Mike Davis

Scans and transcript of letters written by H.P. Lovecraft

Last night, I posted about the current auctions on eBay of HPL letters.  Will Hart saw the post and was good enough to email the following to me:

Will says: “I’ve got a soft spot for Lovecraft cards and letters that I can’t afford to buy; so I like downloading jpg pictures of them and sharing them! When Mike Davis sent out the email, I had to grab the best copies I could for several of us to share… I Thank You Mike for the tip!”

Thanks, Will!

Click to enlarge.

Letter 1 front

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Letter 1 rear

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Letter 2 front

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Letter 2 rear

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Letter 3 front

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Letter 3 rear

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Letter 4 front

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Letter 4 rear

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Letter 4 transcript

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9 comments

  1. It would be nice if “someone” could put up all four of these with the transcriptions (such as they are at present) in one place on the web. I’m sure some of the scholars who have not seen these before are already all over them like the Dead Sea Scrolls.

    I’m assuming all this is all in the public domain now.

    Anyone found anything else by Nelson besides Under the Tomb?

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  2. I have been meaning to order FAR BELOW AND OTHERS for over a year and kept forgetting. Thanks to this, I have now just order’d ye hardcover from Amazon. I bought it when the book was first publish’d & remember loving its contents.

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  3. LETTER 4 TRANSCRIPT CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS:

    “you needn’t feel sorry about having ventured opinions”

    “whatever tentative conclusions seem to be warranted at the moment.”

    “research & appraisal on your own part”

    “I may be wrong in many ways”

    “line of demarcation” (not “line of demonstration”)

    MIGHT be “disinterested self-expression”

    name after Bierce is “Machen”

    “furnish excellent & encouraging havens for matter…” (not “with excellence & encouraging have us for matter”)

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  5. I just made a long comment and lost it because I wasn’t logged in properly – grrr! Well, here goes again….It’s great that these letters have been captured because they are previously unpublished. The eBay seller recently sold a letter from HPL to Robert Nelson’s mother (after Nelson’s suicide aged 17). I checked with S.T. Joshi and he confirmed that the letter is undoubtedly genuine; it follows for these as well, which are clearly in Lovecraft’s hand and in his wonted form form of expression. They cast some fascinating light on Lovecraft’s relationship with the tragic young poet. BTW, someone said – was it here or on the eBay seller’s site? – that Nelson’s poetry had not been reprinted since Weord Tales magazine. That’s not quite tue – Robert Weinberg reprinted some specimens in various of his anthologies including FAR BELOW AND OTHER HORRORS (Fax Collectors Editions, 1974). Nelson is an obscure figure but seems to have had a definite poetic talent, sadly cut short.

    Also – keep up the great work with Lovecrat e-zine! I am following it with interest!

    all best
    Leigh Blackmore (Wollongong, Australia)

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  6. It’s great that these have been able to be captured because they are hitherto unpublished. The eBay seller sold a previouys one from HPL to Robert Nelson’s mother. I checked with Lovecraft scholar ST Joshi and he told me that letter was undoubtedly genuine. The same must go for these, which are clearly in Lovecraft’s hand and wonted mode of expression. So now we have four letters to the young poet Robert Nelson, previously unkknown. I think it was mentioned somewhere here (or perhaps it was actually on the eBay seller’s site) that Nelson’s poetry, though appearing in Weird Tales, had not been since reprinted. That’s not quite true – Robert Weinberg reprinted several of Nelson’s poems in various anthologies including FAR BELOW AND OTHER HORRORS (Fax Collectors Editions, 1974). Nelson’s short life and work is too little known, and these Lovecraft letters provide a fascinating insight into HPL’s relationship with the tragic youth (who committed suicide at age 17).
    And keep up the good work on the Lovecraft e-zine! I’m following with interest!
    cheers
    Leigh Blackmore (Wollongong, Australia)

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Hey! How about a comment? :)