The Papers of Sonia H. Davis

Category: Sonia’s Belongings

Lot #45119

September 10th, 2024
Soundtrack: Rêves nostalgiques by Joshua Kyan Aalampour.

For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together.
Vincent van Gogh, Life According to Vincent, p. 124.

The first item I acquired, before entertaining the idea of studying Sonia’s life, was her copy of The Voice of the Prophet. This slim hardcover is a collection of Nathaniel’s religious and Jewish poetry. Sonia had scribbled several corrections on the text, and it was only after my first analysis of her handwriting that I wanted to know more about her. Who was she really? There was little (or wrong) information about her in all the scholarship of H.P. Lovecraft to give an in-depth portrait of her, and so I decided I would change that.

The second item I acquired, by this point seriously studying Sonia’s life, was Alfred Galpin’s copy of The Rainbow. This was a feat that required a community, and with the help of backers, I was not only able to get them but was able to bring them back into publication for others to acquire. It was time to take what was rare and obscure and make it accessible because it’s the possessions of the departed that brings us closer to their person, to their life.

The third item I recently acquired was something I felt would be the holy grail of all Sonia things! A year ago, I had jokingly vowed that I would save money for Sonia’s passport rather than for my future retirement. I never saved that money, and the dream still came true but not in the way I had originally planned. The truth is, what I’m about to share is not physically in my possession, not framed on my bookshelf along with the other Sonia belongings. And that’s okay because the person who owns these materials is a woman who runs her own bookshop and that makes me indescribably happy! I am glad that it did not go to some nondescript entity whose only wish is to obtain and hoard, but went to another woman, who is just as curious about Sonia as I am.

Lot #45119 was originally an online auction over at Heritage Auctions, which contained Sonia’s passport, citizenship card, her copy of Selected Letters I and Selected Letters II, and two letters. Both copies of the Selected Letters contain a few corrections and one annotation by Sonia. As for the letters, one is addressed to Philip Grill and the other to Winfield Townley Scott. The original posting may be seen here: [H.P. Lovecraft] Sonia Haft Greene Lovecraft Davis.

I would like to give a hearty thanks both to Michelle Souliere of the Green Hand Bookshop for the following scans, and to Dave Goudsward for putting us in contact.
Annotation (p.68): “H.P.L was an atheist and did not believe in God; either a living or a dead one. He hated Jesus and called him a “milk + water” person.”
Transcript:

Dear Mr. Grill:

In reply to your interested letter regarding books signatured by H.P. Lovecraft, I have five books, namely:

THE FABULOUS ‘FORTIES

LALLA ROOKH

THE TEMPTATIONS OF ST. ANTHONY

ROGET’S THESAURUS and WHITE FIRE by the late John Ravenor Bullen, diceased, [sic] not signed but has a preface by HPL which is really a review of his book.

There are also several snapshots of HPL and one each, of his aunts.

It is difficult to state on what basis to part with these. I’ve had several requests for the items but no definite offers.

Someday these small items are likely to be worth a great deal more even than anything of Edgar Allen Poe’s. And while I should like to accomodate [sic] HP’s admirers, I am very much in need of cold, hard cash, and will be willing to part with them to the highest bidder. The offers would have to come from those most interested, and most able to make the purchase.

At one time I should probably have been happy to give them away to his admirers and collectors of his works but frankly, my finances being in the “red” I am obliged to avail myself of what these items will bring.

If still interested, please let me hear from you again. Thanking you for the inquiry, I am

Sincerely Yours

Sonia H. Davis

Sonia had originally placed an ad for these books in The Phoenix:

The Phoenix, Vol. VIII, No. 6.

Transcript:

Dear Mr. Scott: —

If it is not too much trouble, could you find the cut of my photograph? If not, I shall have to have one made. I need it for publicity, as I am chairman for a benefit entertainment and tea. I’d appreciate the favor very much.

