H. WILFRED "BUNNY" AUSTIN - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 04/17/1937 - HFSID 167287

H. WILFRED "BUNNY" AUSTIN
Tennis player H. Wilfred Austin wrote this letter to thank the recipient for a photograph in 1937. Accompanied by original mailing envelope.
Autograph letter signed "H.W. Austin". 1 page, 5½x7. April 17, 1937. In full: "Dear Mr. Gee Thank you so much for the photograph. I will value it a lot. Yours sincerely". Lightly stained and creased. Folded in half and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Original unsigned mailing envelope, addressed in Austin's hand. 5½x3¼. Postmarked Hampstead, London, England, April 17, 1937. Addressed to F. R. Gee, Esq., Wembley Park, Middlesex. One 1½p brown-and-white King George VI stamp affixed. Lightly soiled and creased. Adhesive residue on front (does not touch signature). Neatly cut open at top edge. Normal postal stamps. Otherwise in fine condition. In 1937, Austin lost the singles championship at the French Open to Nazi Germany's Henner Henkel. British tennis player Austin (1906-2000), born Henry Wilfred Austin, was one of the highest ranked tennis players in the world in the 1930s, with a total of seven Grand Slam championships to his credit, including the singles at Wimbledon (1932 and 1938), the U. S. Open (1928 and 1929) and the French Open (1937) and the mixed doubles at Wimbledon (1934) and the French Open (1931). He was also an important member of the dominant British team that claimed four consecutive Davis Cups between 1933 and 1936. But his greatest impact today, oddly enough, is in tennis fashion, not tennis play. In 1932, Austin became the first person to appear at Wimbledon in shorts instead of traditional white flannel trousers. That was also the year he lost the singles championship to Ellsworth Vines at Wimbledon.