Printed and Manuscript Americana

"I'd best say all this now, as I am never prepared for the shocks of any day, and which always come..."

Washington, D.C. September 7, 1980. Three sheets, 10 1/2 x 7 1/4 in. (267 x 184 mm). Lengthy six-page autograph letter, signed by Nina Simone to Lester Hyman. In part: "...I've thoroughly enjoyed your House. There have been moments when I was actually at Peace. & that is indeed Rare...I've never seen such a concentrated wealth of Books about the Kennedys-the Records, the Variety-the details. My God, how you must have loved that family. How fortunate they were and are to have your love. I've spent Time glancing through 'Don't Shoot-We Are Your Children'-'The Education of Edward Kennedy' in which you are mentioned. (I was so proud to see that!) Are you in many of the others?..." Creasing from old folds.

A lengthy, wide-ranging, and at times very revealing autograph letter by iconic American pianist, singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist Nina Simone, written to her friend, supporter, and attorney, Lester S. Hyman. Hyman and Simone first encountered each other in 1968, when Hyman booked Simone to play at a Massachusetts Democratic party event. Later in the 1970s and 80s, Hyman frequently invited Simone to stay at his home in Washington, D.C., when she was passing through town, and it is where she wrote the above letter for him upon his return from a trip.

Hyman (1931-2025) was an American attorney, and longtime influential member of the Democratic Party, in addition to being a close family friend of the Kennedys.