lot #8119
F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Have been working on a Shirley Temple picture," Fitzgerald writes to his secretary, "Strange as it may seem she’s a lovely child, very well brought up and not at all the smirking brat she has been in her last pictures"

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Estimate: $2000+
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Description

"Have been working on a Shirley Temple picture," Fitzgerald writes to his secretary, "Strange as it may seem she’s a lovely child, very well brought up and not at all the smirking brat she has been in her last pictures"

TLS signed “Scott Fitz,” one page, 8.5 x 11, August 16, 1940. Letter to his secretary, Mrs. Isabel W. Owens, in full: "Thanks ever so much for all you did about the storage things—especially for the extra work in digging out Zelda’s play. I know what that means in Mid-summer heat in Baltimore. They sent me the encyclopedia but I’m rather glad to have it as it always furnishes entertainment and the charge was not bad considering its weight. Have been working on a Shirley Temple picture, which is sort of a gamble, that is I was paid a minimum and will get more if she does it. Strange as it may seem she’s a lovely child, very well brought up and not at all the smirking brat she has been in her last pictures." In fine condition.

During this period, Fitzgerald was working on a screen adaptation of his classic short story ‘Babylon Revisited,’ tailored specifically for Shirley Temple. The script, called ‘Cosmopolitan,’ ultimately went unproduced, despite Fitzgerald’s high hopes—he referred to ‘Cosmopolitan’ as his ‘great hope for attaining some real status as a movie man and not a novelist.’ An excellent letter shedding some light on the great Jazz Age author’s experiences in Hollywood.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Letter Collection
  • Dates: #553 - Ended June 28, 2018





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