Oscar Wilde
Irish writer, 1854-1900
"Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, the early 1890s saw him become one of the most popular playwrights in London. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel ""The Picture of Dorian Gray"", and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for ""gross indecency"", imprisonment, and early death at age 46. His famous play ""The Importance of Being Earnest"" premiered in 1895 in London and is now considered Wilde‘s masterpiece."
Source: Wikipedia
Anglo-Irish writer (1854-1900). Autograph letter (fragment). Philadelphia. Oblong-8vo. 1 p. Upper part of a larger sheet. Somewhat browned, edge and fold damages repaired.
$ 3,962 / 3.500 €
(94607)
During his first trip through the USA to Florence Duncan, editor of the magazine 'Quiz' published in Philadelphia. „Dear Mrs. Florence Duncan, / I thank you for your very courteous letter, and, as I should not like to leave Philadelphia without seeing its most“. From the collection of German writer Annette von Droste-Hülshoff and descent.
Anglo-Irish writer (1854-1900). Signature on a small card. no place, no date. Small card. 3½x4½ inches; minor abrasion at lower left corner. Gilt edges.
$ 4,359 / 3.850 €
(96018)
Nice clean signature on a small card with gilt edges.
Anglo-Irish writer (1854-1900). Nice signature on a visiting card (of a third person). Hôtel d'Alsace Rue des Beaux Arts. Oblong-32mo. 1 p. 60 : 95 mm. Pencil.
$ 5,094 / 4.500 €
(96876)
On the back of a visiting card from Michel Tavera (whose name and address he crossed out), Wilde wrote his address in pencil: "Oscar Wilde Hôtel d'Alsace Rue des Beaux Arts".
Anglo-Irish writer (1854-1900). Autograph letter signed. 1267 Broadway, New York. 8vo. 1 page on bifolium.
$ 14,151 / 12.500 €
(98205/BN64282)
To Mr. Boyce: "Your account has not yet reached me: pray send it at once".
Anglo-Irish writer (1854-1900). Autograph envelope. [London. Oblong small 8vo. 1 page.
$ 2,830 / 2.500 €
(98211/BN64292)
Addressed to Arthur Bellamy Clifton (1862-1932), a solicitor who eventually became a successful London art dealer (in partnership with Robbie Ross) and was one of Wilde's oldest friends. Wilde lent him money to get married, and Clifton later visited Wilde in prison and was one of the few loyal friends who stood by him until his death.
sold
E. Brief mit U.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), Schriftsteller. E. Brief mit U. O. O. u. D. [2. Mai 1889]. 1 S. auf Doppelblatt. 8°. – An einen Freund, den er in den Socrates Club einlädt: „Come and dine at Soc. tomorrow (Thursday) (morning dress –) What ages since I saw you [...]“. – Etwas fleckig und mit stärkeren Knickspuren; die Datierung gemäß einer schwach lesbaren Notiz in Bleistift a. d. Recto-Seite von Bl. 1.
Eigenhändiger Brief mit Unterschrift „OscarWilde“.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
To an unknown person to whom he has announced two new lectures for the fall. „[…] I will have two new lectures at least next season – besides those I have delivered […]“ – At the end of the letter he adds: „October will do – but my fee is always the same.“ What is probably meant are the lectures “The Value of Art in Modern Life” and “Dress”, which he gave on his lecture tour through England from October 1884 to the end of March 1885.
Eigenhändiger Brief mit Unterschrift.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
Portraitphotographie m. e. U.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), Anglo-Irish writer. Cabinet photograph signed. N. p. o. d. 10.7 x 16.3 cm. Slightly browned. Expressive half-length portrait with a cigarette, facing left. By Alfred Ellis, London. Very rare.
Eigenhändiger Aphorismus mit Unterschrift.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
Remarkable aphorism of the Irish poet: „Satire is the homage which mediocrity pays to genius. Oscar Wilde. New York. May 7 th 82“. Oscar Wilde gave a speech in Freehold, New Jersey. On May 11, appeared in a local newspaper: "This apostle of aesthetics was welcomed by light applause [...] it was very fine, his words were grandiose, his diction chosen. But his performance was poor, he mumbled his words, his delivery was simply shocking. He impressed less by the need for beauty than by his outrageous and effeminate appearance by which he disgusted his audience.“ This aphorism was written during the lecture tour that Oscar Wilde took through the United States and Canada from January to December 1882. Wilde proclaimed the philosophy of Aesthetics (the superiority of "the science of beauty" over pragmatism), the virtues of Art, creative genius and Beauty, presenting in particular his conception of the trends of contemporary Art in Great Britain (The English Renaissance in Art) and Decorative Arts (The House Beautiful), influenced by William Morris (1834-1896), founder of the Arts & Crafts movement. Due to his appearance, Wilde was considered an aesthete on the one hand, but at the same time he was exposed to the sarcasm of the audience. His report of a lecture bears witness to this: “He had pushed faith in his principles to the point of appearing in evening dress and short breeches, a protest against modern anti-aesthetic pants. You think if the Yankees laughed at this get-up. But on Tuesday, in Boston, the young students of serious Harvard University took the malice and sarcasm even further. About sixty of them, all seated in the first rows of the room, were dressed à la “Wilde”, a black coat, short breeches, silk stockings, and adorned with long flowing wigs to imitate the opulent hair of the young poet”. (Oscar Wilde, Nothing is true but the beautiful). As the autograph shows, Oscar Wilde reacted in his own way to the ridicule, especially in the provinces. He himself described his appearance in New York two days later as "a brilliant success. I spoke at the Wallack Theater in the afternoon: not an empty seat and I made great progress in diction and gestures. I'm really very eloquent - sometimes. I was warmly congratulated" (Oscar Wilde, Nothing is true but the beautiful). Wilde got the idea for this American tour from his impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte, who wanted to use it to promote the operetta "Patience" by WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, which he had produced. It was during this tour of the USA that Oscar Wilde first declined the phrase: “Satire is the homage which mediocrity pays to genius.” Another version: “Satire, always as sterile as it in shameful and as impotent as it is insolent, paid them that usual homage which mediocrity pays to genius.” and "Satire, always as sterile as it is shameful and as impotent as it is insolent, has paid them that usual homage which mediocrity pays to genius" (published posthumously in Essays and Lectures in 1908). Provenance: . Walter P. Chrysler Collection (1909.1988) – Gift to the Chrysler Museum. . Chrysler Museum of Art Collection (Inv. 77.1204 – sold for the benefit of museum acquisitions) Bibliography: . Pléiade, under the direction of Jean Gattégno, Gallimard, Paris, 1996. . Oscar Wilde, Aphorisms, Arlea, 2008. . Oscar Wilde, Nothing is True but the Beautiful, Selected Works, 2019.
Autograph poem signed.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar