1920 Anaïs Nin Letter
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GUEST:
Well, they're written to my grandmother from a childhood friend of hers who actually became quite famous as a writer. And her name is Anaïs Nin. They grew up together on Long Island, then during the summers, they would separate with their families to go vacation in different places, and that's, I think, when the correspondence started. They were quite young when it started. My grandmother was only 12.
APPRAISER:
What did they write to each other about?
GUEST:
Well, initially, it was sort of mundane, but pretty quickly on, Anaïs, you can tell from her letters, that she had a very broad perception of the world around her, a love of nature, which she shared with my grandmother. And she writes about those things. And the year was 1920 when this particular letter comes from. And you can see already, her writing style is developing. She writes beautifully. Her phrasing, her vocabulary, it's just fantastic. She talks about reading Plato. (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
You have a collection of letters and postcards from the famous author...
GUEST:
Yeah, yeah.
APPRAISER:
The not-yet-famous author. It's an extraordinary collection. One of the letters actually brags about publishing her very first poem in a prestigious literary poetry journal of the day.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
As a teenager. Anaïs Nin went on to become lifelong friends with Henry Miller. A memoir she wrote became a very famous movie about the Henry Miller- Anaïs Nin relationship and friendship. She became very controversial. Both she and Henry Miller, under pseudonyms, in the beginnings of their career in the '30s, wrote an awful lot of erotica in order to survive. She, she is known today as an ardent feminist writer of the day. I think she's more appreciated now than ever. But what a wonderful insight into the teenaged minds of your grandmother and the not-yet-famous Anaïs Nin.
GUEST:
Yeah. Yes.
APPRAISER:
For the, the letter we have here, I would value it retail at between $1,000 to $1,500.
GUEST:
Wow, wow.
APPRAISER:
And for the collection of Anaïs Nin letters you brought in today, between $4,000 to $5,000.
GUEST:
Wow, that's wonderful. (chuckling) Amazing, actually.
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