Thanking you in advance, I am

Very Sincerely

Sonia H. Davis

Sometimes dreams don’t come true in the way one expects them to, and in this case, I’m equally as grateful as if I had bought Lot #45119. However small these offerings may seem in the grand scheme of Lovecraftian study, they’re still another puzzle piece that gets pressed into the greater picture. Every little piece matters.
“What is this Phenomenon?”

April 16th, 2024
Soundtrack: The Hour of Truth by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen.

It is no secret that we, as fans and scholars of H.P. Lovecraft, want to know what he genuinely thought about “love”. Especially how he applied himself to the actual act of loving in an emotional and even physical sense. People love differently, for there’s love languages to prove it. There are different kinds of love, too, and The Psychic Phenomenon of Love begins with the descriptions of the various types. Like “Nietscheism [sic] and Realism”, Sonia provided an additional glimpse of her correspondence with Lovecraft. It’s obvious that only a wife (or a long-time lover) can provide intimate details of how a man loves when there isn’t a soul around to impress. In this case, Sonia was the only woman who could relay Lovecraft’s genuine thoughts on love, and his manner of loving her.

However, how much is her word really worth?

Recently, Bobby Derie sent me an eBay posting of the original handwritten draft of The Psychic Phenomenon of Love. The item was listed initially at $6,800. Imagine my great despair at the ten dollar shipping on top of the scandalous amount of dollars for the material! To think that thousands of dollars just couldn’t cover the shipping costs! Jokes aside, this was certainly the most amazing thing to have been discovered and shared with me, thanks to a friend, since its discovery has taught me (and is still teaching me) the value of Sonia.
The Psychic Phenomenon of Love is an essay that usually comes up when we seek to learn more about Lovecraft and Sonia. Especially how his perception of love would affect her, and later their marriage. Which is why discovering the original draft in Sonia’s own breezy penmanship is a very exciting moment in scholarship and easy to believe the material is extremely valuable! The first thing I wondered though, was how much did this original draft differ from what is freely provided in the Brown Digital Repository?

According to the eBay listing, “Brown University archives hold [sic] an incomplete facsimile of a typed version”. I’m not sure if this statement comes from a place of sheer ignorance or a blatant desire to overhype the scarcity of the item in order to sell high. What I do know is that Brown University owns two copies of the essay in their digital repository. The first copy is actually seven pages long, in which the sixth and seventh page mainly discusses an importance in understanding the sacredness of love. Just because one is married and has children does not mean there is actual love in the relationship. At the bottom of page seven, Sonia writes briefly about divorce, in which she believes divorce laws should be more flexible especially for the sake of children, whose parents are unable to reconcile. This conviction for flexible divorce laws clearly stems from her abusive marriage to Samuel Greene, in which she couldn’t easily divorce him and had to raise Florence in that toxic environment.

What makes this essay important from the rest, at least in my opinion, is what Sonia wrote on the back of the seventh page:

It was Lovecraft’s part of this letter that I believe made me fall in love with him; but he did not carry out his own dictum; time and place, and reversion of some of his thoughts and expression did not bode for happiness.
Sonia H. Davis, The Psychic Phenominon [sic] of Love, Brown Digital Repository.

Aside from the two additional pages, this essay is identical to the second copy in the digital repository. The second copy has two sheets of its own at the beginning of the essay which is a letter regarding Sonia from Lovecraft to an unknown recipient (later revealed to be his aunt Lillian D. Clark) taken from Selected Letters, Volume 2.

In comparison to the original draft that’s for sale, these essays are just as valuable. One might even argue they’re perhaps even more valuable for the tidbits of truth that Sonia provided additionally, which the original lacks. Clearly, there is no such thing as an “incomplete facsimile” from the Brown University archives. Even so, I took it upon myself to compare the handwritten draft to the copy from Brown, which had the Selected Letters excerpt, and I did this for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to genuinely verify the seller’s statement of it being the complete draft. Secondly, by knowing the first reason, I would then understand the monetary value of the item. Moreover, I ultimately wanted to share my findings regarding this artifact because awareness is key.

