1 page, 8vo, in pencil in Keller's square hand, creasing and a few short tears with repairs verso including a 6-mm. long hole affecting the “l” in “helen."

A VERY EARLY LETTER FROM KELLER TO HER MOTHER. Keller wrote her first letter to her cousin Anna on 16 June 1887, only three and a half months after meeting Sullivan and just before her seventh birthday. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, who included this letter in their online exhibition "The Story of my Life by Helen Keller," this letter dates to 12 July 1887, written just 25 days after her first known letter, and written while the 7-year-old was on a short visit away from home. In it, she discusses medicine, her sister Mildred, peaches, flowers, and her love for her mother. Keller’s mother, Kate (1856-1921), was a strong advocate for educating Helen and sought the help of Anne Sullivan (1866-1936), who began teaching Keller on 3 March 1887.