![IRVING, Washington (1783-1859). Autograph manuscript signed ("Washington Irving"), a leaf from his manuscript of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," boldly labeled in ink at top of mount "From the original ms. of 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,' Sketch Book. v.2d. Washington Irving," comprising some 168 words, the text with several deletions or revisions, verso with 3 lines of text (describing Ichabod Crane's wooing under the guise of teaching music) heavily revised by Irving. N.p., n.d. [published February 1820]. 2 pages (5 5/8 x 4½ in.), trimmed at top by Irving (probably excising some 3 or 4 lines of text), neatly tipped to a larger sheet with Irving's autograph label and signature, that sheet in turn tipped to a larger protective sheet.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2002/NYR/2002_NYR_01083_0338_000(043422).jpg?w=1)
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IRVING, Washington (1783-1859). Autograph manuscript signed ("Washington Irving"), a leaf from his manuscript of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," boldly labeled in ink at top of mount "From the original ms. of 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,' Sketch Book. v.2d. Washington Irving," comprising some 168 words, the text with several deletions or revisions, verso with 3 lines of text (describing Ichabod Crane's wooing under the guise of teaching music) heavily revised by Irving. N.p., n.d. [published February 1820]. 2 pages (5 5/8 x 4½ in.), trimmed at top by Irving (probably excising some 3 or 4 lines of text), neatly tipped to a larger sheet with Irving's autograph label and signature, that sheet in turn tipped to a larger protective sheet.
ICHABOD CRANE'S WOOING OF KATRINA VAN TASSEL: A FRAGMENT FROM THE MANUSCRIPT OF IRVING'S "LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW": ONE OF A FEW SURVIVING LEAVES FROM THIS SEMINAL EARLY AMERICAN STORY
A previously unrecorded fragment from the manuscript of Irving's landmark fictional tale. Published in February 1820 as the final story in the last of the serial parts comprising The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., it memorably relates the story of Ichabod Crane--a complacent Yankee schoolmaster--and his brief sojourn in the thickly wooded vales and hollows of the Hudson Valley. The impecunious Crane energetically woos Katrina, the peerless daughter of the prosperous Baltus Van Tassel. Already well-versed in tales of witchcraft, hauntings and ghosts, Crane listens attentively to the local legends of a mysterious Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, with whom, after an evening's wooing of Katrina, Crane has a harrowing, horrific encounter. "In Irving's Sleepy Hollow," one commentator notes, "the real and imagined collide, conspire and become interchangeable. It is a land of contradiction that has an undercurrent of hellfire and mischief at its core" (Alice Hoffman, Introduction to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories, New York: Modern Library, 2001, p.xii). Undeniably, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and the earlier "Rip Van Winkle" remain Irving's most popular and enduring literary creations.
The passage in the present newly discovered fragment occurs roughly at the midpoint of Irving's narrative, in his vivid description of the prosperous Balt Van Tassel, his wife and his nubile daughter, Katrina. (The italicized portion is taken from the published story):
"Ichabod, therefore, made his advances in a quiet and gently insinuating manner. Under cover of his character of singing master, he made frequent visits to the farm house; not that he had anything to apprehend from the meddlesome interference of parents, which is so often a stumbling block in the path of [IN NEXT 2 PARAGRAPHS THE TEXT IN SMALL CAPS SHOULD BE PRINTED UPPER AND LOWER CASE, LINED THROUGH] "lovers. Balt Van Tassel was an easy indulgent soul: he loved his daughter better even than his pipe, and like a reasonable man, and an excellent father, let her have her way in every thing. His BUSY notable little wife too, had enough to do to LOOK attend to her housekeeping and manage the poultry, for, as she sagely observed, ducks and geese are foolish things and must be looked after but girls can take care of themselves. Thus while the busy LITTLE dame bustled about the house, or plied her spinning wheel at one end of the piazza, honest Balt would sit smoking his evening pipe at the other, watching the VALIANT atchievements of a little wooden warrior, who armed with a sword in each hand was most valiantly fighting the wind on the pinnacle of the barn. In the meantime Ichabod would carry on his suit with the daughter by the side of the spring under the great elm, or sauntering along in the twilight, that hour so favourable to the lover's eloquence."
