Guide to Reading Letter Transcriptions
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| Textual Feature | Appearance |
|---|---|
| passage deleted with a strikethrough mark | |
| passage deleted by overwritten added letters | |
| passage added above the line | passage with added text above |
| passage added on the line | passage with added text inline |
| passage added in the margin | passage with text added in margin |
| handwritten addition to a typewritten letter | typed passage with added handwritten text |
| missing or unreadable text | missing text noted with "[illegible]" |
| uncertain transcriptions | word[?] |
| notes written by someone other than Willa Cather | Note in another's hand |
| printed letterhead text | printed text |
| text printed on postcards, envelopes, etc. | printed text |
| text of date and place stamps | stamped text |
| passage written by Cather on separate enclosure. | written text |
This is a full-rate
Telegram or Cable-
gram unless its de-
ferred character is in-
dicated by a suitable
sign above or preced-
ing the address. SYMBOLS
DL = Day Letter
NM = Night Message
NL = Night Letter
LCO = Deferred Cable
CLT = Cable Letter
WLT = Week-End Letter R. B. WHITE
PRESIDENT NEWCOMB CARLTON
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD J. C. WILLEVER
FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT The filing time shown in the date line on telegrams and day letters is STANDARD TIME at point of origin. Time of receipt is STANDARD TIME at point of destination. Received at
B873CC 2F 45 NL NEW YORK NY2 DEC 27 1935 MRS HUGO RUMBOLD1 RITZ CARLTON HOTEL NYK
DEAR ZOE EVERYTHING I READ3 ABOUT THE PLAY4 DELIGHTS ME I SEE THAT YOUR HAPPY NEW YEAR HAS BEGUN ALREADY AND I HAVE HUNG A LAUREL WREATH ON THE APPLE TREE5 MY WARMEST CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND JOVINA6 I AM AWFULLY HAPPY ABOUT IT ALL
WILLA 1023P THE QUICKEST, SUREST AND SAFEST WAY TO SEND MONEY IS BY TELEGRAM OR CABLEInformation about this letter:
- Source File:
- cat.let1289.xml
- Letter identifier
- 1289
- Contents
- Document is one leaf, typewritten on recto only of telegram.
- Person to whom letter was written
- Zoë Akins 1
- Date letter was written
- December 27, 1935
- Place letter was written
- New York, New York, United States2
- Location of original letter
- Zoë Akins papers 1878-1959 (mssZA 1-7330), Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
Individual Annotations
Akins' play had a ten-day run in Philadelphia, PA, in the last week of December 1935 before opening on Broadway in January 1936.
Akins sent this tree as a Christmas gift (see #1146).
Person Annotations
Akins, Zoë (1886-1958). American poet, playwright, and screenwriter.
Akins’ friendship with Cather started in 1909, when she submitted
verse to McClure’s magazine, which Cather rejected,
advising her to stay with playwriting. Akins subsequently moved from her
hometown of St. Louis, MO, to New York City and achieved success as a
playwright. She moved to California in the 1930s, adding screenwriting to
her accomplishments. Her play The Old Maid (1935), an
adaptation of an Edith Wharton novel, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In
1932, Akins married Captain Hugh Rumbold, a British theatrical designer and
director; he died eight months later. Cather and Akins carried on a lifelong
correspondence, with Cather writing affectionate letters that included both
commentary on her own works and criticism of Akins’.
Howland, Jobyna (1880-1936). American stage and film actress.
Born in Indianapolis, IN, Jobyna Howland (named for her father, Joby
Howland), grew up in Denver, CO. She first became known as an artists’
model, most notably as one of Charles Dana Gibson’s tall stately “Gibson
girls.” She made her stage debut in 1898, becoming a member of producer
Daniel Frohman’s company. Her marriage in 1903 to Arthur Stringer impeded
her career briefly, as he forced her to retire for a few years; they
divorced in 1912. Howland moved to Hollywood, CA, and had minor roles in
silent films; her deep, distinctive voice brought more success after sound
films became practicable. Cather knew Howland through Zoë Akins, whose play
The Texas Nightingale (1922) starred Howland;
Howland also had a part in O Evening Star (1935).
Akins and Howland lived together in Hollywood in the 1930s.
Place Annotations
Work Annotations
"O Evening Star" (1936) by Zoë Akins
