Zane Grey love letters to wife reveal jealousy, devotion

• Zane Grey's letters to his wife hint at the highs and lows of the Western writer's life.
• Other items: the first "Playboy" featuring Marilyn Monroe and "Ocean's 11" Rat Pack signed poster
• 'Treasure Detectives' Curtis Dowling discusses how to know if something is a fake or fabulous find

If it's true that behind every successful man is a woman, for prolific Western author Zane Grey, that woman was Dolly.

Born Lina Roth, but known as Dolly, the woman who became Grey's wife was a force behind the famous author's work, often editing his books and negotiating with publishers and movie executives. She also helped conceal his many affairs, as a scandal could have ruined the author, whose more than 60 books were marketed for ages 8 to 80.

Before this power couple came to an agreement, however, they came to better understand each other through courtship letters. Eleven letters that Grey wrote to Dolly starting in 1903, including original envelopes and postmarks, are up for auction April 30 at J. Levine Auction & Appraisal. The letters are valued at between $4,000 and $8,000.

Grey addresses Dolly in the letters with a variety of pet names, writing, "Dear Fussy," "My Dear Slave" and "My Dear Old Poker Friend." He signs the letters as "Pearl," which is his first name.

Although Grey was known to have traveled the world with young women and had numerous affairs, in one of the courtship letters he balks at Dolly's desire to go solo to a dance.

"No, you can't go to the dance. I refuse to allow my sweetheart to be hugged by a lot of men ... To be brief, I am a little disgusted."

The pre-marriage letters hint at the well-known highs and lows of Grey's life that included stretches of isolation and depression. "I have not written," he writes in a May 1905 letter, "because I have been tired out, blue and did not feel like writing."

In a 1903 letter, Grey recognizes Dolly's importance: "I do put great store in your understanding of me, and your influence over me. Not easy to find a girl to love you. But no one on Earth will find another who can ... make something out of me."

The couple married in 1905 and stayed married for 34 years before Grey's death in 1939.

Grey memorialized the Arizona landscape in many of his more than 60 novels. Of the 24 books set in Arizona, 13 take place in Mogollon Rim country, where Zane had a cabin and lived in the 1920s. A Payson replica of Grey's original cabin that was destroyed by the 1990 Dude Fire serves as a memorial to the writer.

The letters come from 60-year-old Phoenix resident Jay Steward. He found them in a storage shed in a dresser drawer at his brother's North Phoenix home. Thankfully, the letters were protected by plastic covers as potting soil had spilled over the dresser. His brother, Leonard Steward moved to the Valley from New York City in the early '80s but had little contact with his brother in the last couple of years before he died in 2009, Steward said.

The family was sorting through his deceased brother's belongings when Steward's daughter spotted a 4-cent stamp, which she knew would be of interest to her parents, who sell antiques and collectibles online.

They didn't know who the letters were written by until a Google search that evening revealed that "Pearl" was Zane Grey's first name, that everyone called his wife Dolly and that the letterhead of one letter from "Delaware House" was a boarding house where Grey had lived.

How Steward's brother came into possession of the 11 letters is a mystery. Steward describes his brother as a beatnik, cab driver and avid amateur astronomer.

"How he came to acquire them, we really don't know," he said.

Grey wrote hundreds of letters to Dolly when they were married, as he traveled a lot. A portrait of their marriage emerged from those letters, many captured in "Dolly and Zane Grey: Letters From a Marriage." The editor of the 1984 book, Candace C. Kant, called the Greys' marriage "unusual" by today's standards.

Kant said her husband's affairs initially disturbed Dolly, but over time — and with the growing success of his writing career — she accepted and concealed the affairs.

"She not only knew of his dalliances, but she helped to hide them," Kant said, adding that a scandal may have caused book sales to plummet. "As time went on, she would give him advice about how to deal with the young ladies who were all competing for him. But even from all that, there was still love there. He felt it for her, and she felt it for him."

As part of its spring-catalog auction on April 30, J. Levine is also selling an "Ocean's 11" poster signed by the Rat Pack, the first Playboy featuring Marilyn Monroe, and an original pencil drawing by Pablo Picasso.

The auction house previews the items April 29. The public is invited to attend from 6 to 9 p.m., when Curtis Dowling of CNBC's "Treasure Detectives" will present tips on spotting fakes.

Auction of Zane Grey letters, a Warhol, a Picasso, Rat Pack signed poster, Monroe Playboy

Zane Grey letters to future wife

Estimated value: $4,000-$8,000.

Eleven courtship letters written by famed author Zane Grey with original envelopes.

Andy Warhol, "Flowers," 1964

Estimated value: $10,000-$20,000.

Offset lithograph that is signed and dated in ink at the lower right.

Marilyn Monroe Playboy with centerfold

Estimated value: $2,000-$3,000.

A framed, behind-glass original December 1953 Playboy featuring Marilyn Monroe's appearance in the magazine as its first centerfold.

Pablo Picasso original pencil drawing

Estimated value: $10,000-$20,000.

An original hand-drawn pencil sketch on paper that is signed and dated September 26, 1965.

Cast-autographed "Ocean's 11" movie poster

Estimated value: $10,000-$15,000.

A matted and framed movie poster from "Ocean's 11," circa 1960, that is autographed by cast members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Angie Dickinson, Red Skelton, Cesar Romero and more.

Antique Tibetan Tantric kapala, or skull

Estimated value: $2,000-$4,000.

This nearly 400-year-old skull is real and embellished with silver accents forming the nose, mouth, eyes and ears. Such decorated skulls served as ceremonial objects for sacrifices in Tantric Buddhism.

Spring Catalog Auction

What: The public is invited to meet Curtis Dowling, star of CNBC's "Treasure Detectives," at a Scottsdale auction preview of items that include works by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Zane Grey letters to his future wife and an antique Tibetan Tantric Kapala skull.

When: The auction's free public preview is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29. Dowling will speak from 6 to 9 p.m. during the preview. The auction begins at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 30.

Where: J. Levine Auction & Appraisal, 10345 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.

Admission: No charge for review and auction.

Details:www.jlevines.com.