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Noel Coward Signed Personal Letter

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia / Autographs - Original Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:300.00 - 500.00 USD
Noel Coward Signed Personal Letter
Noel Coward Signed Personal Letter - There was only one Noel Coward. Playwright, composer, director, actor, singer, wit and true iconoclastic idiosyncratic flamboyant wit and raconteur. He wrote such classics as “Private Lives”, “Design for Living” and “Blithe Spirit”, as well as wrote, co-directed (with David Lean), and starred in what is considered the greatest “War Propaganda” film ever made, the 1942 “In Which We Serve”. He is also known for writing some of the grandest cleverest and iconic “party” songs such as “Man Dogs and Englishmen”, as well as having written revues, musicals, operettas, novels and critiques. But best of all, he was someone that everyone wanted to be around. He was everyone’s “Dear Friend” and the truly great and famous “sat at his feet” from the early 1900’s until his death in 1973. Among his devoted fans were actor Van Johnson and his beloved wife Evie, who visited him often at his Estate, the “Chalet Coward” in Vaud, Switzerland. This is an extremely rare letter written to Evie Johnson by Noel on his personal stationary and with an even rarer signature by Noel with his famous “swinging N”. It is dated January 21 1970. Includes his original stationary Air Mail addressed envelope postmarked in Switzerland on January 22, 1970, with a Swiss stamp. Also included is a rare card made by Coward’s long time secretary Cole Lesley, who was an artist and writer as well, and achieved almost as much fame as his “boss”. This handwritten card to “Darling Evie” expresses Lesley’s undying love for her, as well as points out the painting he did on the front of the card. It is dated December 12, 1974, and includes the original stationery Air Mail envelope from Coward’s estate “Chalet Coward” in Switzerland, along with a Swiss postmark and stamp. Lesley was still on the Estate three years after Coward’s death to write Coward’s biography (which came out in 1978 and became a best seller and a sensation). Coward encouraged him to “write everything… and I mean everything… but only after I die”). Both these collectable rare treasures come from Van Johnson’s personal collection and include a Letter of Provenience from the Johnson’s daughter, Schuyler Johnson, along with a copy of her famous controversial cover story article “My Life As A Hollywood Princess”, about her trials and tribulations growing up in Beverly Hills with a superstar father and extended “family” with some of the most famous celebrities in the world.