ALS, one page, 8.5 x 11, Mount Wilson Observatory letterhead, January 26, 1932. Letter to “Miss Loos.” In part: “The ‘dark of the moon’ run is arranged and it appears that the telescope will be free of apparatus on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Feb. 8, 9 and 10. You will be welcome on any of these dates but you will do well to plan early and be prepared to postpone matters a day or two if the weather looks discouraging. There are two possible ways of travelling—the auto-stage which makes on round trip a day, arriving about noon and leaving about 3:30 p.m., and your own cars. The stage relieves you of the trouble of driving a mountain road but demands that you spend the night on the mountain, presumably at the Hotel adjacent to the observatory grounds. A private car gives you more liberty if you do not mind the drive. You could come up any time during the day, the earlier the better, and return the same night. In any event, you should plan on an early supper at the Hotel and a visit to the dome immediately afterwards. There are reasons for the ‘immediately’ but they are too complicated to expound at the moment.” Intersecting folds, overall wrinkling, and light soiling, otherwise fine condition.
Astronomers connected with the Mount Wilson Observatory were allotted a few nights each month to use the facility’s massive telescopes, with times assigned according to the field in which they were working—‘light of the moon’ for those interested in spectroscopy, and ‘dark of the moon’ for direct photography. On nights that remained unscheduled, non-academic guests were occasionally allowed access. A resident of San Marino and a mover-and-shaker in nearby Los Angeles, Hubble was friends with many of Hollywood’s elite, including Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, and author and screenwriter Anita Loos, the recipient of this invitation. Letters from Hubble are exceedingly rare, and this one—combining his scientific and professional life at Mount Wilson with his interesting social life in Hollywood—is of the utmost desirability. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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