Description
[MCCARTHYISM]: An unusual group of various signed letters and documents etc. relating to a small number of individuals who were central to (and victims of) McCarthyism, the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of alleged communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United States during the late 1940s and 1950s, comprising Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) American politician who spearheaded the campaign, also known as the Second Red Scare. Vintage signed 10 x 8 photograph of McCarthy seated in a three-quarter length pose with an opened book resting on his lap. Signed in black fountain pen ink to the image, partially across a slightly darker area; J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) American law enforcement administrator, the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 1924-72. An unusual T.L.S., J. Edgar Hoover, one page, Washington D.C., 18th July 1957, to Viva C. Coleman, on the printed stationery of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Hoover acknowledges receipt of his correspondent´s card ´advising me about your very fine hobby´ and adding that it was kind of her ´to include me among the persons from whom you desired a statement concerning the Bible´, continuing ´The Holy Bible is the Word of God - handed down for all generations to come - as a guidepost for living. It is the sacred writings of the divinely-inspired prophets of old and the apostles who shared in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and preserved for us the wonderful lessons of His redemption, In this book will be found the guidance, the inspiration, the consolation and the hope that is ever man´s need in realizing his goal of everlasting salvation. This is the Bible´s meaning for me´; Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976) American screenwriter of Roman Holiday (1953) and other Hollywood movies, Academy Award winner. Trumbo was one of the Hollywood Ten and refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during their investigation of alleged Communist influences in the motion picture industry. D.S., Dalton Trumbo, one page, 4to, n.p., 28th November 1958 (although presumably actually 1959). The document takes the form of a letter to Mr. I. H. Prinzmetal and states, in full, ' This is to confirm that Peter Flint is a nom de plume of mine and that I signed the agreement dated May 1, 1959 with Carlyle-Alpina, S.A., relating to the sale of a screenplay based upon the novel entitled ''The Other Side of the Coin'' by Pierre Boulle'. Two file holes to the upper edge. Together with a second D.S., Peter Flint, by Trumbo, using his nom-de-plume, four pages, folio, n.p., 1st May 1959. The typed document is a contract made between Flint [Trumbo] and Carlyle-Alpina S.A., stating that Flint is the sole author of the screenplay entitled The Other Side of the Coin, based upon a novel of the same name by Pierre Boulle, and that he agrees to transfer all the rights to the purchaser for the sum of $60,000, to be paid in six equal instalments, the first being ' upon the date hereof or upon the delivery to the Purchaser of the complete screenplay suitable in all respects for production as a first-class motion picture based upon the aforesaid novel The Other Side of the Coin'. Signed at the conclusion and countersigned by a representative of Carlyle-Alpina S.A. With two file holes to the head of the pages; Pierre Boulle (1912-1994) French novelist who is remembered for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) and Planet of the Apes (1963), both of which were made into award winning films (for the former Boulle was also credited as the screenwriter, despite not even speaking English, as the two actual screenwriters had been blacklisted). T.L.S., Pierre Boulle, one page, 4to, Paris, 21st May 1962, to Wheel Productions Ltd. Boulle refers to the contract he made with his correspondents on 16th June 1958 in which he transferred the motion picture rights of his novel Les Voies du Salut (' The Other Side of the Coin') to them, and continues to agree to an amendment in one of the clauses, ´If principal photography of a motion picture based upon the Property has not commenced within six years from the date hereof, the Owner shall have the right to terminate this agreement by notice in writing.....´ . Countersigned at the foot by a representative of Wheel Productions Ltd. Two files to the upper edge. An interesting selection of letters and documents. Generally VG, 5 Trumbo, one of the members of the Hollywood Ten (the first systematic Hollywood blacklist instituted on 25th November 1947, the day after ten writers and directors were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee), continued to work clandestinely on major films, writing under pseudonyms and with his work being uncredited. The Other Side of the Coin was due to have been made into a film under t
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[MCCARTHYISM]: An unusual group of various signed letters an
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