PBA Galleries

125 numbered manuscript pages, tipped-in on larger blank pages, recto side only. Also tipped in at the front are 3 single page manuscript letters by Merwin, including two original envelopes. (Folio), finely bound in red calf with gilt borders, gilt design on top board, spine with raised bands, gilt-decorated compartments, lettered in gilt; red cloth slipcase.

The original handwritten manuscript of Merwin's historical novel, with edits and corrections throughout in the author's hand. Tipped in at the front are 3 pages of correspondence from Merwin to screenwriter Albert S. LeVino, discussing aspects of the manuscript, including N.C. Wyeth's plans to paint color plates for the first edition.

Samuel Merwin, Sr. was an American playwright and author. After attending Northwestern University, he worked between 1905 and 1911 as associate editor and then editor of SUCCESS magazine. In 1907 the magazine sent him to China to investigate the opium trade. The first edition of Silk was published in 1923 by Houghton Mifflin, illustrated with color plates by N.C. Wyeth.