Who would I talk to about getting what appears to be a Henry Miller inscription in one of his books authenticated?
Many moons ago, I bought a copy of The Colossus of Maroussi at a used book store. It's a cheap paperback, so not of much value, except for the fact that there is an inscription from, it seems, Henry Miller himself. It reads:
This book I remember writing in New York, shortly after my return from Europe. Most of it was written in a furnished room overlooking a synagogue. Some of it, particularly the "Jazz Passacaglia," was written at Caresse Crosby's home in Virginia, where John Dudley and his wife, myself, and later Dali and his wife, were guests for a month or so.
The whole book came effortlessly, often in tears streaming down my face -- tears of joy and tears of sorrow. Never in my life had I had such a marvelous vacation. I had thought it would be only a "sabbatical leave" -- a year perhaps and then back to Paris.
The trips to the Peloponnesus, first with Durrell and his wife, and then with Katsimbalis, were of course the high spots of my stay in Greece. About three years ago Katsimbalis came to visit me here in Big Sur, hardly changed at all, and even more "colossal" than when I knew him in Athens. And now, as I write these lines, I am making preparations to see my old friend Durrell, whom I last saw twenty years ago in Arcadia. How the wheel turns!
Henry Miller
The inscription is undated; but the book is from the 21st printing of the New Directions paperback edition, first put out in 1958. So the inscription, if authentic, is sometime between then and 1963, when, according to Wikipedia, Miller moved from Big Sur to Pacific Palisades in L.A., where he lived for the rest of his life.
NB: Caresse Crosby was a noted literary patron in the early 20th century. Katsimbalis is George Katsimbalis, a Greek writer and intellectual who was the "colossus" of Miller's book. Durrell is Lawrence Durrell, author of, most famously, the Alexandria Quartet. Dali is Salvador Dali, the famous painter. Not sure who John Dudley is.
When I first bought the book, I was intrigued by this inscription, but never got around to seeing if it was authentic. Recently, though, I unearthed it from storage and wanted to give it a try. Who would I go to for having the inscription authenticated? Henry Miller scholars, librarians, Antiques Roadshow? I'm open to suggestions for how to proceed. |
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