MARIAN ANDERSON
The first Black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House thanks the press in her native Philadelphia.
Typed Letter Signed: "Marian Anderson", 1p, 8¼x10½. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1941 March 24. On her personal stationery to "The Evening Public Ledger", Philadelphia. In full: "I wish to take this occasion to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for your kind words of comment in the columns of your newspaper and especially your Editorial Column of Wednesday March 19th. The esteem of the Great Press of my city is a source of great pride to me. I truly hope that I shall always merit that esteem." Contralto Marian Anderson, who was born and began her musical training in Philadelphia, wrote this letter less than two years after Eleanor Roosevelt had presented her with the Spingarn Medal (July 1939). Marian Anderson (1897-1993), a contralto who sang both operas and spirituals, began her concert career in 1924. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson, a Black American, to perform in Washington, D.C.'s Constitution Hall. In response, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the D.A.R. and arranged for a concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Anderson, who debuted with New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1955, became a permanent member of the company. In 2005, she was honored on a 37-cent postage stamp. Multiple mailing folds. Lightly toned. Corners creased. Otherwise, fine condition.