Signed
Typed Letter Signed to Literary Executor Paul Williams - 11/11/1972
Original letter typed on two leaves of plain white stock measuring 8.5" x 11", signed "Phil" in black ballpoint pen, approximately 1,150 words. Dated November 11, 1972, and reprinted in The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick 1972-1973, pp. 90-92.
Written to Paul Williams, the letter chronicles a break-in at Dick's home in November 1971 that he described as one of the defining events of his life. According to Dick, his safe had been blown open with military explosives and personal papers, stereo equipment, business records, and correspondence had been taken. "I came home and found my files blown up with plastic military explosives, windows smashed in, doorlocks smashed, everything of value gone... I never really was able to live there afterward because of the loss and damage." Whether the break-in occurred as described has never been verified. Dick's account evolved considerably over time. The same event is described in very similar terms in Chapter 9 of Radio Free Albemuth.
The letter moves through a list of suspected culprits, including the FBI, the Birchers, and the Black Panthers, before settling on a paramilitary neo-Nazi group as responsible. Dick claims he was threatened, blackmailed, and nearly drawn into a murder conspiracy. His home on Hacienda Way in San Rafael had by this period become, in Anthony Peake's description, an open house for a chaotic mix of visitors; Peake notes that Dick had begun sourcing amphetamines from Hell's Angels connections, and that his safe reportedly contained heroin supplied through William S. Burroughs's dealer.
Paul Williams (1948-2013), to whom the letter is addressed, was one of Dick's closest friends and became his literary executor. Williams met Dick in 1968, published a profile in Rolling Stone in 1975 that covered the break-in among other subjects, and later published Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick (1986), one of the first book-length studies of the author. He was instrumental in bringing many of Dick's posthumous works into print. Dick's affection for Williams is evident throughout the letter.
8.5" x 11" sheets. Fullerton, CA: 1972. #10893.
Very good in a fine custom slipcase and chemise. The letter shows signs of handling, folds have been smoothed out, with scattered holograph notations (in pen and pencil) on verso of second page.
Written to Paul Williams, the letter chronicles a break-in at Dick's home in November 1971 that he described as one of the defining events of his life. According to Dick, his safe had been blown open with military explosives and personal papers, stereo equipment, business records, and correspondence had been taken. "I came home and found my files blown up with plastic military explosives, windows smashed in, doorlocks smashed, everything of value gone... I never really was able to live there afterward because of the loss and damage." Whether the break-in occurred as described has never been verified. Dick's account evolved considerably over time. The same event is described in very similar terms in Chapter 9 of Radio Free Albemuth.
The letter moves through a list of suspected culprits, including the FBI, the Birchers, and the Black Panthers, before settling on a paramilitary neo-Nazi group as responsible. Dick claims he was threatened, blackmailed, and nearly drawn into a murder conspiracy. His home on Hacienda Way in San Rafael had by this period become, in Anthony Peake's description, an open house for a chaotic mix of visitors; Peake notes that Dick had begun sourcing amphetamines from Hell's Angels connections, and that his safe reportedly contained heroin supplied through William S. Burroughs's dealer.
Paul Williams (1948-2013), to whom the letter is addressed, was one of Dick's closest friends and became his literary executor. Williams met Dick in 1968, published a profile in Rolling Stone in 1975 that covered the break-in among other subjects, and later published Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick (1986), one of the first book-length studies of the author. He was instrumental in bringing many of Dick's posthumous works into print. Dick's affection for Williams is evident throughout the letter.
8.5" x 11" sheets. Fullerton, CA: 1972. #10893.
Very good in a fine custom slipcase and chemise. The letter shows signs of handling, folds have been smoothed out, with scattered holograph notations (in pen and pencil) on verso of second page.
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