ROBERT BADEN-POWELL - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 11/12/1913 - HFSID 53462

ROBERT BADEN-POWELL


The English Lieutenant-General who is credited as the founder of the Boy Scout Association pens a letter in which he asks for some costs information in benefit of the Boy Scouts, signed in black ink


 Autograph Letter Signed: "Robert Baden Powell" in black ink. Two pages. 5x7 front and verso. Place:Sussex. Date: November 12, 1913. To Mr. Tuck. In full: "I am anxious to put up a railing round the Scout's plot of ground similar to that which you have round the Parish Hall. Could you kindly give me any information as to cost & where to get the material - (i.e. slats of chestnut wood). I should be very grateful." Ink lightly smudged at signature. Slightly creased. Light show through of ink, light show through of imprinted return address at upper margin of verso. Fine condition. Accompanied by original envelope, 5¼x4. Addressed by Powell to: "The/Revd. A. Tuck/The Rectory/Ewhurst". No postal markings, indicating that it was hand delivered. Slightly creased and soiled, else fine condition. Written less than two weeks after the birth of Baden-Powell's first son, Arthur Robert Peter (born on October 30, 1913), with Olave Soames, whom he had married in 1912. Earlier in 1913, he and Olave had visited a number of countries, including Algeria, Malta and Italy. Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941) is best known for founding the Boy Scouts. In 1908, he inaugurated the organization and published Scouting for Boys, based on his army manual, Aids to Scouting (1899). Baden-Powell, an expert scout and hero of the Boer War, would be proclaimed Chief Scout of the World at the first Boy Scout Jamboree in 1920. In 1929, he became 1st Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell. Original envelope affixed. Lightly toned. Otherwise, fine condition.