Jackie Robinson letter needs to be carefully preserved

DEAR HELAINE AND JOE: I am enclosing a copy of a letter from Jackie Robinson in response to a post card I sent him. I would like to know its value. Thanks. - B. D., Summerfield, Fla.

DEAR B. D.: We are sure that this is a treasured possession - and it should be. We want to begin by saying that it is very important that this piece be well cared for - do not store it folded, keep it out of sunlight and away from moisture, and store it in some kind of acid free archival folder or box.

If it is framed, make sure that it is framed with acid free materials, that it does not hang on an outside wall and that it is out of the sunlight. The climate in Florida can be rough on paper (as well as silver, paint and fabric) and more care must be taken there than in many other places that have less heat, humidity and bright sunlight.

Jackie Robinson was born Jack Roosevelt Robinson on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Ga. At UCLA, Robinson became the first athlete to letter in four sports, and in 1941 he was named to the All-American football team.

After joining the army and becoming a second lieutenant, Robinson played one season with the Negro Baseball League in 1945. In 1947, he was invited to join the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues since 1889, when baseball became segregated.

This was not an easy thing for Robinson to do. He encountered prejudice at every turn and there were even catcalls from the fans. He endured it all with great dignity (he promised Branch Rickey, owner of the Dodgers that he would fight back only with his bat and glove on the field), and in that first year he was named the National League's Rookie of the Year.

This letter, which was written toward the end of Robinson's first year in the majors, is very moving because of the second sentence: "It's a pretty gratifying thing to me, too, to see so many of my hopes realized, even to play in the World Series."

Robinson was known as a man who was generous with his autographs and it is said that fans could always count on Robinson to give them his signature.

Looking over the marketplace we see a lot of Robinson signatures and a number of signed balls. But during our search we turned up no letters. We doubt very seriously that Robinson typed this letter himself, but after studying numbers of his signatures, we do feel that he did sign it personally.

That, of course, is always a problem with autograph collecting because many famous people (especially movie stars and presidents) had other people sign letters for them. Or in the case of presidents they have machines to create a signature. There is a chance that this is a secretary's signature and only an in-person evaluation by a sports memorabilia specialist will allow you to authenticate this piece without doubt.

As for the value, a simple signature with a picture appears to be in the $800 to $1,000 range, but because this is a letter with interesting content, we feel that the insurance replacement value is as much as three times that amount and be in the range of $2,500 to $3,500.

(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of the "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.)

SHNS