Description:

Hearst William 1863 - 1951 William Randolph Hearst 2 ALSs begging son to stop drinking.

Six page signed letter, 5" x 7.5" on gold paper with the number 800 along upper edge. Written in graphite on rectos with versos blank. Written to his son, John, and signed by William Randolph Hearst as "Affectionately Pop" on final page. Undated. Small piece of clear tape at top right of the pages. Light folds, creasing and smudging. Accompanied by an additional two page signed letter, 5" x 7.5" on gold paper with the number 1000 along upper edge. Written in graphite on rectos with versos blank. Signed by William Randolph Hearst as "WR Hearst". Undated. Small piece of clear tape at top right of 1st page and on verso of 2nd page, light folds, creasing and smudging. Written to his private secretary, Joseph Willicombe who was nicknamed "The Colonel" in recognition of his WWI distinguished military service.

The first letter is an incredibly philosophical yet fatherly letter, written by WR Hearst to one of his sons, John, who appeared to be floundering about in his life. Hearst shows affectionate concern over his son's work ethic and drinking and loses no time in saying he doesn't want him to leave but John should get back to work. The letter shows fatherly distress about his son's conduct and concern for his future. A revealing look at the inside of this man and his family. Shown in part below and was likely written in the early 1930s:

"You must get in the habit of working and finding your pleasure in accomplishing something worth while ... You do not want to get in George's class and be an idler and a pensioner. I worry a good deal about your being something of his temperament. You are not fond of bad company thank God but are awfully easy going and John you drink too much. That is a most dangerous failing. You promised me that you would not drink but I am afraid you still do that with both system and effect. I am very much disturbed about these things - very deeply disturbed. Drinking demoralizes a man completely and eventually makes him useless and worthless" Hearst relates how he watched his eldest son George "deteriorate from year to year and it was heartbreaking" and notes to John that he has brains but "not enough backbone and what good are brains if you do not use them... It is not the man who gets along best but the man who makes the most of what he has ... Stop drinking and go seriously to work ... Years and experience account for something. I am giving you good fatherly advice for Heavens sake son pay attention to it / Affectionately Pop".

With the second letter also a fantastic draft ALS, written likely 1933 or later, to Hearst's secretary, Joseph Willicombe. Hearst explicitly orders Willicombe to deal with an automobile problem at his Wyntoon estate: "Col. Willicombe- Please order that no [triple underscored!] cars are to be parked in the village green enclosure except one temporarily [triple underscored] in front of your office and two also temporarily [underscored] at the river house. All cars otherwise are to be parked at the chalet and a telephone is to be put there to summon the chauffeurs required. It might be well to have delivery cars, trucks, etc etc parked at the mill [sic] there need be no telephone there. Any car using the grass plot is to be barred from the place, - entirely. WRHearst."

American newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, son of self-made millionaire George Hearst, became owner of "The San Francisco Examiner" as payment of a gambling debt. In 1887, he became its publisher, crusading for civic improvement and against municipal corruption, greatly increasing the paper's circulation. Moving to New York City, he acquired "The New York Journal" and engaged in a circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer's "New York World". That led to the creation of "yellow journalism", scandal-mongering, jingoism, and sensationalism. By the mid-1920s he had 28 newspapers, including the "Los Angeles Examiner", "The Boston American", "The Detroit Times", "The Washington Herald", and his flagship, "The San Francisco Examiner". He wielded enormous influence, whipping up public frenzy that pushed the U.S. into war with Spain in 1898.

In 1924 he opened "The New York Daily Mirror", a racy tabloid. Among his other holdings were: "Cosmopolitan" and "Harper's Bazaar" magazines; "Universal News" and "International News Service"; "King Features Syndicate"; a film company, Cosmopolitan Productions; extensive NYC real estate; thousands of acres of land in California and Mexico; and timber and mining interests. The Hearst news empire reached a circulation and revenue peak ca. 1928, but the Depression and vast over-extension of his empire cost him control of his holdings. Unable to service existing debts, the Hearst Corporation faced court-mandated reorganization in 1937. Newspapers and other properties were liquidated, the film company shut down, and a well-publicized sale of his art and antiquities was held. While WWII restored circulation and advertising revenues, his great days were over. His story inspired Orson Welles' classic 1941 film, "Citizen Kane", and Hearst used all his resources and influence in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the film's release.

An incredibly revealing letter, however William Randolph had his own issues. His peak circulation reached 20 million readers a day in the mid-1930s, but he was a bad money manager and was so deeply in debt that most of his assets had to be liquidated in the late 1930s; however he managed to keep his newspapers and magazines. Perhaps he needed advice from his son ...

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