Typed Letter Signed / Unsigned Print de MAULDIN, Bill (1921-2003)

This two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist created the immortal Willie and Joe during World War Two; his 1963 "Grieving Lincoln" cartoon in the "Chicago Sun-Times" summed up the nation's reaction to JFK's assassination. TLS, 1p, 7¼" X 10½", Santa Fe, NM, 1986 April 14. Addressed to "Ralph" (Ralph G. Newman, 1912-2000, founder of Chicago's famed Abraham Lincoln Book Shop). Near fine. On his imprinted stationery, Mauldin complains at length and in detail about the treatment he received from the Library of Congress about a quantity of "my stuff" they had on deposit. In part: "The other day a freight truck arrived with two metal boxes plus two cardboard boxes plus a huge filing cabinet. Contained therein was a general jumble of stuff: old letters, old drawings, and God knows what. And I do mean jumble. I think the filing cabinet must have made the trip standing on its head. I had asked the people at the Library... to have the metal boxes banded. They were lackadaisically taped with single strands of fiber tape about 3/4" wide. The cardboard boxes had been taped in the same manner, by somebody who clearly knew nothing of security, and were in unbelievable condition. Whole corners were ripped out, big enough to have leaked half the contents. We will never know if there is a paper trail from here to Washington or Maryland or wherever the hell it came from...." Boldly signed in blue ballpoint. Mauldin is quite scarce in content letters -- and Newman the Lincoln expert acted, of all people, as Mauldin's literary agent. Mauldin sent fewer and fewer letters after World War Two and, especially later in life, grew increasingly isolated, corresponding with very few people -- hence the extreme scarcity of his letters. Accompanied by an unusual Mauldin-Newman joint venture: a heavy stock 11" X 14" print of the cartoonist's famed "Grieving Lincoln" editorial cartoon, pristine and housed in its original white presentation envelope (captioned "A Keepsake by Bill Mauldin from the Abraham Lincoln Association, 12 February 1989"). A superb pair. Mauldin was very protective of reprint rights to his work, and only because of his close personal connection to Newman did he allow this moving drawing to be reproduced.