REAR ADMIRAL RICHARD E. BYRD - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 04/03/1927 - HFSID 33561

RICHARD BYRD
He apologizes for not seeing a friend, saying he was preoccupied with an aeroplane being built in New Jersey, presumably for his Antartica trip that would happen two years later
Typed letter signed: "Richard Evelyn Byrd", in black ink, 1 page, 8½x11. April 3, 1927. New York City, New York. In full: "My dear James B., I am awfully sorry that I did not see you when I was in New York, but I spent most of my time in New Jersey at the plant where the aeroplane is being built. I will get together with you when I come to New York around the sixth or seventh. I will be in New York a great deal of the time for the next two months, and we will have plenty chance to visit. Have you any objections to my lecturing to the Geographical Society of Chicago, and the Rotary Club in Springfield? I would like very much to lecture to them. Very sincerely yours". On May 9, 1926, Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888-1957) and Floyd Bennett became the first to fly over the North Pole. Both were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Scholars have raised questions about whether or not Byrd actually reached the North Pole but all have agreed Byrd thought he had reached the North Pole. In 1929, Byrd established the "Little America" Antarctica base and flew (indisputably) over the South Pole. He was promoted to Rear Admiral upon his return in 1930. On his Antarctic expeditions in the 1930s, Byrd discovered Marie Byrd Land and the Edsel Ford Mountains. Still exploring in his late 60s, he commanded the Operation High Jump (1946-1947) and Operation Deep Freeze (1955-1956) operations. JAMES B. POND ("Bim"), who had become the nation's premier lecture agent, had established his agency in New York in 1879. In addition to Byrd, his notable clients included Mark Twain, P.T. Barnum, Thomas Nast, James Whitcomb Riley, Henry Stanley and Booker T. Washington. Normal mailing folds. Left edge worn. Corners worn. Holes on top left margin. Otherwise, fine condition.