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James Cash Penney, 1931 Letter with Autograph on J.C. Penney Letterhead

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:60.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 200.00 USD
James Cash Penney, 1931 Letter with Autograph on J.C. Penney Letterhead
SOLD
80.00USDto floor+ buyer's premium
This item SOLD at 2022 Oct 25 @ 16:35UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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New York City, 1931. Typewritten letter from James Cash Penney Jr. to Mrs. Hermon Tasker Lawrence, congratulating her on her on her marriage to Herman Tasker. He writes, "It is my hope that you will experience a major portion of the sunshine of life and as little as possible of its sorrows and disappointments." The note, typed on J.C. Penney letterhead, is signed by J.C. Penney at bottom right in a distinctive signature. James Cash Penney Jr. (September 16, 1875 - February 12, 1971) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the JCPenney stores in 1902. In 1898, James Cash Penney Jr. began working for a small chain of stores in the western United States called the Golden Rule stores. In 1902, owners Guy Johnson and Thomas Callahan, impressed by his work ethic and salesmanship, offered him a one-third partnership in a new store he would open. Penney invested $2,000 and moved to Kemmerer, Wyoming, to open a store there. He participated in opening two more stores, and when Callahan and Johnson dissolved their partnership in 1907 he purchased full interest in all three stores. By 1912, there were 34 stores in the Rocky Mountain States. The number of stores reached 1,400 by 1929. The large income allowed him to be heavily involved in many philanthropic causes during the 1920s. After the stock market crash in 1929, Penney lost virtually all of his personal wealth and borrowed against his life insurance policies to help the company meet its payroll. Even after relinquishing daily operating management of the company, Penney continued his active involvement in managing the company and its stores. In 1940, during a visit to a store in Des Moines, Iowa, he trained a young Sam Walton (who went on to found Walmart and Sam's Club) on how to wrap packages with a minimal amount of paper and ribbon. Until the end of his life, he continued to go to his offices. VF condition with a pair of very small and minimal toning marks at center left and right. A poignant letter from a giant of American business.