ELEONORA RANDOLPH SEARS SIGNED CHECK ~ 1910's Tennis Champion Thomas Jefferson

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ELEONORA RANDOLPH SEARS SIGNED CHECK ~ 1910's Tennis Champion Thomas Jefferson Album Album Description Item ------------> Signed check from the Eleonora Randolph Sears Estate Archive, payable to J L Tabor Age -------------> 1934 Condition ------> Very Good or better ~ See Scan/s Additional Information ---> Eleonora Randolph Sears was an American tennis champion of the 1910s. In addition, she was a champion squash player, and prominent in other sports; she is considered one of the leading all-round women athletes of the first half of the 20th century.Sears, nicknamed Eleo, was born in Boston in 1881 the daughter of Boston businessman Frederick Richard Sears , a cousin of Henry Cabot Lodge and a great-granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson . Sears enjoyed all the benefits of an aristocratic upbringing. In her youth she was part of the social elite that vacationed each summer in Newport, RI, where she learned to play tennis and golf, rode horses, swam, and sailed. In 1911, Sears began to play tennis competitively, when she and her friend Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman won the United States womens doubles championship. Over the next five years, Sears won four more doubles championships, scandalizing crowds each time with her rolled up shirt-sleeves. In 1912, Sears nearly lost her membership to the Burlingame Country Club in Birmingham, CA, when she rode front-saddle into the all-mens polo arena wearing pants. Despite receiving criticism for her unfeminine style of dress and her avid participation in athletics, Sears was unfailingly popular among the upper class circles of Boston and New York. She was a frequent guest at the all-mens Harvard Club, where she learned to play squash. She eventually became the first woman squash champion in history. She frequently topped New Yorks 10-best dressed list, and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward III) said Sears was his favorite dance, squash, and tennis partner. Sears played and coached womens squash into her 70s, was famous for her frequent marathon walks between Boston and Newport, and consistently raised blue-ribbon horses for the National Horse Show. Eleonora Sears died in 1968, and her obituary read that her controversial determination to participate in athletics, paved the way for womens entrance in sports.Sears also was a lesbian, according to author Peggy Miller Franck. Sears had multiple lesbian relationships, though none was officially announced or confirmed, including one with Isabel Pell in the 1930s. "I think it was inescapable that everyone knew [ they were together, ] " Franck said.Sears was a four-time U.S. Women's National Tennis champion, including three consecutive years ( 1915-17 ) , and is a member of the Tennis Hall of Fame.She also was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame for her skills riding horses. She is also in the Horseman's Hall of Fame, the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame, the United States Squash Hall of Fame, and the National Horse Show Foundation Hall of Fame"fxk19 All About Paper"**USA USA USA >>> Shipping Information <<< USA USA USAWe combine shipping when you purchase more than one item and all items are paid for on the same invoice International >>>> Shipping Information <<<< InternationalWe combine shipping when you purchase more than one item and all items are paid for on the same invoice Note for INTERNATIONAL BUYERS ONLY! Orders with a total value of $50.00 or more will be shipped via Registered Mail with the additional cost of $13.95 added to your invoicePaymentI accept the following forms of payment: PayPalShipping & HandlingUS Shipping$8.00 USPS Priority Mail®International Shipping$30.00 USPS First-Class Mail International (Worldwide)More than just a pretty picture. Try Vendio Image Hosting.FREE scheduling, supersized imagesand templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. read more

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