Letter By Sir Henry William Forster
1931. Handwritten letter in ink, two sheets, with embossed letterhead, dated “May 10, 1931” and signed “Forster of Lepe”, 18.1 x 13.7cm. Old folds. Letterhead reads “Lepe House Exbury, Southampton, Tel Hawley (Hants) 9.” The letter is a reply to American Seymour Halpern, who was seeking advice on how to achieve a successful life. Forster’s advice included a quote from an anonymous message written in chalk on a railway yard wall that he read as a young man “Do what you can, being what you are, shine like a glowworm if you can’t like a star, work like a pulley if you can’t like a crane, grease the wheels thoroughly if you can’t drive the train.” Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster (1866–1936) was a British politician who served as the seventh Governor-General of Australia from 1920 to 1925. As a high school student, Seymour Halpern (1913–1997) began a lifelong hobby of writing to “notables of the day including politicians, military officers, entertainers, diplomats, artists, activists, writers, and businessmen, inquiring about their ideas to the keys to success in life. Halpern would later go on to serve as a Republican from New York to the 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 91st and 92nd United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1959, to January 3, 1973.” Halpern’s correspondents included astronaut Neil Armstrong, whom he asked for his views on world peace, during the 1970s. Ref: Purdue University; US House of Representatives; Antiquarian Bookdealers Assoc. of America.
Item #CL206-42
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