Reagan, Ronald, as Governor of California

Autograph letter signed ("Dad"), 2 pages (10 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.; 266 x 184 mm) on State of California Governor's Office letterhead, Sacramento, California, n.d., to Patti Reagan; formerly folded, four tiny stains in left margins. [With:] Typed letter signed ("Dad"), 1 page (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), on State of California Governor's Office letterhead, Sacramento, California, 3 December 1969, to Patti Reagan; formerly folded, small pen-trial in right margin.

formerly folded, four tiny stains in left margins of first; small pen-trial in right margin of second.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Love of horses, advice on a friend.

Governor Reagan writes to his daughter Patti, then attending the Orme School in Mayer, Arizona: "... Mommie tells me you thought perhaps your class work fell off because of worry over your horse. It's good to be concerned and I want you to accept your responsibility for an animal which must depend to a certain extent on you but not to the extent that other re[s]ponsibilities are neglected. Even if there was no question of grades I'd still remind you that barring accident we all outlive our horses by many years. We love them and care for them but we don't let them possess us. Your horse is a big strong animal not a house pet ... When his time has come you'll replace him and though you may not think it now, the next horse will capture your heart also. Here I speak from the experience of 'Baby' who was my first, 'Nancy D.' who gave me such years of pleasure I get a little misty eyed in rem[em]bering and now 'Little Man' who is building his own place in my heart."

Commenting on her friend Craig: "You asked me about him and I didn't voice one question that has been nagging at the back of my mind. You owe the answer to yourself not to me. Think very carefully of past conversations & discussions. Has he consistently encouraged you to really think for yourself or has he tended to plant doubts about your own beliefs until he, in that way, got you leaning toward his beliefs? Persuading others to our own ideas is more or less natural but each of us must be on guard either against doing it or having it done to us. I sensed something of this in him that's why I suggest you ask yourself if this is true."

The second letter seems to postdate the above as the problems considered are those of a more mature girl, about to enter college: "I have a feeling that you interpreted our conversation with Doctor Loyal as a criticism in someway of your friendship for the Neals [Jim Neal was a liberal thinker and an influential poetry teacher]. ... I seemed to sense that his questions as to how you arrived at your conclusions were in someway criticism, not alone of them, but of your affection for them ... First of all I thought, and I know Loyal thought, that your answers were quite sound, intelligent, and logical. I do think he was taking advantage of that questioning to reassure himself about your thinking processes with the idea of college in mind ... We enjoyed the brief time we had with the Neals although we couldn't converse as much as we would have liked when those others came in and joined us. ..."