The Tar Baby and the Tomahawk: Race and Ethnic Images in American Children's Literature, 1880-1939

After a long, long silence, here is one of my "blue eyed letters" as you used to call them. and this is a double-barre[?]led one too. (I don't know how to spell barreled.) First off. I am going to make some pictures for your Unc' Remus stories for the Metropolitan Magazine and I'm blamed glad of it. and I hope I can make the pictures good enough for your lovely stories: I'll do my damdest. You can bet, and how that I can make pen drawings again I feel rather sure of [?] doing
cots.har.IMG.0181.jpgsomething with white: I have only one story so far and cannot make any pictures for that for another two weeks. But after that I can go right in with the others: The first story is just right. all about Brer Rabbit. and Brer Fox: and I ope the others will be in the same vein: (I tried to make your pictures for one of your stories for Colliers, about crickets, but I failed dismally: I couldn't get any thing out of a cricket.)

I hope you will write enough tales to make a book. I am sure it would be a success: and I am very anxious to make the pictures: I can do them, and take
cots.har.IMG.0182.jpgall the time I want over them: and feel that I am doing my best: I can't work under pressure.

I think you could induce the Houghton Mifflin people to let me illustrate "Nights with Uncle Remus." and make a swell book of it. like the Appleton book: I am afraid I asked them too much money: But I didn't put my price as high as I would have done if it had been a Magazine book: I made it much lower: I would love to do it. Take my time and get a lot of live animals to study [?] ^and do a swell thing: some of the pictures in color:
cots.har.IMG.0183.jpgthat is one barrell fired: Here is the other.

Colliers is publishing a Frost book and they want ou to write the introduction [?]dealing with one A. B. Frost. I can say that I would rather you would write it than anyone [?]on Gods Earth. and I hope you will. It is rather a delicate subject for me to write about. but it will be a great pleasure to me if you will do it.

And how are you? Good Lord I wish I culd see you: I don't go South anymore: Mrs Frost is not strong and [?]travel tires
cots.har.IMG.0184.jpg her very much: so we stay right here: if you would only come see us we will give you the warmest welcome a man could have: I have two bully boys. 16 and 14 years old. and with Mrs Frost, that is the family: We could make you mighty comfortable and you could transact your New York business from here easily:

I hope you are entirely well again. I know you had a long and severe illness and I hope it is forgotten and you are as strong as ever:

Please give my kindest regards to Miss Evelyn who wrote me a long nice letter. Which I
cots.har.IMG.0185.jpgcouldn't answer for my eyes were in a devil of a state then: they are all right now:

You used to write our bully letter with a lead pencil in what appeared to be remnants of mapping paper: I have them all, every one and I want another on any old paper on earth,

Arthur B. Frost