UP FOR SALE: NEWLY DISCOVERED AMELIA EARHART LETTER TO A GIRL ASPIRING TO BECOME A PILOT Valued at $15,000, letter from the Great Aviatrix Predicts More Opportunities for Women
PHILADELPHIA, PA – January 6, 2016 – The Raab Collection, the nation’s leading dealer in important historical documents, announced today that it is offering for sale an original letter written by Amelia Earhart on August 14, 1933 to a 13-year old girl, who aspired to be an aviatrix, like Earhart. In this historical document, valued at $15,000, Earhart gives the child inspiration and practical advice, and predicts that women will one day have opportunities in aviation as men do.
“As far as woman’s opportunities in flying go I think they will improve as they have in all industries.”
Determined to prove herself in what was essentially a male preserve, Earhart decided to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone. On May 20-21, 1932, she achieved this goal. Acclaimed in London, Paris, and Rome, she returned home to a ticker tape parade in New York City and honors in Washington, D.C.
Earhart was particularly inspirational to girls, as her bravery and pioneering exploits paved the way for women to follow in her path, not merely in aviation, but in other male-dominated fields. June Pierson of Detroit was 13 years old when she wrote the world’s most famous woman disclosing her ambition to get into aviation and asking her advice.
"Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."
Earhart details steps that she herself must have taken to begin a career in aviation by describing who to contact to request take a medical examination needed to qualify for flying, which emphasizes the physical requirements needed for early aviation. Earhart goes on to explain that after passing an exam, flying lessons are the next logical step towards a career, adding that as the frequency of air travel increases so will the opportunities for women.
“This letter not only shows how Amelia Earhart made it in the men's world of aviation,” said Nathan Raab of The Raab Collection. “It shows her reaching out her hand to help a young woman who aspired to walk in her footsteps.”
About The Raab Collection: The Raab Collection has handled many of the most important historical documents to reach the market and worked with the families of famous Americans in the sale and preservation of their family treasures, among them Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ronald Reagan. Nathan Raab, a member of the Board of Directors of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, is also a contributor to Forbes.com. To learn more visit www.raabcollection.com or follow @RaabCollection on Twitter.
