Lot 310

Previous image preload Next image preload
Back to catalog
Lot 310
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3 image_4 image_5 image_6
Oswald, Superb Russian Content ALS, "…there is a lot of things still to be done"
Oswald, Superb Russian Content ALS, "…there is a lot of things still to be done"
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3 image_4 image_5 image_6
Description:

Oswald, Superb Russian Content ALS, "…there is a lot of things still to be done"

Lee Harvey Oswald, a politically passionate teen turned into a disillusioned dangerous adult? A CIA or KGB plant? A person with a split personality? A Manchurian Candidate sleeper agent? A pawn for the Mob? Was he trying to further the Cuban Revolutionary cause? Did he act alone? The bizarre anomalies of Oswald's life just lend itself to make one constantly question what really happened and who Oswald really was. For every question, there is another theory. Oswald's handwritten letters are extremely scarce. They are also studied for insight into this complex man hoping to spot a missing piece of the puzzle. The letter offered here has the coveted chain of custody coming originally from Lee Harvey Oswald's brother, Robert Oswald.

Two page autograph letter signed on the rectos of lightly lined paper, 5.5" x 8". Dated "May 5, 1961" and signed by Lee Harvey Oswald at the conclusion as "Regards to Vatta and Kathy / Lee". Strong vivid ink. Fine condition. Accompanied by a 8" x 10" black and white lightly stained vintage photo depicting a family holding a newspaper in which the headline is "Ft Worth Man Asks Red Citizenship". The lot will include a photocopy of the original mailing envelope which confirms the date of the letter. The original envelope is also being offered in this auction as lot # 311. Provenance: From the collection of Ron Hoskins, assassinologist, and will also include a photocopy of the original purchase receipt in which Ron Hoskins purchased two Oswald letters directly from Robert Oswald in 2007 for $25,000.00.

This revealing autographed letter signed was one of the first written by Lee Harvey Oswald to his brother Robert in over a year. Lee defected to Russia, renouncing his US citizenship, in pursuit of a Country he believed to maintain the Marxist values he treasured. After Oswald left the Marine Corps in September of 1959, ostensibly to care for his mother, he almost immediately left for the Soviet Union. At the age of 19, Oswald thus committed an act which was the most striking indication of his willingness to act on his beliefs in quite extraordinary ways. While his defection resulted in part from Oswald's commitment to Marxism, it appears that personal and psychological factors were also involved. On August 17, 1963, Oswald told Mr. William Stuckey, who had arranged a radio debate on behalf of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, that while he had begun to read Marx and Engels at the age of 15, he came to the conclusion that Marxism was the answer during his service in Japan. He said living conditions over there convinced him something was wrong with the system in the US, and that possibly Marxism was the answer. He said it was in Japan that he made up his mind to go to Russia and see for himself how a revolutionary society, a Marxist society operates.

On the other hand, at least one person who knew Oswald after his return thought that his defection had a more personal and psychological basis. The validity of the latter observation is borne out by some of the things Oswald wrote in connection with his defection indicating that his motivation was at least in part a personal one. On November 26,1959, shortly after he arrived in the Soviet Union, and probably before Soviet authorities had given him permission to stay indefinitely, he wrote to his brother Robert that the Soviet Union was a country which "I have always considered to be my own" and that he went there "only to find freedom...I could never have been personally happy in the U.S." He wrote in another letter that he would "never return to the United States which is a country I hate." His idea that he was to find "freedom" in the Soviet Union was to be shattered during his time spent there.

In this letter, written in May 1961 after more than an entire year of silence, Oswald seemed to be reaching out to Robert to catch up on lost time. He makes his first reference to disillusionment of the Soviet system saying, "In general I have found the living conditions here to be good but there is a lot of things still to be done." This one revealing sentence may show the first glimmer of dissatisfaction with Communist Russia as Oswald was learning how pure Marxist theory as read in books is so very different from the application of real life Communism. Or was this perhaps an important indirect reference to some other mission he was involved with??

His letter in full:

"Dear Robert,
It has been a long time since I have written you, more than a year, a lot has happened in that time.
I am now living in the city of Minsk which is located about 400 S-W of Moscow. Minsk is the capital city of the Soviet State of bellerussia(sic).
I shall have been living here already a year and three months. I came to live in Minsk after I wrote my last letter to you. I have been working at the local radio-television plant as a metal-smith.
On April 30 of this year, I got married, my wife is nineteen years old, she was born in the city of Leningrad, which is the second largest city in the U.S.S.R., her parents are dead-and she was living with her aunt and uncle here in Minsk when I first met her.
Not too long ago I received a letter from mother but I lost the address.
I would like you send(sic) it to me if you write.
We have a small flat near my factory and are living nicely. In general I have found the living conditions here to be good but there is a lot of things still to be done.
I hope to send you somethings from here if you like. The Soviet Union is one of the most interesting country's I have seen in my travels. You should try to visit us some time I sometimes meet american(sic) tourist(sic) here especially in the summer.
Well that’s about all for now hope to hear from you soon.
Regards to Vatta and Kathy
Lee"
(side note... in this letter he refers to Vada as Vatta)

What does not yet appear in the letter is a sense of urgency, or interest, or desperation on Oswald's part to leave Russia and return to the States. It is only a matter of time however, as by June of 1962, merely one year after this letter, Oswald returned to the United States with Marina and his daughter.

Many questions and accompanying theories exist regarding Oswald's intent upon his return to the United States. What happened to Oswald while he was in Russia? Did he had a split personality? Was he a CIA plant, or was he just a crazy dis-satisfied person? However what does shine through  are the bizarre inconsistencies that are woven throughout his life. Noted below are just a few highlights and the nagging question of when was his trajectory to assassinate Kennedy engaged?

-The extent of Oswald's desire to go to the Soviet Union can best be understood in the context of his concomitant hatred of the United States, which was most clearly expressed in another letter from 1959 to his brother Robert. Lee noted "I and my fellow workers and communists would like to see the present capitalist government of the U.S. overthrown" Oswald stated that that government supported an economic system which exploits all its workers and under which art, culture and the spirit of man are subjected to commercial enterprising, [and] religion and education are used as a tool to suppress what would otherwise be a population questioning their government's unfair economic system and plans for war.

- Oswald began working in Minsk at the Radio and TV factory with a supervisor, a Polish Jew in his later forties, who supposedly relocated to Argentina in 1938 and returned to Belarus around 1955. However his supervisor, Mr. Ziger spoke English with an American accent even though his family spoke no English. There is a strong belief that Ziger (spelled several ways ), and/or a family member was involved in CIA counterintelligence.

-Oswald pretended to understand almost no Russian during his entire time in the Soviet Union. Rather odd considering his intense desire to unify with Russian society. Yet Oswald’s Russian was considered good enough upon his return to the United States to qualify him as a professional translator, and for his wife Marina to mistake him as a native-born Russian with a Baltic accent when they first met. Russian is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn. He managed to master Russian during the less than three years that Oswald was in the Soviet Union, which is unheard of, particularly when that someone refuses to use Russian in most public settings. Credible witnesses say that Oswald mastered Russian before his trip to the USSR.

-Recently released documents from the CIA show that the spy agency intercepted a phone call from Lee Harvey Oswald to the KGB department in Moscow that handled "sabotage and assassinations."
One could study Oswald just for his inconsistencies and never fully make sense of any of it.

Fully autographed and signed letters by Lee Harvey Oswald are scarce. This letter would be an important canon for the collector of Oswald and Kennedy history and is accompanied by impeccable outstanding provenance.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item.


Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

January 6, 2021 10:30 AM EST
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000