Letter sent to Charley Pride from Captain Jeff Wells: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A fan letter sent to Charley Pride from Captain Jeff Wells while serving in United States Army. The letter is handwritten in blue ink on yellow paper. In the letter, Jeff Wells thanks Charley Pride for making music that allowed him to temporarily escape from the war in Iraq. Also included are four images of Wells while serving in Iraq. The images are printed on a white piece of paper in landscape view (2012.125.76.1.6b). The images are attached to letter with a metal staple.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: May 28, 2007
• Written by: Captain Jeff Wells, American
• Received by: Charley Pride, American, 1934 - 2020
• Subject of: United States Army, American, founded 1775
• Type: letters (correspondence)
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (letter): 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (images): 8 1/2 × 11 in. (21.6 × 27.9 cm)
• Place depicted: San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Baghdad, Iraq, Middle East, Asia
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Correspondence
• Topic: Country (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Iraq War, 2003-2011
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2012.125.76.1.6ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Charley Pride
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Jeff Wells Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.