Creator

Mary [Muir Hand]

Recipient

[John Muir & Louie Strentzel Muir]

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Transcription

Phillips, Wis.,June, '86.Dear Brother and Sister:Our correspondence seems rather limited. It should not be so much so, seems to me. Since Annie has been with you I have known and heard much more of you as a family, which I have greatly enjoyed, I assure you, and I trust that such acquaintance and knowledge of each other will increase in the future. We cannot make you a visit this summer, but if all goes well we fully intend to do so sometime.John, I shall always regret your not seeing us in our own home last summer. Only a week or two before starting on our trip a letter came to us from Portage, I think, saying that it was very doubtful if you could leave your home. I wanted to give you a picture, and might have taken one for you, only I hardly expected to see you. I have finished a water-color of Father's face for you, and knowyou will like it much better than the rough one you saw. I have put very little color in it, as you will see, for I did not wish to give full flesh tones - Father's face was so clear and his hair so white that I think you will like the picture better as it is. I should so much like to be with you when you criticise and make improvements according to your suggestion, but please write me of changes you see necessary, and maybe I shall be able to improve on mine. I cannot help thinking that it looks very much as he often did when well, and shall be impatient to hear your opinion. However I will wait sending it until I make a water-lily piece for jtou, Louie, and send both together. The lilies do not open here until sometime in July.Annie writes me that you would enjoy seeing some of our Phillips flowers, but it would be difficult for me to get much at present that would interest you, and it is rather late for some of our most pleasing flowers. But I will send you clippings from one of our weekly papers of flowers collected, and analyzed here last year by the editor. The date will show the order of their appearance. I think none were printed after July. I will inclose two little blossoms from a plant I rooted a year ago last spring and ask you what it is. The slip was one you sent with the first box of flowers. You sent one like it this time too, and I should like to know the name. It blossomed for me last year and this year too, and has been greatly admired by all who saw it. It is so different from anything we have here. I am trying to root two or three little woody slips that you sent me lately. I return you many thanks for the grand box full you sent me, and wish they had come looking better.Mr. Hand sent for a lot of new roses not long ago, named varieties, some very choice. They are all doing very well, and some have nice buds already. We have not had them two months yet. We are all very fond of roses. What grand large roses you have! John, you did forget to send me the photo of little Wanda.I should like to hear from you sometime. We are all well. Willis sends love - Love to all.Affectionately,Sister Mary [Muir Hand]

Location

Phillips, Wis

Date Original

1886 Jun

Source

Original letter dimensions: 20.5 x 25.5 cm.

Resource Identifier

muir05_0672-trans.tif

File Identifier

Reel 05, Image 0672

Copyright Statement

Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Owning Institution

University of the Pacific Library Holt-Atherton Special Collections. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.

Page Number

Page 3

Keywords

John Muir, correspondence, letters, author, writing, naturalist, California, correspondent, mail, message, post, exchange of letters, missive, notes, epistle

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