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The Golden Age of Hollywood
Lot 228

A Katharine Hepburn group of correspondence

14 May 2019, 13:00 PDT
Los Angeles

US$2,000 - US$3,000

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A Katharine Hepburn group of correspondence

Comprising 5 Autograph Letters and 3 Autograph Notes Signed ("Kate"), 9 pp recto and verso, various sizes (12mo to 8vo), various places including New York, Connecticut, Ireland, Palm Springs, and Los Angeles, December 20, 1962 to December 16, 1988, to Valentina Fratti and Laura Fratti, on various stationeries including monogrammed stationery, most with original autograph transmittal envelopes. Hepburn met Laura Fratti, a classical pianist, when Fratti coached her fingering for the film, Song of Love (1947), in which Hepburn plays concert pianist Clara Wieck Schumann. They developed a strong friendship, with Hepburn becoming godmother to Laura's daughter, Valentina, with whom she also forged a special bond. In her letters, Hepburn details her experiences working on The Lion in Winter (1968) with Peter O'Toole and Anthony Hopkins, the latter of whom she writes: "He's Welsh & 23 & fine voice & looks like Dick Burton." She also expresses excitement over the "big star star cast" that is planned for her upcoming production of The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969). When staying in Kirk Douglas' Palm Springs home over the Christmas holiday, she asks that Laura "please buy your own present as all I can find here are dates–rocks–and chocolates." Though Hepburn was a self-professed egomaniac, she had a soft side and was fiercely loyal to her friends, as evidenced by the longevity of her friendships and the sweet words she penned to her goddaughter at holiday time: "Dearest Valentina / My love to you at Christmas–at New Years & what the hell all the rest of time–."
Provenance: the collection of Valentina Fratti.
5 x 7.25 in.

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