Letter to Clark Ashton Smith

From H. P. Lovecraft

169 Clinton St.,
Brooklyn, N. Y.

Feby. 9, 1926

Dear CAS:

But if psychological encouragement have any physical effect, your pictures ought to make you rebound on the spot by virtue of the wildly favourable reception they have had from everyone who has seen them. My own reaction has been duplicated almost perfectly by all our local group-Loveman & Long prominent among them--& best of all, from the standpoint of your advancement in public recognition, Loveman tells me that De Casseres is utterly ecstatic & eloquent in his responsive appreciation & spontaneous praise. He is absolutely charmed & carried away, as indeed those who knew him were sure he would be. Here's hoping he may be able to do something practical in the way of promoting your fame - certainly, he will be overjoyed to do anything within his power. Long's ardent admiration takes the form of an acute desire for possession; & though his purse will not admit of lavish payments, he is anxious to know whether you would consider five dollars each an insultingly low figure for the two magic landscapes - A Lemuiran Landscape & Jungle Phantasy. These two, together with the Witch's Tower & certain of the faces & beasts, were what appealed most violently to me; &I was glad to see my taste confirmed by as sound & sincere an aesthete as Little Belknap. Your own collection must be a marvellous sight, & I wish that I might some day view it in its entirety. I treasure each of the specimens which come my way; & believe, all in all, that my own collection is nothing to be sneered at so far as smaller pieces go....

Yr most obt
H P L

Selected Letters (Arkham House) 207

Printed from: www.eldritchdark.com/writings/correspondence/93
Printed on: March 29, 2024