From Ted to Tom

On the envelopes of letters sent to a dear friend, the famed artist and writer Edward Gorey drew dozens of original illustrations--illustrations now collected in this volume along with marvelously playful selections from the correspondence, all never before seen by the public until now. From Ted to Tom will be published in the centenary year of Edward Gorey's birth. In 1974, Tom Fitzharris met Edward "Ted" Gorey after buying one of his drawings at Gotham Book Mart. They struck up a friendship, and, over the course of the next year, they corresponded regularly, with Gorey sending a total of fifty letters to Fitzharris. The front of every letter's envelope was illustrated by Gorey (along with the back, sometimes). Every envelope was filled with surprises: news and opinions from Gorey's life, hand-written historical quotes, sketches, ads cut out from newspapers, inside jokes, fake stamps (drawn and inked by Gorey, of course) and a host of other joyous miscellany. All of the envelopes and a selection of Gorey's correspondence are assembled here for the first time, filled with all the humor, imagination, gossip, and wonder that came with being pen pals with Edward Gorey.