DOUGLAS LORD ALFRED: (1870-1945)

DOUGLAS LORD ALFRED: (1870-1945) English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. A good A.L.S., Alfred Douglas, two pages, 4to, Hove, Sussex, 4th February 1934, to Samuel M. Steward. Douglas thanks his correspondent for their letter although asks not to be flattered too much ( 'except as a counterpoise to over abuse (of which nowadays I get very little) it is not good for me'). further agreeing to inscribe a copy of The True History of Shakespeare's Sonnets and explaining that he shall call in at Martin Secker's when next in London to do so, and at the same time correct some misprints, adding that he will ask Secker to send it with an invoice and remarking 'Please do not think me mean not to send you a copy as a present, but I have given away such a lot that I simply have had to stop. The sale of the book so far is very small (only about 500 copies out of an edition of 1000) though it was universally praised in the reviews & brought me a lot of kind appreciation from "eminent Shakespearean scholars" (much to my surprise, as I quite expected them to fall upon me in a mass attack). I am longing for a 2nd edition as I have now got almost conclusive evidence of the actual exsistence of Master Will Hughes to whom (as I think with Malone, Butler & Wilde) the sonnets were addressed'. Accompanied by the original envelope hand addressed by Douglas to Steward at the Ohio State University and bearing a good wax seal to the verso. Some very light, minimal creasing, VG Samuel Steward (1909-1993) American tattoo artist and pornographer. Steward taught English at Ohio State University in Columbus from 1932-34 and at the same time became close friends with Gertrude Stein, later paying her a visit at her country house in France during the summer of 1937. It was on this visit that Steward met Lord Alfred Douglas, as well as other literary figures including Thornton Wilder and Andre Gide. William Hughes is one potential candidate for the person on whom the 'Fair Youth' of Shakespeare's Sonnets is based. The identification was first proposed by Thomas Tyrwhitt in the 18th century and was endorsed by Edmond Malone in a 1790 edition of the sonnets. Samuel Butler also accepted some aspects of the theory, and Oscar Wilde explored the idea in greater detail in his short story The Portrait of Mr. W. H. (1889).