To auction, buy, consign or sell a America the Beautiful Autograph Manuscript Signed by Katharine Lee Bates, please contact [email protected] or call (310) 440-2982.

America the Beautiful Autograph Manuscript Signed by Katharine Lee Bates

The Star Spangled Banner.  God Bless America.  And, of course, America the Beautiful.  Those are the classic American patriotic songs.  Here at NateDSanders.com, we were lucky enough to auction off a America the Beautiful autograph manuscript signed by Katharine Lee Bates.  Here are the details:

America the Beautiful Autograph Manuscript Signed by Katharine Lee Bates — Extremely Scarce Copy of the Final Version Completely Written in Her Hand

Extraordinarily rare autograph manuscript signed by Katharine Lee Bates of our national poem, “America the Beautiful.” Bates pens the complete four verses of the poem’s final version, as known and sung by us today, in this manuscript. Touring the country in 1893, Bates was so inspired by the natural beauty and promise of the young United States, that she recorded her feelings in poetic form, but didn’t publish it until two years later when it appeared in the 4 July 1895 issue of “The Congregationalist” entitled “America.” She rewrote the poem slightly in 1904 and also in 1913, with the final version recognizable by the first line of the third stanza, “O beautiful for heroes prov’d in liberating strife.” This copy written by Bates, especially scarce as it includes all four stanzas, is titled at top “America the Beautiful” and signed at the conclusion, “Katharine Lee Bates”. Single page quarto is in very good condition with some uneven toning and three hole punches to the left margin, not affecting writing. Also included is an autograph letter signed by Bates to a Mr. Winslow, telling the gentleman that she’s enclosing an autographed copy of “America the Beautiful” and expressing her happiness that it was chosen as his “Camp Song.” Bates closes the letter with a slightly adapted quotation from the third verse of her poem, “May all success be nobleness / And every gain divine!” Single page octavo letter, dated 29 December 1920, is written upon “Wellesley College” stationery. A fine pair of items expressing the beauty and patriotism of the United States. Sold for $19,200.

“America the Beautiful” Autograph Manuscript Signed by Its Author, Katharine Lee Bates — Extremely Scarce Copy of the Final Version Completely Written in Her Hand

To auction, buy, consign or sell a America the Beautiful Autograph Manuscript Signed by Katharine Lee Bates, please contact [email protected] or call (310) 440-2982.

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