Description:

Roosevelt Theodore 1858 - 1919 John Burroughs pens ALS on White House stationery



ALS on bifold cream and gray speckled White House stationery, with silver embossed "The White House Washington" letterhead. Inscribed with black fountain pen and signed "Very Truly Yours, John Burroughs" at center of third page. The 5.375" x 6.875" May 11 th letter is addressed to "Edward M. Cole, Esq, 763 Brunel St, Newark, NJ" on matching White House envelope with canceled 2 cent George Washington stamp postmarked from Washington, DC. Letter is in fine to extra fine condition overall, with expected fold marks along center and at corners. Paper loss to upper right corner of third page has been stabilized with tape recto and professionally restored with added paper verso. Envelope shows foxing and staple holes at left.

Burroughs writes: "May 11, Dear Sir, Your letter of May 4 th came while I was down in Virginia with President Roosevelt. I regret that I shall not be able to attend the dinner of your Alumni on the 14 th to which you have so kindly invited me. I shall make an effort to attend the dedicatory ceremonies of the new buildings in the morning, but may fail to do that. With sincere thanks ... "

John Burroughs (1837-1921), along with contemporary John Muir (1838-1914), are widely considered to be the two pillars of the modern American environmentalist movement. Burroughs grew up in the New York Catskills, where he imbibed much of his love for nature. While he made a living as a federal bank examiner, his real passion was his writing. He regularly submitted essays to periodicals like the Atlantic Monthly that reveled in nature as a subject. Teddy Roosevelt befriended the quiet nature lover in the late 1880s, and Burroughs chronicled his outdoor adventures with the future U.S. President in his 1906 work "Camping and tramping with Roosevelt". When Burroughs criticized popular animal and nature writers of the day, calling their voguish and inaccurate writings the "yellow journalism of the woods", his longtime friend defended him in the "nature fakers" debate. Just one month prior to writing this letter, Burroughs published "The Divine Soil" in the Atlantic Monthly, in which he explores the import of modern scientific discoveries advanced by Darwin and others.

Little can be found regarding Burroughs's correspondent Edward M. Cole, but we can assume that the two shared similar interests, perhaps naturalism and preservation. Nor are we able to glean any additional information from Burroughs's passing reference to a building dedication ceremony taking place presumably in Washington, DC the next day. We can speculate, though, that Burroughs served as a sounding board to Teddy Roosevelt. Just two days after Burroughs wrote this letter, Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech entitled "Conservation as a National Duty" at a White House conference.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000