Lot 483

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Description:

WORLD WAR I LETTERS
A group of three A.L.S. signed "Mike Sgt 1st Cl...Lowenthal B.H. 104 U. S. Army", each written to his "Sweetheart". The first, 6pp. 8vo., is penned on lined Knights of Columbus letterhead reading: "On Active Duty with American Expeditionary Forces" and written from Biarritz, Apr. 10, 1919. In small part: "...Well sweetie we are having a pleasant holiday...So many places of historic interest...several forts and castles there that played a part in the Napoleonic era...A note was left at my hotel requesting me & call at office of Provost. When I called a young man introduced himself as the Postmaster for the U.S. Army...I was indeed glad to meet him...We sure are 'taking things easy'...I'm sure glad I accepted offer of leave for here...", and more descriptions of his time there. With a second A.L.S. on American Y.M.C.A. American Expeditionary Force letterhead, 4pp. 8vo., Rheims, May 25, 1919, again to his sweetheart, in part: "...Left Paris this morning...Had dinner at a hotel that was in ruins and then spent about two hours walking around town...Not a single house here that wasn't struck. Nearly all are just shells of building the insides blown out. The famous cathedral is a mass of ruins. A large number of German prisoners under French guards are trying to clear some of the debris away, but it seems it would take a million men a hundred years to make a slight impression in this awful devastation...Inhabitants are all gone, but a few are returning now, a very few. After seeing most of the town proper, we rose out to trenches twelve miles away. Everything there is just as they left it when armistice was signed. Mile after mile of shell torn battlefield covered with barbed wire, wrecked guns, tanks, R. R. cars and other debris...Tomorrow morning we leave here for Verdun, then to Metz...In Paris, I visited the Louvre, Napoleon's tomb and the War Museum...". Finally, an A.L.S. 8pp. 8vo., on letterhead of the Stratfield Hotel in Bridgeport, Ct., [n.d. but "Monday 8'45pm"], sending news and a description of trip home. Three pieces, very good.

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December 16, 2010 11:00 AM EST
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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