ALS signed “J,” two pages, 6 x 8, September 15, no year but postmarked 1965. Letter to her boyfriend Peter deBlanc. In full, “It’s the same evening as my last letter (#8) but I was just thinking about you some more & I just love you so much that I wanted to write again. Every night after I finish my letter to you, I drive down to the post office & mail it. Quite frequently someone of the family goes along w/ me. This evening I asked if anyone wanted to go & when no one did I said Oh well, that’s alright, this is the only time Peter & I have together. And it’s true. These letters mean a lot to me, Peter. I hope you understand that & match my earnestness when you read them. Every night after dinner I’m busy, in which case it’s right at bedtime as now, I close both my doors, light my one silly candle, get my cigarettes & an ashtray & sit down with you. I love you, baby. I hope I express it sufficiently so you know it as I write it. Well, good night, I guess I’m being silly.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in her hand and incorporating her signature into her return address on the flap, “Miss Janis Lyn Joplin, 3130 Lombardy, Port Arthur, Tex.”
This letter was written during a six month period in 1965 when Joplin had returned to Port Arthur, Texas, to live with her parents while she recovered from an amphetamine addiction. Joplin had met de Blanc during her first attempt to live in San Francisco and they continued their relationship after she returned home to Texas. During this period, she wrote de Blanc frequently as she struggled between her desire for a peaceful private life and the allure of the rock-and-roll lifestyle. De Blanc had traveled to Port Arthur on August 21 to formally ask her father for her hand in marriage, and they were soon engaged. Despite Joplin's profuse affection for him—as is readily apparent in the present letter—he broke off the engagement just a few months later. Heartbroken, Joplin returned to San Francisco in June 1966 and joined Big Brother & the Holding Company to launch her legendary career. Pre-certified REAL.
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