Includes: 16 typed letters signed by Philip K. Dick, to Linda Levy, all but three with the original envelopes. * Two typed letters to Linda Levy, unsigned (one with “Phil” typed as closing, the other from “Pen Pal No. 2”, which is a parody of the letter from Gregory, listed below). * Three autograph letters signed by Philip K. Dick, to Linda Levy, 2 with envelopes. * Two autograph letters signed by Tessa [Dick], to Linda Levy. * Two postcards from Philip K. Dick to Linda Levy, unsigned with ink emendations by Dick. * Greeting card with handwritten note, to Linda Levy, signed by Philip K. Dick, with envelope. * Autograph letter signed by "Gregory," to Linda Levy, apparently the inspiration for the typed letter from “Pen Pal No. 2”, which is thought to be from Philip K. Dick. * Three original snapshot photographs, black & white, of Linda Levy, taken by Philip K. Dick. * Color snapshot photograph of Philip K. Dick, wearing a paisley shirt and seated on a couch, taken either by Linda Levy or given by Dick to Levy. * Carbon of a letter from Philip K. Dick to his editor at Ballantine Scott Meredith, asking the dedication of the collection HUMAN IS to be changed to read “To Linda Levy – Let us run across a pasture, hand in hand, and never look back. With all my love.” With handwritten note by Dick at top, “Linda – Here is your dedication.” * Two framed prints by George Grosz, signed by him in pencil, which were given by Philip K. Dick to Linda Levy. * Copy of Rolling Stone magazine, Nov. 6, 1975, with an article on Philip K. Dick, purchased by Linda Levy at the request of Dick, with a dollar he had mailed to her. * Book, “The Dark Haired Girl,” by Philip K. Dick, 1st edition, 1988, with dust jacket, signed by editor Paul Williams at the end of his introduction.
Important archive of correspondence between legendary science fiction author Philip K. Dick and Linda Levy, a “Dark Haired Girl,” with whom he had an intense, if short-lived relationship starting in April of 1972, and continuing in some form until Dick's death in 1982, although it had reached a sort of stable friendship by llate 1975. These were troubled times for the prolific author, following the breakup of his fourth marriage, as he sought meaning in his relationships and his life. The period is chronicled in the book The Dark Haired Girl, a collection of letters and essays, which Dick began to compile but did not complete before his death in 1982 at age 53. A number of the letters in this collection appear all or in part in that collection, including the undated three-page letter which concludes the book, “Goodbye Vincent,” described by editor Paul Williams, as “The little story that ends this book, originally written as a letter to Linda Levy, amazed me because I had never seen it before, never noticed that there was this delicious, unpublished short story hiding among the correspondence.” Linda Levy was a 21-year old student at Cal State Fullerton when she met Phil Dick, then 42, introduced through Dr. Will McNelly, who taught a course in science fiction. Linda, consignor of this archive, has created a website, which describes their meeting, their tumultuous relationship, mutual friends such as Ted Sturgeon, Norman Spinrad, and Tim Powers, and itemizes the letters in the collection. The website may be viewed here: http://www.thedark-hairedgirl.com. The letters trace a relationship that ranges from almost puppy love to vitriolic anger. On April 21, 1972, “…Here you are, Linda, a dazzlingly beautiful little spirit wearing a body of pure gold, absolute gold like something cast up by that fountain of multi-colored water we saw that first night on the trip from the airport: purple sparkling water all shimmering with light. We are all of us, the rest of us, gray compared with you, like gray rain-water… Linda, I am very much, very deeply in love with you. So this here is what I’d like to ask you: will you marry me?” In November of that year, he writes a short note, “Dear LRL: Look, baby, if you don’t stop playing games with Tim’s [Powers] head like you did with mine you're going to have to answer to me, and you know what that means. Watch it. He’s a nice guy. He deserves better. Phil.” Cordiality resumed, however, and by 1975 they had reached a state of friendship, although Dick still expresses affection and some regret over their relationship. And in the letter that serves as the concluding short story to The Dark Haired Girl, “`That’s a Linda doll,’ the guy said. ‘Made by Levy. You’ve probably seen their building alongside the freeway up near L.A. They’re second only to Matell, and eventually they’ll surpass them. This doll has a lot more character on its face than Barby.’”
The archive offers a glimpse into the mental and emotional complexity of one of the pioneers of “post-modern” science fiction, a cult figure when he was alive, now well-known for the nine movies – and counting – based on his novels and short stories. The first and perhaps best known, “Blade Runner” (based on the 1968 novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”), came out several months after his death in 1982. “Total Recall”; “Imposter”; “Minority Report”; “A Scanner Darkly”; and others have followed. The letters here offered a picture of the man behind the mind that created such haunting visions of our future and ourselves.