Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the beloved “Little House” books, responded to every fan letter she received, until the last six months of her life.
Now Wilder authority Sarah S. Uthoff, in conjunction with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minn., is seeking photocopies of these letters.
“These would be scholarly study copies only, and will be deposited in the newly built archive room at the museum,” Uthoff said.
Letters already recovered have provided much information about Wilder’s life, including how a famous 1930 photo of the author was taken, and a trip she made in 1890. “Other letters will have more information to share,” Uthoff said.
The fan letters are already carefully preserved, she added, because Wilder saved every one of them.
“Her responses were scattered to the four winds,” Uthoff said. “While some have come safely to rest in museums, archives and libraries, many others are in scrapbooks, drawers or old shoe boxes across the country.”
She is also seeking photos of any of the Wilder museum sites before 1985, or photos of any special local Wilder events, such as gingerbread parties.
Photocopies of letters or photos, as well as scans of photos, may be sent to Sarah Uthoff, Trundlebed Tales, P.O. Box 111, Solon, Iowa, 52333, or info@trundlebedtales.com.
PITTSBURG —