On the verso is a heavily revised passage from Irving's preceding description of Crane's wooing: "of HIS CHARACTER AS TEACHER of MUSIC psalmody HE MADE FREQUENT VISITS AT THE FARM HOUSE AND LIKE ONE OF THE SONGSTERS OF THE GROVE"
A sizeable portion (213 leaves) of the manuscript of Irving's Sketch Book is in the Clifton Waller Barrett Collection at the University of Virginia, consising of early tales in the book (serial parts 1-3); accordingly, it does not include any of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." In the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library are four leaves from the "Legend," but these are partially in the hand of an amanuensis (500 words total, ca. 125 in Irving's hand). The present would appear to be one of only five surviving leaves from the manuscript of Irving's masterpiece, which has been termed the first American horror story.
ICHABOD CRANE'S WOOING OF KATRINA VAN TASSEL: A FRAGMENT FROM THE MANUSCRIPT OF IRVING'S "LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW": ONE OF A FEW SURVIVING LEAVES FROM THIS SEMINAL EARLY AMERICAN STORY
A previously unrecorded fragment from the manuscript of Irving's landmark fictional tale. Published in February 1820 as the final story in the last of the serial parts comprising The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., it memorably relates the story of Ichabod Crane--a complacent Yankee schoolmaster--and his brief sojourn in the thickly wooded vales and hollows of the Hudson Valley. The impecunious Crane energetically woos Katrina, the peerless daughter of the prosperous Baltus Van Tassel. Already well-versed in tales of witchcraft, hauntings and ghosts, Crane listens attentively to the local legends of a mysterious Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, with whom, after an evening's wooing of Katrina, Crane has a harrowing, horrific encounter. "In Irving's Sleepy Hollow," one commentator notes, "the real and imagined collide, conspire and become interchangeable. It is a land of contradiction that has an undercurrent of hellfire and mischief at its core" (Alice Hoffman, Introduction to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories, New York: Modern Library, 2001, p.xii). Undeniably, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and the earlier "Rip Van Winkle" remain Irving's most popular and enduring literary creations.
The passage in the present newly discovered fragment occurs roughly at the midpoint of Irving's narrative, in his vivid description of the prosperous Balt Van Tassel, his wife and his nubile daughter, Katrina. (The italicized portion is taken from the published story):
"Ichabod, therefore, made his advances in a quiet and gently insinuating manner. Under cover of his character of singing master, he made frequent visits to the farm house; not that he had anything to apprehend from the meddlesome interference of parents, which is so often a stumbling block in the path of [IN NEXT 2 PARAGRAPHS THE TEXT IN SMALL CAPS SHOULD BE PRINTED UPPER AND LOWER CASE, LINED THROUGH] "lovers. Balt Van Tassel was an easy indulgent soul: he loved his daughter better even than his pipe, and like a reasonable man, and an excellent father, let her have her way in every thing. His BUSY notable little wife too, had enough to do to LOOK attend to her housekeeping and manage the poultry, for, as she sagely observed, ducks and geese are foolish things and must be looked after but girls can take care of themselves. Thus while the busy LITTLE dame bustled about the house, or plied her spinning wheel at one end of the piazza, honest Balt would sit smoking his evening pipe at the other, watching the VALIANT atchievements of a little wooden warrior, who armed with a sword in each hand was most valiantly fighting the wind on the pinnacle of the barn. In the meantime Ichabod would carry on his suit with the daughter by the side of the spring under the great elm, or sauntering along in the twilight, that hour so favourable to the lover's eloquence."
On the verso is a heavily revised passage from Irving's preceding description of Crane's wooing: "of HIS CHARACTER AS TEACHER of MUSIC psalmody HE MADE FREQUENT VISITS AT THE FARM HOUSE AND LIKE ONE OF THE SONGSTERS OF THE GROVE"
A sizeable portion (213 leaves) of the manuscript of Irving's Sketch Book is in the Clifton Waller Barrett Collection at the University of Virginia, consising of early tales in the book (serial parts 1-3); accordingly, it does not include any of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." In the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library are four leaves from the "Legend," but these are partially in the hand of an amanuensis (500 words total, ca. 125 in Irving's hand). The present would appear to be one of only five surviving leaves from the manuscript of Irving's masterpiece, which has been termed the first American horror story.