KEROUAC JACK: (1922-1969) Lot n° 1342

KEROUAC JACK: (1922-1969) American novelist and poet, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. A scarce T.L.S., Jack, in bold pencil, to one side of a plain postcard, Jamaica, New York, 10th October 1949, to Edward White Jr. Kerouac writes a spirited letter to his friend, beginning by repremanding him for not visiting during a trip to New York, ´I thought you were coming back from Baltimore before leaving for Denver. I called you that Monday afternoon you left, apparently just after you took off. On top of that you never did stay at my shack. This is by way of being a command for next time´, continuing to ask White to inform their mutual friend Beverly Burford of Kerouac´s new address ( ´and if she visits N.Y. to plan on seeing me´) and further posing a barrage of questions, including an anecdote regarding Eric Protter, ´Do you know what Eric Protter did? He went to my company [i.e. the publishers Harcourt Brace] with his novel and said I had sent him. Where´s Livornese, is he with you? I haven´t seen him. What´s going on around here? How´s Justin? Where´s Hal? What´s the meaning of all this? Did you look up Emma Straj yet? I´m writing to Burford. I´m seeing Reva this week. Great!´. Kerouac adds one line in his hand at the conclusion, providing his new address in Richmond Hill, New York. A letter of good association in which Kerouac refers to many individuals who served as the inspiration for characters in his most famous novel On the Road, a defining work of the Beat and Counterculture Generations. VG Edward D. White Jr. (1925-2017) American architect, a close friend of Kerouac and others associated with the Beat Generation. White was the inspiration behind three characters in Kerouac´s books, Tim Gray in On the Road , Ed Gray in Visions of Cody , and Al Green in Book of Cody. Other mutual friends of Kerouac and White referred to in the present letter include Beverly Burford (1925-1994) who was the inspiration for Babe Rawlins in On the Road , and her older brother Bob Burford (1924-2004) who worked on the New Story magazine with Eric Protter and served as the inspiration for Ray Rawlins in On the Road , Tom Livornese (1924-1990) who was a jazz enthusiast and pianist and the model for Tom Calabrese in Visions of Cody and Jim Calabrese in Book of Cody, Justin W. Brierly (1905-1985) a lawyer who inspired a number of Kerouac´s characters including Denver D. Doll in On the Road , and Haldon Chase (1923-2006) who was part of the early Beat circle and lived with Kerouac, inspiring the character Chad King in On the Road as well as many others in later works.