It is understandable and easy to believe why someone might assume it’s worth thousands. But is it really?

The question, again, comes to how much is her word really worth? Is her word and name alone worth thousands? Or is her word and name only worth thousands because Lovecraft’s name is included? Where do we put the value in Sonia? In her actual handwriting or in her association?

Coming from a place where I have bought several original Sonia items, which have ranged from $53 to $2,500, I know full well where her value is placed. Her worth is (and always will be) more when associated with Lovecraft. You can probably imagine why one item of hers was $53 while the other was $2,500. Does that make it fair? Certainly not. Yet, that’s the way of the game. Regarding the original draft of the essay, however, is it worth what the seller is asking for when we now know it’s not a rarity of its kind?

In comparing the two essays, I discovered they’re identical, in that nothing is drastically different. Nothing more included or nothing else removed. While numerous, the differences are slight, such as a word and/or a sentence here and there changed, and commas included or removed. That is the only difference. Lovecraft’s passage in the original is exactly the same as that of the typed version. Occasionally I relied on the typed version to help me make out a word or two in the original. There were moments when the original and the typed conflicted with one another because of the corrections Sonia had made between the two.

After having transcribed both essays (not an easy feat transcribing from eBay photos), I printed the two and compared them side by side, line by line, highlighting the differences. The top slide show is the original handwritten draft while the bottom is the typed version. Please pardon my personal notes throughout the essays.

A quick note on my style of transcribing:

I copy the page exactly how I see it. If there’s a line in the middle of the passage to separate paragraphs, then I add a line. If words are typed together by accident and Sonia drew a line between the two words to signify spacing, then I add a “|” (or “/”) between the two words. For example: add|to. If I can’t make sense of a word because it’s either muddled in the text or crossed out beyond recognition, then I type “(illegible word)” in place of the word. Words that are italicized and in parenthesis are handwritten revisions by Sonia.
There are two things worth noting about the original essay. The first is her note: “The typed copy has been revised”. I’m led to believe the draft I used to compare alongside the original is the one she is referring to. It was certainly revised in some ways, appearing to be a second version of the draft, given by how some expressions were corrected while new errors emerged.

The second thing worth noting is Sonia’s additional note, revealing her uncertainty if Lovecraft’s part is the original quotation. His passage never changes throughout any of the copies available, and so what does that say? If this is not his original quotations, then how did she capture his written tone so well? Was it paraphrased elsewhere, and she merely copied it?

Sonia had burned Lovecraft’s letters at some point between 1947 and 1966. None of the copies of The Psychic Phenomenon of Love have dates, but it can only be speculated that at some point in the 1950s she wrote it. While she doesn’t mention the essay by name, Sonia revealed the work in a letter to August Derleth:

Before burning 400+ letters of H.P.L.’s I copied part of one, adding my own version. After many years, I came across it, and am sending you a copy for permission to try to sell it.
Sonia H. Davis to August Derleth, November 29, 1966, August William Derleth Papers, Wisconsin Historical Society.

The “copy” she sent him is likely the scanned copy included in the eBay listing, alongside the original, since the general item came from the “Barlow / Derleth Papers”. It’s interesting to read about her having copied the original quotations from his letter, and yet admitting in the original draft that she did not know if it was “his original”. It’s certainly a mystery, or a mere reminder on her part to ultimately verify the text. Whether she did or did not verify the text before burning the letters, we’ll never truly know. After sending the draft to Derleth, The Psychic Phenomenon of Love was printed as “Lovecraft on Love” in The Arkham Collector, No. 8 (Winter 1971). Everything Sonia wrote was removed in “Lovecraft on Love”, only publishing Lovecraft’s passage:
And so, how much is her word really worth? Obviously not much if someone can easily remove her part from the essay and only share Lovecraft’s part. Yet, how much is the essay worth if we can’t verify Lovecraft’s passage to be the absolute original? Is it still worth thousands? Hundreds? Or is it only worth thousands for mere bragging rights? If that’s the case, then what is this phenomenon doing in getting in the way of scholarship?

