[Five Typed Letters to Lyle Stuart, Four Signed ("G. Legman," "Legman," or " L" and One Signed in Type]

858 Hornaday Place, NY [2]; 27 Sous-Barri, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France [1], and La Clé de Champs, Valbonne, France [2], 7 December 1949 through December. 1966. Six pages on five sheets, octavo and quarto. 1966 letter on folded light onion-skin paper, with some short tears at edges, otherwise very good. A fine sequence of letters from the enfant terrible of the bibliographic study of erotica and certain branches of folklore, to the controversial independent US publisher, Lyle Stuart, covering a broad range of topics, including a potential project, the banning of some of his own publications, questioning some of Stuart's business practices and affiliations, Stuart's own submission to an unnamed periodical (undoubtedly NEUROTICA), royalties and characteristic arguments over money and accounting. The earliest letter, 7 Dec, 1949, relates to Stuart's submission: "That is a wonderful story you sent, and I will do everything I can to see it printed. The owner- editor [Jay Landesman] shit a brick reading it, has visions of himself in jail, etc - the latest issue having been banned already for a hell of a lot less - but I will see what can be done ... I am sort of turning over the idea in my head of printing the next issue or thereabout in Mexico anyhow ...an analysis of the homosexualization of the film, criticism, etc, and the connection between this and fascism, the cowboysuiting of the nation while we watch ... The only way is to say wot's wot without anymore of this damn pussyfooting about libel. Mexico, here we come! ... If you're the enemy, say so. If you have been spying on the angels' side, how about some inside information?" By 1966, the tone has changed to an antagonistic jousting over Legman's own writing: " "This is a personal word, of which I am not sending a copy to my lawyers... Please try to be a Mensch with me. I am now very well known in this field: I have several publishers and both main men's magazines struggling to get articles from me ... I am not some small first-novelist or struggling unknown schmuck ... I have a book coming up this year which is far too hot for my other publishers, and which is precisely your kind of mail-order or store-sales book. I will have others later: all sexbooks of course. I do not know whether you really want to publish my stuff: you appear to hate me ... But if you do want to publish my farthest out (and therefore BEST) material, we cannot have any of this bullshit about two hundred dollar royalties I am to be finagled out of ... You are a big man in publishing. People talk about you and admire you for your velocity of advancement. You cannot AFFORD to act like a Paramount bookstore midnight clerk ... I am still amazed about 'Rory John' (your son, I'm told?) pirating my HOMOSEXUALITY ... Act big, Lyle, don't yenta me. It makes me ashamed for you ... I have your firm over a barrel on your pirated edition of Burns' MERRY MUSES ... Please give me contracts, royalties, etc. all the decent things ...."