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Lot 1263
A Grace Kelly large archive of correspondence
10 December 2019, 14:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$9,450 inc. premium
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A Grace Kelly large archive of correspondence
10 Autograph Letters, a Typed Letter, an Autograph Note, and an Autograph Postcard, signed ("Grace"), 40 pp recto and verso, various sizes (12mo to 4to), various places including Monaco, Paris, Philadelphia, Gstaad, and London, late 1956 to October 4, 1974, to Donald Buka, on various monogrammed and royal stationeries, some with original autograph transmittal envelopes. WITH: 36 Christmas/New Years cards, many with Grimaldi family photographs, approximately 1960 to 2001, many signed ("Grace," "Rainier"); a Typed Letter and an Autograph Letter Signed ("Rainier"), 4 pp recto and verso, 8vo, Monaco, February 17, 1980 and April 24, 1983, to Donald Buka, on royal monogrammed stationery, one with original autograph transmittal envelope; together with correspondence such as birth announcements, wedding invitations, snapshots, programs, and notes; a complete list is available upon request.
When actress Grace Kelly sailed on the SS Constitution from New York to Monaco to marry Prince Rainier in 1956, only her closest friends shared the voyage with her. One of them was actor Donald Buka, with whom she enjoyed a deep friendship until her death in 1982. Over the years, they corresponded and shared intimate details of their lives. In 1958 letters when Grace was still relatively new to the workings of Monaco life, she gives details of Rainier's rocky relationship with his rebel sister, Princess Antoinette (known as Tiny), discusses friends' weddings and divorces, and remarks on a trip to Philadelphia to help care for her ill father: "I miss Rainier and the babies very much ... you will fall madly in love with Caroline when you see her–and as for that Albie, we will have to beat the girls away!" Most poignant are the rare letters from Prince Rainier, one written shortly after Grace's death: "I do hope that I was able to make her achieve her 'utmost happiness.' Time does not help much or even sooth [sic] the pain of such a terrible loss."
11.5 x 15 x 2 in.
When actress Grace Kelly sailed on the SS Constitution from New York to Monaco to marry Prince Rainier in 1956, only her closest friends shared the voyage with her. One of them was actor Donald Buka, with whom she enjoyed a deep friendship until her death in 1982. Over the years, they corresponded and shared intimate details of their lives. In 1958 letters when Grace was still relatively new to the workings of Monaco life, she gives details of Rainier's rocky relationship with his rebel sister, Princess Antoinette (known as Tiny), discusses friends' weddings and divorces, and remarks on a trip to Philadelphia to help care for her ill father: "I miss Rainier and the babies very much ... you will fall madly in love with Caroline when you see her–and as for that Albie, we will have to beat the girls away!" Most poignant are the rare letters from Prince Rainier, one written shortly after Grace's death: "I do hope that I was able to make her achieve her 'utmost happiness.' Time does not help much or even sooth [sic] the pain of such a terrible loss."
11.5 x 15 x 2 in.