[Letter] 1850 January 5, Ostego Hall, Cooperstown [to] Miss Jewett, Boston / J[ames]. Fenimore Cooper.

See also additional letters and manuscript fragments from Cooper in the collection.

Cooper complies with Jewett's request [presumably for an autograph] and states that he wishes it were worth her trouble to receive this boon. He also reveals that at Paris he knew a Princess of [Salm-Dyle?] who claimed that she invented autograph albums. Stating that he has offered his signature in many such volumes, Cooper notes that his female correspondents for this purpose have been as numerous "as I dare say, handsome and agreeable-- though I am obliged to take these qualities on credit." Cooper, the 11th of 12 children born to the man who founded Cooperstown and built Ostego Hall, is remembered for his books of sailing and wilderness adventure, including the Leatherstocking Series featuring Natty Bumppo, the most well-known of which is _Last of the Mohicans_ (1826). In addition to enjoying the life of a country gentleman in New York, Cooper also traveled and wrote extensively in Europe.