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Libraries > Digital Exhibits > Conquering the Ice > Contest
Prize Letter Contest
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Book cover for Little America.
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Flier, Byrd Prize Letter Contest, 1930.
Richard
E. Byrd Papers, #4386. |
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In 1930, G. P. Putnam’s Sons published Byrd’s own
account of the expedition, Little America. As a ploy to help sell
the book, Putnam’s invited readers to submit essays on the topic, “What
Value, to the Civilized world, is the Byrd Expedition?” Writers were
competing for prizes that ranged from $250 to an autographed copy of Little America. The publisher was trying to sell the volume during
the Great Depression. Concurrently, they also appeared to be asking the
public for specific reasons for Americans to be interested in the
exploration of Antarctica, particularly at a time when economic and social
problems at home seemed particularly threatening. |
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Letter by
Thornton Oakley,
of Villa Nova, Pennsylvania, 1930,
Richard E. Byrd Papers, #4104.
Mr. Oakley’s letter won the
first prize award.
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Letter by James A. Michener, 1930,
Richard E. Byrd Papers, #4852.
Michener was a young school teacher at the time he entered the contest.
Although his letter was not a prize winner, Michener would win the
Pulitzer Prize for fiction seventeen years later. |
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