Appraisal: 1948 - 1958 Eleanor Roosevelt Archive

GUEST: These are two autobiographies of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Um, this one is This I Remember and On My Own, and they're both signed, because my great-grandmother had a, written a letter to her for an essay she was submitting for a c, a contest about democracy.

And Eleanor Roosevelt wrote back, and they became friends.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: And then these are some newspaper articles about when my great-grandmother Emmaline went to visit her with her children at Hyde Park.

That is my great-grandmother Emmaline.

And that's the first letter Eleanor wrote back to her after she submitted her essay.

APPRAISER: Wow, this is an amazing group of items.

The time range for, for the items, from the first letter that your great-grandmother received from Eleanor Roosevelt, dated July 10, 1948, and then it goes all the way to the publication of On My Own, which was published in 1958.

The letter is to your great-grandmother.

I have a hard time reading it from here.

Would you mind, um, taking a crack at, at the first paragraph?

GUEST: So the letter, I think, says, "My dear Mrs. Dunne, I read your article with interest.

I am afraid, however, that it will not be easy to get it published, not because you are not well-known, but because it is an article which I understand perfectly, but which I am not sure would mean a great deal to people who do not have a considerable amount of education."

APPRAISER: At the very bottom, she says that, "If you're ever in New York or in my neighborhood, call on me and we should get together."

And the little manuscript notation up above is in a different hand by someone just explaining what the letter is about and, uh, mentioning the visit in 1949.

These articles are published, I think, August, uh, 1949, and they come and visit, right?

You also have the two autobiographies.

This I Remember is about the time while she was in the White House, and On My Own is her memoir of the time after being in the White House.

That one is signed, and this one has the presentation inscription that says, "With good wishes."

Part of their correspondence is actually in the Library of Congress in the Department of Women's Studies.

And here we have a letter with great content and her signature-- but it's a typed letter-- and you have the two books.

And unfortunately, the letter has some water staining on the side, and the books are not in the best condition.

As an archive, as a group, I would estimate the collection at about $1,500.

GUEST: Mm.

APPRAISER: For insurance, insurance purposes.

Thank you very much for bringing this in, you know.

GUEST: Thank you.

APPRAISER: It was quite a treat.