Description:

Joaquin Miller
[The Heights, Oakland, CA], April 23, [1893]
Joaquin Miller ALS Answering Philosophical Question on "Arbor Day Cross Stationery"
ALS

A 1p autograph letter signed by Cincinnatus Miller (1837-1919), better known by his pen name Joaquin Miller, as "Joaquin Miller" at the bottom. April 23, [1893]. [The Heights, Oakland, California.] Inscribed on pale yellow laid stationery with partly printed "The Arbor Day Cross" letterhead whose pictorial vignette at right depicts Miller on horseback surveying his property and homestead at Oakland, California. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and scattered minor closed edge tears. A former collector's pencil inscriptions recto and verso, with isolated foxing, and mounting traces verso. Else very good to near fine. 8.5" x 11." Provenance: Ex-Doris Harris, 1967.

Miller's handwriting in this state of casualness is especially difficult to read, but the content appears to answer (or rather chose not answer) the rhetorical question of whether it is better to be rich or happy. Miller writes to a correspondent named "B" in part: "My dear B. Has to be happy… with the noble relics that money is happiness. So I have not answered your question. Yours Joaquin Miller."

Examples of Joaquin Miller autograph letters signed on "Arbor Day Cross" stationery are more common in institutions than in private hands. Similar letters can be found in the collections of the Yale University Library, the Claremont Colleges Library, and the Lehigh University Library.

Joaquin Miller was a Western adventurer, traveler, poet, raconteur, and internationally recognized literary celebrity. From 1886 until his death in 1913, Miller lived on a sizable property known as "The Heights" in the hills of Oakland, California in a modest, single-story residence called "The Abbey." The site is now a nationally recognized historic landmark known as Joaquin Miller Park, where visitors can visit Miller's homestead. Some of the saplings which Miller originally planted at "The Heights" still exist today, though they are routinely threatened by wildfires.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"
  • Medium: ALS

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