“A DISCUSSION OF CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES
AND THEIR APPLICATION TO OUR EVERYDAY LIVES IN BUSINESS”

J. C. PENNEY. Two Typed Letters Signed to Norris C. Bakke, Hamilton, MO, 18 May 1945 and 21 May 1945. Each 1 page, 10½" x 7¼", on his personal letterhead.

Starting in the early 1900 ’s, this American merchant transformed his interest in a dry goods store in Wyoming into a successful national chain of department stores bearing his name. J. C. Penney stores became known for selling good quality merchandise at reasonable prices and for ethical merchandising practices, investment in personnel training, and a profit-sharing arrangement for store managers.

An active philanthropist, Penney was involved in many charitable and religious enterprises. One such endeavor, The Laymen’s Movement for a Christian World, was a group that sought to infuse Christian principles into various aspects of public life. Penney was also a frequent public speaker in his later years, often discussing the importance of religious faith and of applying the Golden Rule in business.

These two letters from Penney to a Colorado state Supreme Court justice illustrate his varied business and personal activities. In the first, he thanks his correspondent “for your gracious comment concerning my contribution to The Laymen’s Movement. The Movement has done a great deal for me, and if, in turn, I can repay in part my obligation I shall be most happy.

“I am to be in Denver on Thursday and Friday, June twenty-first and twenty-second,” Penney continues, “and I shall be glad to meet with the group of ten to fifteen men whom you propose to assemble for the purpose of a discussion of Christian principles and their application to our everyday lives in business. I am scheduled to address the Rotary Club of Denver Thursday noon, and will spend a good deal of my time, during the two days I am to be in the city, in the Denver stores of the J. C. Penney Company. But I shall reserve Thursday evening to meet with your group and shall look forward with pleasure to closer association with you, in the extension of our earlier acquaintance.”

In the second letter, Penney adds that he “would appreciate it if you could see your way clear to include one or two of our J. C. Penney Company managers of Denver Stores, among those invited to attend our Laymen’s Movement meeting.” He then identifies three managers whom he would like to have at the meeting but advises, “If you have the group already selected, and feel it would be inconvenient to include the three I have mentioned, of course I withdraw my request. I will leave the matter in your hands.” He has signed each letter, “J. C. Penney.”

Both letters are on Penney’s personal stationery, imprinted with his New York City address. However, they were actually written from Hamilton, Missouri, the town where Penney grew up.

Both letters are in very good condition. In the second, the pen skipped a bit when Penney signed, and a few letters of his signature are light. $450.00

 

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