Thomas Hardy Document Signed for Tess of the d'Urbervilles DS, one page, 8 x 13, September 15, 1922. Agreement by which Hardy grants to the Metro Pictures Corporation "all the motion picture rights, throughout the world, in and to a certain novel entitled 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles.'" Boldly signed and dated at the conclusion in ink by Thomas Hardy. In fine condition. Accompanied by its original blue paper folder. Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman was first serialised in the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891, and subsequently published in three volumes. The novel controversially challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England, and today is considered a major work of the 19th century. It has been adapted for the stage and screen several times, with 'lost' silent film versions debuting in 1913 and 1924.