TLS, one page, 5 x 8, American Embassy, Paris letterhead, April 22, 1910. Roosevelt writes to the Hon. John Allison at the Chancery Court Chambers, Nashville. In full: “It is a pleasure to hear from you. I cannot discuss anything at present, but it is of real value to get your views. I have a bullet, taken out of one of the beasts I shot in Africa, which I shall send to you when I get home. I hope the little girl who owned the dog that was ‘almost all St. Bernard’ is well….” At the time of writing, Roosevelt was in the middle of an extended trip that included a hunting expedition in Africa to gather specimens for the Smithsonian Institution, followed by a tour of Europe. On the day after writing this letter, Roosevelt delivered his famous “Citizenship in a Republic” speech at the Sorbonne in Paris. One extract, on the topic of “Man in the Arena,” would eventually take a place among Roosevelt’s most memorable utterances: “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. In fine condition. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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