The Royalties of this Book were Given to Marie Curie
signed
by Meloney, Marie Curie
[Marie Curie] Marie Meloney, a leading American female journalist, activist, and socialite, and long time friend of Marie Curie. Autograph letter signed dated November 7, 1929. One sided letter measuring 7.5" by 5.25". Meloney began working with Washigton Post at age 17, and was the first woman to win a seat in the U.S. Senate press gallery. With her steadfast ambition, she became the editor in chief of multiple popular publications and had gained a vastly important social circle. She earned the respect and friendship of figures such as president Herbert Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Nobel Prize Winner Marie Curie. Written in her hand, the note reads in full, "The royalties of this book were given to Madame Marie Curie on her sixty-seventh birthday, with the approval of the anonymous author." Upon her first interview with Curie, she noticed the imbalances of her lab conditions compared to other leading men in science. This was due to French Parliament appropriating radium and selling it for $100,000 per gram to doctors to the point that Curie couldn't afford her own discovery. Coming from a long line of activism, with her mother founding a school for freed slaves, she felt the need to set up a trust fund for Curie's lab. With the denial of multiple male investors, she used her journalistic influence to call thousands of American women to go door to door in which they raised $156,413. Having begun this campaign in the early 1920's, this note, dated 1929, showcases the long term dedication Meloney had to the works of Curie before her passing in 1934.
The note is inserted into a 1938 biography of Marie Curie written by Eve Curie. The book mentioned by Meloney is unknown. Letter was at some point framed and pasted to board and tore upon removal. There is no loss to paper, though the text has been affected. Overall fair condition. (Inventory #: 18544)
The note is inserted into a 1938 biography of Marie Curie written by Eve Curie. The book mentioned by Meloney is unknown. Letter was at some point framed and pasted to board and tore upon removal. There is no loss to paper, though the text has been affected. Overall fair condition. (Inventory #: 18544)