Property of Various Owners
Lot 99
A Judy Garland historic letter, aged 13, and related material
8 December 2021, 10:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$4,080 inc. premium
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A Judy Garland historic letter, aged 13, and related material
A rare handwritten letter from Judy Garland to Ida Koverman [Louis B. Mayer's assistant at MGM], dated June 5, 1936, the letter on two sides of a sheet of notepaper telling Koverman, "We arrived today in New York. I could hardly wait to write you to tell you how thrilled and dazed I am. We were at the MGM offices today and saw Miss. Florence, Mr. Rubin, Mr. Schenck and so forth. They were all so lovely to me. I hope my singing pleased them. Thank you so much for your letter to Miss. Florence. It helped me so much and I sincerely appreciate it. As you have found out, I certainly don't take any medles [sic] for writting [sic]. Please forgive it. Nothing else to say except thank you again, sincerely yours, Judy," the letter with another sheet of paper inscribed in Garland's hand asking Koverman for Jackie Cooper's address: "I forgot to get it before I left and he told me to be sure to write to him....," the letter accompanied by two typescript letters from Ida Koverman, one dated June 8, 1936, signed "IRK," the note addressed, "My dear Judy" and thanking her for her note and telling her, "I was sure you would like Miss Florence Browning - she is a very fine person, and I am sure also that your singing pleased them all..." also adding Jackie Cooper's address as a postscript, 1 p, the other dated June 1, 1936 to Florence Browning telling her, "This will be presented to you by little Judy Garland who is under contract to us. She is twelve years old and an extremely clever little artist. Her mother, who will be with her, plays her accompaniments, and I hope you will be able to arrange to hear her sing a few numbers. She is really a marvelous child. Her agent is taking her East to try to book her in some of the theatres, and I think it would be very wise to have someone connected with our office see the child before she gets into an opposition house. She sings very well and is an excellent dancer, and does the Eleanor Powell routines, and is a little genius...," 1 p.
Footnotes
Ida Koverman was Louis B. Mayer's right arm and her instinct for talent was invaluable at MGM. Garland's first audience with Koverman was on demand and had her rushing to the studio from home looking unkempt after a long day of playing. It didn't matter; Koverman instantly recognized the magic that was Judy. In October 1935, Garland became an MGM contract player and proceeded to train in everything from dance to diction. She attended the famous MGM schoolhouse with classmates such as Mickey Rooney and Jackie Cooper and began her collaboration with musical genius Roger Edens. Unfortunately for Judy, her father died shortly after her contract was signed. The combination of his death, an overbearing stage mother, and an already mounting pressure to make good at MGM began the now-oft-told story of Garland's tumultuous career and personal life.