At the bottom of an old trunk was a letter dated May 2, 1954, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the famous author of the Little House books.
You just never know what you might find in a forgotten trunk. A WorthPoint client recently bought an old trunk at an auction near Springfield, Mo. Probably consigned from the leftover estate of a deceased relative’s home, it was filled with random paperwork, yellowed documents, stamps and letters. Like so many similar accumulations, this one had outlived its owner (and its storage space). Although most of the ephemera was of no interest, at the bottom of the trunk was a letter dated May 2, 1954. It was written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the famous author of the Little House books.
“Dear Mr. George,” the short letter begins. “I am sorry my book and I caused you so much trouble and no apology was needed from you. It is mysterious how the “Flying Saucers” disappeared and reappeared. Just living up to its name I guess. I have the book now and thank you. Please give my kindest regards and good wishes to your brother, Ralph. I miss him a lot when I go to town. I always enjoyed meeting you and hope we may not altogether lose touch with each other. Sincerely, Laura Ingalls Wilder”
Curious, the client contacted WorthPoint’s “Ask a Worthologist” service to investigate.
The signature and handwriting were authenticated and the letter deemed to be genuine, written when Laura Ingalls Wilder was 87 years old and living in the nearby town of Mansfield, Mo. Laura became famous within her lifetime and she personally answered much of her fan mail. She also sometimes sat for book signings at libraries and bookstores in Springfield. And, if someone actually drove to her home—it happened quite regularly—and requested an autograph, she would comply. This happened especially after 1952, when her books were re-issued with new illustrations and became even more popular. She died in 1957 at age 90.
A copy of "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls wilder
Because of this activity, it seems her signature and inscriptions should be fairly prolific. However, it is very hard to find any examples that have sold on the market. In fact, there are indications that only a handful have sold at auction over the past 30 years. Perhaps this means that there is not a high demand for them, but perhaps they are not as plentiful as one would assume.
The content of the letter is fascinating and fun. Interest in UFOs was high in the early 1950s and several books were written about them. Laura obviously owned one. Wouldn’t it be great to learn more about the provenance of this letter? How did the book become lost? Who were Mr. George and his brother, Ralph? Did they pass down stories of their acquaintance with Laura to members of their family? Like flying saucers, the story of this saved letter—long forgotten and tucked inside a trunk for so many years—will probably always remain a mystery.
Liz Holderman is a Worthologist who specializes in collectible books.
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Hello! I hope this note finds the correct person.
As a LIW scholar and researcher, I can help in answering these kinds of questions, as I deal with this subject on a daily basis. I own and operate the INGALLS-WILDER-LANE HISTORIC ALLIANCE.
Where are these items that were found? Are they going to sell them? If so, I would like to buy them, so they can be placed for RESEARCH purposes for LIW and the LITTLE HOUSE researchers.
If these are not for sell, I would at least like a good scan of this letter, so that I may have a good copy of it.
Thanks!
Sincerely,
John A. Bass
IWL
Hello Mr. Bass -
Thank you so very much for your post. WorthPoint will gladly pass on your kind offer to the owner of the letter. Hopefully the owner will be interested in getting in touch with you!
Best Regards,
Liz Holderman
Ms. Holderman really didn’t give us any information here. Except for a cute story, she didn’t pass on the information on whose or which house the trunk was. In addition though mentioning that a few letter were sold at auction, she neglects to say for how much and only goes so far as to say this could be an indication of either A) non-interest or b) not so many signatures around after all. Which is it Liz or are all your appraisals as ambiguous as this one?
Hello Joyce –
Thanks for your very good comments! Actually, this story was not meant to represent an appraisal result, but merely to share an intriguing find with those who are interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder. Also, some of the information is proprietary to the client. However, we thought there might still be interest in the contents of the letter itself and the background of its discovery.
Best Wishes,
Liz
I now have my grandfather’s humpback trunk which is filled with letters and documents some of which are letters exchanged between him and my grandmother with dates in the 1890′s. tWhat should I do with these. Would anyone have an interest. They were not famous, just country folks from southwestern Virginia.
Thank you for this story. I found it interesting. Having been born in 1957 (the year of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s death) I want to say that all my elementary school girlfriends were incredible fans of the Little House books. We read the entire series and discussed it many times. That was in the 1960′s before there was a TV series.
I now have my grandfather’s humpback trunk which is filled with letters and documents some of which are letters exchanged between him and my grandmother with dates in the 1890′s. tWhat should I do with these. Would anyone have an interest. They were not famous, just country folks from southwestern Virginia.
Liz Holderman:
Yes! That would be great if the client, who bought the trunk could contact us, for we can help her. We are LAURA INGALLS WILDER researchers and experts, so we can answer any questions she has, or direct her in the right direction of what she needs to know regarding the letter or book.
I, personally, would like to purchase both the letter and book, but if not for sell, a simple scan of just the letter in color would be fine for me, for my collection. She could simply e-mail me that, if that is all she can or will provide. I would like to know alittle more about the back ground…such as whose trunk it was, etc. Perhaps, this can lead me to finding out who was GEORGE and RALPH! And what kind of connection they had with Laura. I would say, they were area neighbors (probably living in Missouri also) that was interested in her books and her newspaper articles.
Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
John A. Bass – owner/operator/director
Ingalls-Wilder-Lane Historic Alliance
IWL Library & Museum
Shreveport, LA
Crowley, LA
Harlingen, Texas
I actually also own an authentic handwritten letter complete with envelope written in response thanking some school children from Washington state that sent her a valentine.I paid quite alot for it several years back, as I love Laura Ingalls Wilder, and couldn’t bear not having it. I am not interested in selling it,but was wondering if you could give me an idea of its worth for insurance purposes,please.
It is similar to the letter/envelope you have and dated March 1951.
Many thanks for your help!
Hello Holly -
You are lucky to have the letter! We are happy to help you value it but that will take a little bit of research. You can go the the “Ask a Worthologist” feature on WorthPoint and follow the instructions there. We’ll need to see a photo of your letter and perhaps a bit more information. Good luck.
Liz