Seton Ernest

Ernest T. Seton Boy Scouts, Letter with Illustration of Wolf Paw Print

1p typed letter signed by Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946), wildlife author and artist, as "Ernest Thompson Seton" at center. Seton has also drawn a wolf paw print below his last name. Written in New York City on February 20, 1917. The message was typed in purple ink on watermarked cream paper. Expected folds, and a few minor closed tears along such folds. The faintest of impressions from the recipient's address block above appears below, else near fine. 8.5" x 11".

Seton wrote Dr. Kerson W. Barney (1896-1969), President of the Greenwich High School Alumni Association, in the winter of 1917. Dr. Barney was a New York University and Long Island College Hospital graduate who had been born in neighboring Norwich, Connecticut.

Seton wrote in part:

"I am so sorry that your kind letter of January 31st was mislaid. I have been away, or you would have heard sooner; but now, alas, the date is past. Call on me next year…"

Seton, who was a British-born Canadian émigré, did not attend Greenwich High School in the Connecticut panhandle, but he did have strong ties to the area. Between 1900-1915, Seton lived at an 120-acre estate called Wyndygoul located in the Pomerance section of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Extremely popular among readers, Seton's animal fiction and illustrations celebrated nature, animals, and American Indian traditions. Some argued, however, that Seton's stories humanized wild animals to too great an extent, providing an overly sanitized and sentimentalized view of nature. Opponents, like naturalist John Burroughs, criticized these portrayals as "Sham Natural History", and accused Seton and others of "nature faking".

Seton incorporated his interest in naturalism and indigenous lifeways into all-boys' organizations developed during the early 20th century Scouting Movement. He headed the Boy Scouts of America and served as the organization's Chief Scout after 1910, and founded his own group called the Woodcraft Indians in 1902.

The author and illustrator may have been inspired to draw a wolf print after the publication of one of his most famous short story collections, Wild Animals I Have Known (1898). The first story of this collection related the adventures of a misunderstood wolf named Lobo the King of Currumpaw. Or, he might have drawn the paw print as an allusion to one of his monikers, "Black Wolf."

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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