“WE WILL LEARN TO TRACK ANIMALS AND BIRDS BY THEIR FOOTMARKS”

BADEN POWELL, ROBERT.  (1857-1941). Lieutenant-general in the British Army; ‘Hero of Mafeking’; and the Founder of the Scout Movement.  Delightfully charming Autograph Letter Signed (“Your affect[iona]te friend Robert Baden Powell”).  Two full pages, quarto.  On his imprinted “32 Princes Gate [London], 18 December 1911”.   To “My dear young Scouts and Scoutess” [the three young children of the Liberal M.P. Cecil, later Lord, Harmsworth] encouraging them in their scouting activities.  Written in capital block letters, with the original autograph envelope addressed in Baden Powell’s hand, to “Master Harmsworth, 28 Montague Square” and bearing a red 1 penny King George stamp.  Here Baden Powell has written exactly the sort of letter which would appeal to young children, having organized the first small scout camp in 1907, and devoting the rest of his life to superintending the growth of the Scouting Movement. He writes:

“I heard from your father tonight how good you were as young scouts. I hope you will go on being good and them someday I will come and see you and we will learn to track animals and birds by their footmarks. This is the track which a hopping bird makes 

He is generally a little bird like a sparrow or a finch, who lives in bushes, but a bigger bird, who lives in high trees, like a crow or a rook, walks instead of hopping, and his footmarks go like this:”

 

Your affect[ionat]e friend, Robert Baden Powell”.

The letter is accompanied by a note in the hand of Cecil Harmsworth, signed “CH” and dated 3 September 1930, explaining how Baden Powell’s letter came to be written: “I was present at a dinner on the 18th Decr 1911 & sat next to Baden Powell. I told him all about the children’s interest in Boy Scouts (They had little outfits from Gamages or Hamleys & I used to take them up to Hampstead Heath for scouting, in which they delighted.) Baden Powell sat down the same evening & wrote this letter. Extraordinarily kind of him, I thought.”   Simply a wonderful piece, especially for the collector of Scouting material.                                                      

$2500.00