Bookseller Denies Foundation of Suit

Milton M. Starr, proprietor of the Starr Book Store on Plympton Street, said yesterday that the suit flied by a Harvard sophomore for "breach of contract" is totally unfounded.

Richard L. Alfred '74--who filed suit last month for $400--claims that a salesman refused to sell him Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf when Alfred discovered three letters in the back of the book written by the authoress in 1927.

Starr said yesterday that the letters are his property and that he will fight the case on February 10 when it is scheduled to be heard in the Third District Court of Eastern Middlesex.

No Profit

Alfred said Sunday his only concern is that nobody profit financially from the sale of the letters, and suggested that Starr give them to a non-profit organization such as a library. Starr said that he is the owner of the letters and rejected Alfred's proposal.

Starr said that the salesman found the letters before the sale of the book took place. He pointed out that regardless of who found the letters, he is the owner of both the letters and the book since Alfred did not buy either.

Alfred contends that he made an "unwritten contract" with the store for the purchase of the book as he found it on the shelf at its marked price of $7.50.

Alfred estimated the value of the letters to be between $200 and $600. Starr declined comment on their monetary value.