ANNIE "LITTLE SURE SHOT" OAKLEY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 10/10/1923 - HFSID 288295
Price: $6,500.00
ANNIE OAKLEY
Recovering slowly from an auto accident late in her life, she writes
a 4-page letter to a female journalist, enthusiastically describing her move to
North Carolina.
Autograph Letter signed: "Annie Oakley Butler", 4 pages
(integral leaf), 5½x6¾. Greensboro, North Carolina, October 10
(Pencil note in unknown hand dates it 1923.) Oakley has struck through the
original letterhead of the O'Henry and written her new address in Greensboro.To "Dear Miss Tildesley", in full: "I was pleased to see
the sweet letter. We left Cambridge just two weeks ago. And stopped off in
Balto. to see Dr. Baer. He said there was an improvement in my foot though it
had been very slow. But for me to fight on and he was sure I would win out in
time. So we both feel incouraged. I can walk much better than when you seen me.
We have just left the Hotel and taken A suite here. We have A pretty living
room, furnished in wicker with pretty colors. A wicker table with plate glass
top so we can make coffee. Tea. Toast. and even boil eggs if we like. A french
door opens on A private varanda with pretty flowers. It faces the East. Our
sleeping room faces the East and has a fine large window on the South. So we
will get the sun about all day. 2 nice hot water radiators. And a fire place
with gass logs. Furnished in fine old real mahogany but all finely polished. And
everything in great taste. We have to share our bath with the Lady that owns the
house. But the many other advantages more than make up for the loss of A
strictly private bath. We will take our time in looking up A Suitable place to
build in the early spring. This is A fine up to date City. The best kept I have
ever seen. So if I live and you ever come south just stop off for a little
visit. The latch string will be out. Our address for the winter will be here at
357 North Elm Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. And will you kindly send 3 or
4 clippings of your articles to me. I enclose stamps for same. Remember us both
to your Family. With every good wish. I am sincerely". Annie Oakley
(1860-1926), born Phoebe Anne Oakley Moses to a Quaker family in Ohio, began to
shoot rabbits and quail at age nine. Within five years, she was a breadwinner
for her family as a markswoman, and, at age 15, she saved her family's farm
with income she had earned from shooting game. On August 23, 1876, at age
16, Annie married Frank Butler, a vaudeville performer who became her partner.
Annie's self-effacing personality (on and off stage) made her a popular
performer. In 1885, the Butlers joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show,
where Annie was a star for 17 years. The five-foot-tall Oakley got her name,
"Little Sure Shot", from Sitting Bull and used it in her promotional
materials. In 1901, she and her husband decided to retire from public life.
However, shooting was in her blood, and the Butlers continued to make
appearances around the country. Age did not appear to diminish her skills, but
Oakley was seriously injured in an automobile accident in 1921. With the
persistence expressed in this letter, she was performing again by 1924, but she
died on November 3, 1926, just 18 days before her husband. Oakley and Butler
built a home in Cambridge, Maryland in 1913, chosen for the abundant game
nearby, They vacationed in the south, however, and re-located one final time,
to North Carolina (settling in Pinehurst, not Greensboro.) The recipient
of the letter was probably Alice Tildesley, who wrote on celebrities for the
Saturday Evening Post and other publications. She also published a one-act
play, The Cast Rehearses, in 1921. Lightly toned. Edges lightly frayed.
Notch at bottom right corner of page 3. Multiple mailing folds. Otherwise, fine
condition.
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