Brander Matthews Signed Autograph Quote 1892 Author Drama Critic Columbia NY
$ 26.38
Description
Brander Matthews Signed Autograph Quote 1892 Author Drama Critic Columbia NY. Born in New Orleans and raised in New York, he graduated from Columbia College (1871) and was admitted to the bar but turned instead to a literary life. A long-serving critic for. A genuine 19th-century literary autograph, not a reproduction. Brander Matthews (1852–1929) — Autograph Quotation Signed — Witty Album Leaf by the First U.S. Professor of Dramatic Literature (Onteora, 1892) Offered here is a charming original autograph quotation signed by Brander Matthews (1852–1929) — the American author, drama critic, and first U.S. professor of dramatic literature at Columbia. On this album leaf he has written, in his own hand, a witty self-referential line beloved of autograph collectors: “No autograph is genuine without the signature.” It is signed “Brander Matthews” and dated “Onteora, July 1892.” A genuine 19th-century literary autograph, not a reproduction. The Content — a Collector’s In-Joke The sentiment is a playful little paradox perfectly suited to an autograph album: an “autograph” (in the sense of a handwritten sentiment) is not “genuine” as a collectible autograph unless it bears the writer’s signature — which, of course, this one does. A clever, quotable line from a celebrated man of letters and wit, written at Onteora, the artists’ and writers’ summer colony in the Catskills of New York. The leaf bears an old album number (“42”) in the upper corner. About Brander Matthews James Brander Matthews (1852–1929) was among the most influential American literary figures of his era — an essayist, drama critic, and novelist who became the first professor of dramatic literature at any American university, teaching at Columbia from 1892 until 1924 and playing a central role in establishing theater as a subject of serious academic study. Born in New Orleans and raised in New York, he graduated from Columbia College (1871) and was admitted to the bar but turned instead to a literary life. A long-serving critic for The New York Times and a prolific author or editor of more than forty books — including French Dramatists of the Nineteenth Century (1881), The Development of the Drama (1903), and Shakespeare as a Playwright (1913) — he was a founder of both the Authors’ Club and the Players’ Club, president of the Modern Language Association, and a recipient of the French Legion of Honor (1907). His legacy is preserved in the Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum at Columbia. A signed and dated autograph sentiment from this witty and important figure is a delightful piece for collectors of American literature, theater history, and autographs. Archive Note This leaf is dated from Onteora, the famed Catskills summer colony frequented by writers and artists — the same retreat referenced in a companion letter in this collection by Sarah Butler Wister (daughter of Fanny Kemble and mother of novelist Owen Wister). Condition Album leaf, written in ink, with a penciled album number (“42”) at the upper right. Light age toning; clean, with the quotation and signature bold and fully legible, and generous blank space ideal for display or framing. Please see photos, which form part of the description. Authenticity Guaranteed authentic original, hand-written and hand-signed period autograph Place / Date Onteora, New York (Catskills) — July 1892 Shipping FREE shipping — carefully packaged flat against bending and moisture
