TLS signed “Bill,” one page, 5.5 x 8.5, Yale University letterhead, [1970]. Letter to Dale, in full: "Mother wrote to me a few days ago, telling of all the loss you have suffered in so short a time. And I thought I would write to you, though of course there is really nothing terribly profound I can say that would have much meaning compared to what you have just been through. Just before he died, a man I wish had been a friend of mine, a great southerner, Thomas Wolfe, wrote what seems to me a finer testament to the beauty and meaning of life, any life, than any religious statement I have read:
'Something has spoken to me in the night, burning the tapers of the waning year; something has spoken in the night, and told me I shall die. I know not where. Saying: To lose the earth you know for greater knowing; to lose the life you have for greater life; to leave the friends you loved for greater loving; to find a land more kind than home, more large than earth—Whereon the pillars of this earth are founded, towards which the conscience of the world is tending—a wind is rising, and the rivers flow.'
I am thinking of you and hope you are getting through the days with characteristic grit. See you Christmas." In fine condition, with some light creasing, and a clipped upper right corner. An early, touching letter of condolences from Clinton, written in his mid-twenties while attending Yale Law School. Clinton letters dating to this period, written on Yale letterhead, are quite rare, with this example all the more desirable given its thoughtful content and mention of the great Thomas Wolfe, whose posthumous work You Can't Go Home Again Clinton cites as one of his favorite books.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$75.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
