Elliott Springs, two letters signed by hand (1896-1959) one to Mrs. Marion Witherspoon, dated January 10, 1921, 'I notice you have an old Cupboard and old Piano... Yours very truly, Elliott Springs', H10 7/8" W8 3/8"; one to Miss Mary Donnom Witherspoon, dated November 8, 1948, 'I have found a man in Charlotte who will do over the piano,... Yours, Elliott', H10" W7" (Good condition). *Biography: Elliott White Springs was born July 31, 1896. He was one of the finest, bravest, and most daring pilots produced in World War I. At the end of the war, in 1918 and a year after he graduated from Princeton, he was 22 years old, a squadron commander, a captain, and holder of the British Flying Cross and the American Distinguished Service Cross. He returned to military service during World War II and left with the rank of lieutenant colonel. At 35 years old, he inherited from his father the task of running Springs Cotton Mills, which consisted of five comparatively obsolete plants in Lancaster, Chester, and York counties. Springs committed himself to learning the fundamentals of textile manufacturing. He not only learned the new business but became familiar with every technical detail related to operating a textile plant. He worked on a loom in his basement, testing proposals of his workers and supervisors. He discovered that "for a man who loves machines, a cotton mill beats an airplane." He worked until he knew the workings of all machines in the plants and could tell by the sound whether things were running right. In 1958, Springs Cotton Mills was only the seventh-largest textile company in the United States, but it led the textile industry in profitability. And Springs had become the world's largest producer of sheets and pillowcases. Springs died October 15, 1959. At his death, he was chairman of Springs Cotton Mills, a company that he took over in 1931 when America was in the depths of the Great Depression, and 10 years later had made it one of the textile industry's major success stories. Before he died, he designated his son-in-law, H. William Close, as his successor. Today, Springs Industries, Inc., is a $2.2 billion public company.