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Lot 59
FAULKNER, WILLIAM. 1897-1962. Typed Letter Signed ("Bill") with annotations, 2 pp, 4to, Oxford, MS, August 28, 1943,
4 June 2014, 13:00 EDT
New YorkUS$4,000 - US$6,000
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FAULKNER, WILLIAM. 1897-1962.
Typed Letter Signed ("Bill") with annotations, 2 pp, 4to, Oxford, MS, August 28, 1943, to H.N. Swanson, on typing paper, regarding his history with Hollywood agents, perforations at upper left corner of both leaves, pages creased and toned.
Faulkner writes this letter to literary agent H.N. Swanson explaining just how he was conned into signing a seven-year contract with Warner Bros by another L.A. agent, who now threatens to sue the writer. In part: "Dear Swannie: / Here is my copy of the paper I signed. / As soon as my last option was taken up and I was notified, I wrote Herndon that he was no longer my agent in any form or manner, but that I intended to pay him further commission, subject to some agreement between the two of us as to the total sum. In the letter, I suggested commission to him for the next 12 months, at the rate at which he had committed me to contract, viz. 10 percent of $400.00. / He came to me, the gist of the talk being that he was not satisfied with mere, commission, wished to retain my name among his clients. He said in effect that he might give in to another agent, bit [sic] never to you. He said he would sue me first, basing the suit on a letter I wrote him, as follows: / In Jan. 1941 I had a letter from one Stephen Longstreet, whom I did not know, suggesting that, if I wished to come to the coast, his agent, Herndon, could get me a job. I notified Herdon [sic] to get me the job, if he could. By return mail, he suggested a contract with him. I answered that I would sign a contract with him when he got me an assignment. / By July, 42, he had still not placed me. That was when I wrote Harold to find me whatever he could. The rest you know. / When I reached Cal., I learned to my horror that Herndon had committed me to a 7 year contract. I had letters from Geller and Buckner, both intimating that the assignment was a specific job. Geller stated '13 weeks guaranteed, at a specific salary'. I took this to mean that I was coming out to write the De Gaulle script, and no more. Then, after I had been at work some two weeks, as I recall, Herndon turned up with a 7 year contract for me to sign. I refused, said I would see Geller myself. Herndon said that, after the confusion about who represented me and the delay it had already caused, if I objected, made any effort to see Geller about it even, the contract would be thrown out and I would lose the job. Since I was paying him an agent's commission, I took his advice, and signed it, he assuring me that at any time subsequent that I wished, the contract would be abrogated: just as soon as I had shown my good faith by signing what he had committed me to without quibbling."
Faulkner immediately regretted signing the 7-year contract with Warner Bros, and never actually signed a contract with Herndon himself. That did not stop Herndon from threatening to sue Faulkner if he became a Swanson client. The author closes his long letter thus: "My hope is to write a good screen play. Geller has promised me three or four times that, when I do so, this present contract will be abolished and a new one made. As soon as that happens, I will be morally free of Herndon, whom I still think was doing the best he could, but that he is a sheep in a flock of wolves in his business, is a dope in a word. That is, I am willing to believe that the studio took advantage of him in signing me to such a contract, rather than he took advantage of me in committing me to it without informing me." Faulkner adds a note at the bottom of page 2 in his own hand asking Swanie to return the accompanying paper.
Faulkner writes this letter to literary agent H.N. Swanson explaining just how he was conned into signing a seven-year contract with Warner Bros by another L.A. agent, who now threatens to sue the writer. In part: "Dear Swannie: / Here is my copy of the paper I signed. / As soon as my last option was taken up and I was notified, I wrote Herndon that he was no longer my agent in any form or manner, but that I intended to pay him further commission, subject to some agreement between the two of us as to the total sum. In the letter, I suggested commission to him for the next 12 months, at the rate at which he had committed me to contract, viz. 10 percent of $400.00. / He came to me, the gist of the talk being that he was not satisfied with mere, commission, wished to retain my name among his clients. He said in effect that he might give in to another agent, bit [sic] never to you. He said he would sue me first, basing the suit on a letter I wrote him, as follows: / In Jan. 1941 I had a letter from one Stephen Longstreet, whom I did not know, suggesting that, if I wished to come to the coast, his agent, Herndon, could get me a job. I notified Herdon [sic] to get me the job, if he could. By return mail, he suggested a contract with him. I answered that I would sign a contract with him when he got me an assignment. / By July, 42, he had still not placed me. That was when I wrote Harold to find me whatever he could. The rest you know. / When I reached Cal., I learned to my horror that Herndon had committed me to a 7 year contract. I had letters from Geller and Buckner, both intimating that the assignment was a specific job. Geller stated '13 weeks guaranteed, at a specific salary'. I took this to mean that I was coming out to write the De Gaulle script, and no more. Then, after I had been at work some two weeks, as I recall, Herndon turned up with a 7 year contract for me to sign. I refused, said I would see Geller myself. Herndon said that, after the confusion about who represented me and the delay it had already caused, if I objected, made any effort to see Geller about it even, the contract would be thrown out and I would lose the job. Since I was paying him an agent's commission, I took his advice, and signed it, he assuring me that at any time subsequent that I wished, the contract would be abrogated: just as soon as I had shown my good faith by signing what he had committed me to without quibbling."
Faulkner immediately regretted signing the 7-year contract with Warner Bros, and never actually signed a contract with Herndon himself. That did not stop Herndon from threatening to sue Faulkner if he became a Swanson client. The author closes his long letter thus: "My hope is to write a good screen play. Geller has promised me three or four times that, when I do so, this present contract will be abolished and a new one made. As soon as that happens, I will be morally free of Herndon, whom I still think was doing the best he could, but that he is a sheep in a flock of wolves in his business, is a dope in a word. That is, I am willing to believe that the studio took advantage of him in signing me to such a contract, rather than he took advantage of me in committing me to it without informing me." Faulkner adds a note at the bottom of page 2 in his own hand asking Swanie to return the accompanying paper.