Sale 2461 - Autographs, November 7, 2017

INCLUDES ERNEST HEMINGWAY AND GEORGE S. PATTON, JR. 46 c   (DIETRICH, MARLENE.) Short snorter, containing over 1000 signatures, some dated, by mostly military and entertainment notables collected by Marlene Dietrich during the 1940s.The snorter, 83 bank notes, originally joined with cello tape but now in 8 parts. 2 1 / 4 -3 3 / 4 x456 inches; tears throughout (most without loss, many repaired with cello tape, few complete separations at folds) Np, 1940s [3,500/5,000] Military: George S. Patton, Jr. * Omar N. Bradley * Dudley Wrangel Clarke * Charles Wolcott Ryder * Fred Livingood Walker * Robert Tryon Frederick * Troy H. Middleton * Nathan Farragut Twining * Leon G. Turrou * David G. Barr * Albert C. Stanford * Burton M. Hovey, Jr. * Paul D. Harkins * Edgar Whitcomb * Oscar Solbert * William H. Simpson * Lt. Buck Dawson: “Even a paratrooper / must admire your / courage. You volunteer / for many things we / have to do. / Thanks. / The 82nd Div.” * others. Entertainers: Marlene Dietrich * Burgess Meredith * Milton Frome * Ruth Hughes Aarons * Danny Thomas * others. Writers and others: Ernest Hemingway: “She’s long gone / She never stands to fight / knowing etc. / Oct 4 1944” * Irwin Shaw * Gaspar G. Bacon * Esther Bundy: “4/19/44 / THANX for the hose [stockings].” A “short snorter” is a bank note, or a strip of them joined together end-to-end, on which signatures are collected. The tradition began in the 1920s when some pilots began commemorating a meeting by signing each other’s bank notes. If two such pilots met again, one of them might be challenged to produce the signed note; if he could not, he would be obligated to buy a drink—not a tall drink, but rather a “short snort,” as too much alcohol is deadly for a pilot. One of the longest short snorters was collected by Captain John L. Gillen of the Army Air Corps. In 1947, Gillen’s snorter was 100 feet long and contained hundreds of bank notes from 36 countries. Gillen was inspired to begin collecting in earnest when he saw the lengthy snorter of Marlene Dietrich, whose USO performances supporting the Allied troops took her through Europe, North Africa, and elsewhere. Property of the family of Marlene Dietrich. Lot 46