THORNTON W. BURGESS - AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED 11/15/1944 - HFSID 200591

THORNTON W. BURGESS
The American conservationist and children's story author signs this note from 1944
Autograph quotation signed: "Thornton W. Burgess" in black ink. 6x4½. November 15, 1944. In full: "Peter Rabbit says: 'With open mind go on your way/And add to knowledge every day' Peter's friend and yours". Thornton Waldo Burgess (1874-1965), was a conservationist and author of children's stories. Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories". He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man. His outdoor observations in nature were used as plots for his stories. In his first book, Old Mother West Wind, published in 1910, the reader meets many of the characters found in later books and stories. The characters in the Old Mother West Wind series include Peter Rabbit (briefly known as Peter Cottontail), Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Bobby Raccoon, Little Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, Billy Mink, Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle, Old Mother West Wind and her Merry Little Breezes. Peter Rabbit was created by British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, prompting Burgess to note, "I like to think that Miss Potter gave Peter a name known the world over, while I with Mr. Cady's help perhaps made him a character." By the time he retired, he had written over 170 books and 15,000 stories for the daily newspaper column. Toned. Corners rounded. Light crease down the center. Otherwise, fine condition.