Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Katharine Cornell's Copy of Nightcrawlers by Charles Addams

Leave it to cartoonist Charles Addams (1912-1988) to get invited to the estate of celebrated stage actress Katharine Cornell (1893-1974). Her home, built in 1951, was in Sneden's Landing in the Palisades. Addams thanked the Tony Award winner for her hospitality as only he could: with a personalized copy of his 1957 collection Nightcrawlers. It is inscribed "For Katherine [sic] Cornell/ with admiration/ Chas Addams/ Sneden's/ 1958." Below that, Addams includes an original drawing of the then-unnamed mischievous girl we all now recognize as Wednesday with her pet reptile (Lucifer?). The pair are also seen on the book's dust cover along with other now-famous Addams Family members enjoying some time outdoors in the moonlight.




"Mmmmm—smells good, dear. Who is it?"

"I hope you're not angry, Ed. I just had to see you."

Art from The New Yorker cover of June 22, 1957

The cartoon on the back of the dust jacket cover is set in the Automat:


Charles Addams
eBay listing accessed August 15, 2023



Charles Addams
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

Katharine Cornell in
"Stage Door Canteen" (1943)

Katharine Cornell put her Sneden's Landing estate on the market in 1964:
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/11/05/118687187.html?pageNumber=47




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