Addendum:

The post above was written a week before the item sold. The original draft of The Psychic Phenomenon of Love sold for $2,500 on March 29. Is that price reasonable? Or did someone fall into the trap of paying too much? At the end of the day, that is up to the reader to decide. As consumers, we put the value in an item, whether the price is worth it or not, because we’re emotionally driven creatures. Whether the final price was fair or not, we can at least appreciate the fact of having seen The Psychic Phenomenon of Love in its original form. Time will tell if we’ll get to see it again for sale in our lifetime.

A huge thank you to Bobby Derie for his help in providing materials for this post!
The Voice of the Prophet (“My Copy”)

October 14th, 2022
- Title: The Voice of the Prophet
- Date of Publication: 1949
- Pages: 75
- Format: Hardcover
“…I had a cheap, paperback mimeographed copy of “The Faith, Hope, Tradition and Heritage of America” and a hard, brown covered, well printed copy of “The Voice of the Prophet”.
Sonia H. Davis, Two Hearts That Beat as One.

The Voice of the Prophet is a collection of poems by Dr. Nathaniel A. Davis based on the Jewish faith and traditions. Nathaniel was the third husband of Sonia, and genuinely the happiest marriage in comparison to her previous relationships. After Nathaniel’s passing in April 6, 1945, Sonia worked exceedingly hard to pay the debts she procured during his illness, and to save money to ultimately publish his poems. Unfortunately, when Sonia sought financial support from well-to-do individuals for her endeavor, she was met with rejection, and even in one instance, she was cruelly scammed by a publisher. Evidently, she persevered and was able to publish some of his poetry. Many of the poems she selected for publication were highly regarded by many persons from literary clubs, radio shows, and lectures.

It is unclear, however, the number of copies Sonia made of The Voice of the Prophet. I, myself, own two copies, one of which has the most importance to me. On August 25, 2021, I found Sonia’s personal copy of The Voice of the Prophet for sale online. I bought it, thinking it was too good to be true, and it was the best decision I made in that season of my life. When I finally received the copy several days later, I was so amazed by the book that I emailed the bookseller in gratitude and to ask for the backstory of how he managed to acquire such a book. He emailed me in return with this account:

My friend and book-mentor, Roy A. Squires—whom you may’ve heard of—was a friend of August Derleth. After years of corresponding, Derleth informed Squires that Sonia was retired at the senior care facility I mentioned. Squires wrote to Sonia, because of his own great interest in H.P. Lovecraft, and asked if he could visit her. Sonia was very suspect, as she’d been visited not long before by an HPL enthusiast, who’d stolen valuable memorabilia from her, and wrote to Derleth to inquire about Squires. Derleth told her that Squires was the most trustworthy of men, and not to worry. Squires visited Sonia on some occasions, especially on her birthdays. She enjoyed his company.

After her death, and Sonia being estranged for years from her daughter, left no heirs. Diana Lynn Lodge asked Squires if he would come and take away her last few belongings. Squires retrieved what little she had left. Among those belongings were a few copies of your Nathaniel Davis book.
Terence McVicker

And thus, after nearly 50 years, this “well printed copy” has reached me and inspired me to look deeper into the life of Sonia Haft Greene Lovecraft Davis. I’ve always had a secret inclination to write her biography, but to never publish it because I ignorantly believed no one would find it of interest. This particular volume of The Voice of the Prophet was a challenge to that secret inclination, and I took the leap of faith to unearth Sonia’s life, regardless of the future readership. It is because of this volume that the many, who have been waiting for decades for her autobiography, can now appreciate the remarkable life and character of Mrs. Sonia H. Davis.

The last paragraph of the synopsis.