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Lot 396
Oakley, Annie (1860-1926) American sharpshooter. Proficient with firearms from an early age, when Annie was 15 she beat vaudeville marksman Frank Butler in a shooting match. Oakley and Butler married and performed in vaudeville together until 1885, when they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. One of the Show's star attractions, Annie toured the world with Buffalo Bill for 16 years, performing before most of the crowned heads of Europe. Known for her extraordinary talents, Oakley was also a great humanitarian and worked to improve the lives of women and children.
Autograph Letter Signed ("Missie"). Three pages on two quarto sheets, one with uneven edges, Cambridge, Maryland, October 8, n.y. On Mayview Manor stationery and the back of a Mayview Manor brochure, the Mayview address has been crossed out and replaced with "Cambridge, Md / Oct 8th." To niece Fern Swarthout. Mailing folds. First page shows some foxing and a ½" tear at top. Second page shows wrinkling and minor creasing at top and left side. In very good condition.
Annie Oakley and Frank Butler owned a home in Cambridge, Maryland from 1912-1917, in one of their futile attempts to retire and settle down. Annie's dislike for the responsibilities of housekeeping and homeownership and the call of the road kept the couple on the move for a good portion of their time in Cambridge, often traveling with Annie's niece Fran Campbell Swarthout (our addressee). This very warm, personal letter (informal spellings and all) finds Frank and Annie in the midst of moving in turmoil: "…Franks been to blind & up set to tare open boxs for matresses & all would have to go in smaller box if I took them out. The beds are all black & scratched up. Don't think you would care for them. They are high at head & foot & not so great for small rooms…Our stuff is all folling to pieces here. I suggested that we divide among the Family when we left our house there. But Frank wanted to keep it so we did and we have paid sent enough for storage to by new. And ours is all spoiled…I can't go through the crated stuff to pick out…So I am just sending the entire lot out to Bonnie. She can break it open and set out to get air……I only hope my linens are not ruined." "Bonnie" is another of Annie's nieces -- Bonnie Ann Blakely, who lived just miles from Annie's Ohio childhood home.
Other matters do come to mind for Annie: "…I must get up to Dr. Baer in Balto. I am swelled all over. But I must keep up til my book is finished. Don't send the dress til I know where you can catch me…" and of particular interest to the Oakley fans, she does mention shooting, "…then in the Spring we want to go to Dayton & look around near the shooting ground where all the good American handicaps will be shot here after." A wonderfully candid letter that provides a window into the personal and professional life of one of America's icons. A fabulous collector's piece given that Oakley signs her letter as "Missie", a nickname reserved for close friends and family members.
Estimated Value $6,000-UP.
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