REAR ADMIRAL RICHARD E. BYRD - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/02/1927 - HFSID 27267

RICHARD E. BYRD. TLS: "RE Byrd", 1p, 8½x10¾. Cohasset, Mass., 1927 September 2. On letterhead of Byrd Arctic Expedition to Mr. Alfred C. Lane, Tufts College, Boston, Mass. In full: "I want to thank you very much for your invitation to address the students of Tufts College some time during October. It would be an inspiration to me I assure you, and regret that it will be impossible for me to be with you at that time. I am completely booked up for some time to come and will have to put this off until after Christmas. If you desire me to come after that time, I think I could arrange to do so. Regretting that I cannot accept your invitation at this time, I am, Sincerely yours". Lightly creased with folds, horizontal fold underlines signature. ¼- to ½-inch tears at blank right edge and lower margin, nicked at lower left edge. Shaded at blank right edge, paper clip impression at upper left blank margin. Overall, fine condition. Accompanied by carbon copy, unsigned, of Lane's reply to Byrd, unsigned, ½p, 8x10½. No place, 1927 September 8. In full: "We should be very glad to have you come after Christmas. Could you make it in January? If not, I can arrange some other time, but as I want to call off the college classes it will require some previous notice and adjustments to the calendar. Therefore, it might be well to meet either at the University Club or the City Club sometime when you are in town to settle a definite date; but if you can give certain dates I will try to pick one." Lightly creased. Lightly soiled at upper blank margin, which has paper clip impression and stain at left corner. "COPY." Imprinted in red through text. Overall, fine condition. Polar explorer Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957) signed this letter the year he led the team that made the third transatlantic flight after Charles Lindbergh's historic flight and 13 months before he embarked on the first (1928-1930) of his four expeditions to Antarctica. During that expedition, Byrd would establish the "Little America" base and became the first man to fly over both the North and South Poles. Subsequent expeditions in the 1930s were made in 1933-1935 and 1939-1941. In 1926, Byrd and Floyd Bennett had been the first to fly over the North Pole. Two items.