ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/12/1915 - HFSID 13111
Sale Price $625.00
Reg. $750.00
ROBERT PEARY
Robert Peary sends an autograph letter acknowledges receiving a
letter and saying that he will look into the question informally.
Autograph Letter Signed: "Peary", 2p, 5x7¾, conjoined leaves.
Washington, D.C., 1915 February 12. On stationery of "The Army and Navy
Club" to "Dear Mr. Woodhouse". In full: "I have your letter of
the 9th with its most interesting information & enclosures. Gen. Scriven
spoke to me of the Belgian map, at the Club the other day. Send me your list
when convenient & I will take the matter up informally to begin with. I
enclose correspondence which is self explanatory. Best regards, Sincerely".
Correspondence not present. Ink slightly spread at the "P". Lightly creased with
folds, not at signature. Stray ink mark touches two words of writing. Lightly
soiled at blank areas, circular impression at upper left blank margin. Overall,
fine condition. Accompanied by a copy the correspondent's typed letter,
unsigned, 3p, 8½x11. No place, 1915 February 9. To Rear Admiral Robert
E. Peary at the Army & Navy Club. In part: "Under separate
cover I am sending you a Secret Military Aeronautical Map of localities in
Belgium, made by the British military authorities - sent to us by Brigadier
General G.P. Scriven, Chief Signal Officer, U.S.A. It is awfully nice of
General Scriven to take such interest in our plans - and that shows the value of
beginning by asking the military authorities to tell us where they would like
landing stations established for military purposes in every part of the
country. This will not only secure their cooperation but it will give the
project a special value. One of the results of our conversation was, if I
remember right, that I would send you the list of the people who were asked
to cooperate in developing this project, and had replied expressing their
will to cooperate - and you were going to write to them asking whether they
would like to assign a representative of their respective departments to
participate in working out the preliminary plan...." The letter goes on
to tell of plans for the Lincoln Highway and the Aero Club. Several corrections
(unknown hand) in red ink. Ink note (unknown hand) at upper margin of first
page: "Make list of Department heads who have promised cooperation for our
plans". Lightly creased with folds. Separations at mid-horizontal folds at blank
margins, ½-inch tear at lower right edge of second page. Chipped at lower
margins of both pages. Overall, fragile condition. The year after this
letter, Peary founded and became chairman of the National Aerial Coast Guard
Patrol Commission, which established air units to protect America's coasts
during WWI. The organization had established four bases on the East Coast
by the latter half of WWI. Robert Edwin Peary (1856-1920) became a Civil
Engineer in the U.S. Navy in 1881, and in that capacity explored Greenland in
1886 on the first of his seven polar expeditions. On July 17, 1908, after
three unsuccessful attempts to reach the North Pole, he set out on another polar
expedition. On April 6, 1909, he and a small party, including his assistant,
Matthew Henson, and four Inuit, became the first to reach the North Pole.
Although another American, Frederick A. Cook, had claimed to have reached the
Pole five days later, Cook's claim was later refuted. In 1911, the year he
retired from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral, Congress officially
recognized Peary's achievement. Two items.
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