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.
Book cover for Little America.
Flier, Byrd Prize Letter Contest, 1930. Richard E. Byrd Papers, #4386.
Transcription (Google Gemini, 2026):
Important Important
BYRD PRIZE LETTER CONTEST
G. P. Putnam's Sons publishers of "Little America," by Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd, announce a series of special prizes to be awarded for the best letters upon the following subject:
"THE VALUE TO THE CIVILIZED WORLD OF THE BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION"
For the best letters on this subject (not to exceed two hundred and fifty words), received at the office of G. P. Putnam's Sons, on or before March 2, 1931, the following prizes will be awarded:
1st Prize: $250.00 in cash; and a personally inscribed copy of the Limited Fifty Dollar Autographed Edition of "Little America."
2nd Prize: $100.00 in cash; and a personally inscribed copy of the Limited Fifty Dollar Autographed Edition of "Little America."
3rd Prize: $50.00 in cash; and a personally inscribed copy of the Limited Fifty Dollar Autographed Edition of "Little America."
4th Prize: A personally inscribed copy of the Limited Fifty Dollar Autographed Edition of "Little America."
This contest is open to everybody (excluding, of course, employees of G. P. Putnam's Sons). Letters need not necessarily be of a technical nature. They should simply express the writer's own idea, as derived from Rear-Admiral Byrd's story or any other source, of the value to the Civilized World, of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition.
Every letter should be written plainly on one sheet of paper, and should bear the writer's name and address. No letter will be judged by its literary merit, form of expression, punctuation or spelling. Judgment will be based only upon the value of the idea expressed.
At the close of the contest, all letters received will be beautifully bound by G. P. Putnam's Sons and presented to Rear-Admiral Byrd to keep as a permanent tribute from his many friends among the reading public.
Please address your letter to:
Byrd Prize Letter Contest Editor
G. P. Putnam's Sons
2 West 45th Street New York, N. Y.
Letter by Thornton Oakley, of Villa Nova, Pennsylvania, 1930, Richard E. Byrd Papers, #4104. Mr. Oakley's letter won the first prize award.
Transcription (Google Gemini, 2026):
Thornton Oakley
-Villa Nova-
Pennsylvania
The Byrd Antarctic Expedition
is of value to the civilized world
because it pushes back the barriers of ignorance, and in its quest for truth adds knowledge to mankind ;
because it brings more near the period when the potential resources of the southern continent may be utilized for the needs of man ;
because it makes manifest the wonder of inventive genius, man's dominance over matter, the incalculable service of his radio and airplane ;
because it stirs anew man's longing for adventure and discovery : two forces that advance the world ;
because in a machine-made age it proves that romance is not dead, and that the greatest adventures of history are of today ;
because, awakening international interest and cooperation, it advances among peoples a world-wide understanding ;
because it reveals the power of the human spirit to triumph over hardships, peril and disaster ;
because it captivates the imagination, and turns man's aspirations and his purpose to ever vaster and divine goals .
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.
Transcription (Google Gemini, 2026):
Byrd Prize Contest Editor
G. P. Putnam's Sons
2 West 45th Street
New York City
In an age when science continually threatens to overshadow dreams, it is essential for the young student to be constantly reminded of the fact that men have always been nobly heroic. It is not enough, however, to direct them entirely to the past in the search for heroes; they must also discover that today men are living whose deeds equal those of the mythologist. The student must see that true heroism belongs to no period or country, and that gallant adventurers can spring from any environment.
In Richard Byrd the youth of America find such a hero, unique in that he is both a great adventurer and a great scientist. He personifies for them an ideal which, because of its nearness, is attainable. His expedition to the South Pole is, for them, the epic of this century.
As an epic my students are reading the story of Little America and they find in it the old heroism of the past combined with the new marvels of the present. Commander Byrd has assured them that adventure never dies, and that it becomes finest when inspired by some worthy aim. This, I believe, is his greatest contribution.
It is in this creation of heroes that Byrd's expedition to the Antarctic will be most valuable. The journey has brought forth, in the person of its leader, a man who combines the factual necessities of science with the glamour of individual heroism. He has demonstrated, once and for all, the truth that no matter how seemingly prosaic the world becomes, certain men will always rise above it, making of themselves the heroes of each generation.
James A. Michener