Maxim Gorky (Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, 1868-1936)
His views on graphology. 1924
Autograph letter signed ('A. Peshkov') to [Dmitry] Zuev-Insarov, Sorrento, 8 November 1924.

In Russia. One page, 215 x 220 mm, on squared paper. [With] a portrait postcard of Gorky.

Gorky's views on graphology. 'About the significance of graphology as a science, I have no opinion, for I know neither the laws nor the methods of this science. And come to think of it – are there any laws or methods? / But I cannot doubt the presence in some individuals of a remarkable ability to identify a moral fibre of people based on their handwriting, unknown people whom they had never seen before. / There is an artist living with me by the name of Ivan Nikolayevich Rakitsky, whose ability to do just this is developed to an incredible degree. I have nothing against the publication of your feature article with the analysis of my handwriting'.

I.N. Rakitsky (1892-1942) lived in Gorky's household from 1918 onwards. Dmitry Mitrofanovich Zuev-Insarov was one of the most prominent proponents of graphology in Russia at this time – although with the onset of Stalinism he was to struggle against the official view that it was an unscientific, reactionary, bourgeois pursuit.

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