Would like to finds bios of Elmer Letterman who wrote The New Art of
Selling in 1957 he also wrote Commissions don't fall from heaven. and
also a picture in jpg format

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 25 Oct 2003 21:27 PDT

Hi Larusso,

I've located biographical information about this author.

I've also located a jpg photo. However, the photo was taken when Elmer
was a child (about five years old).  Is this acceptable?

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Clarification of Question by larusso-ga on 26 Oct 2003 09:52 PST

Would rather have a picture when he was and adult, if everything else
fails, then it would be acceptable with the context of the picture.

Hello.

My local library has access to a database called Contemporary Authors
Online.

Using Contemporary Authors Online, I found a biography of Elmer
Leterman (note that the correct spelling has only one "t").

For copyright reasons, I can't reproduce the biography word-for-word,
but I will summarize all of the details in my own words.

Elmer G. Leterman was born on January 16, 1897, in Charlottesville,
Virginia. He was the son of Jack J. Leterman and Bertie (Goldsmith)
Leterman.   Jack J. Leterman owned and operated a department store in
Charlottesville. Elmer Leterman was "self-educated" after leaving
grammar school when he was thirteen. On December 17, 1950, Mr
Letterman married Blanche Coepland.

Between 1925 and 1936, Elmer G. Leterman  was a partner in the
insurance brokerage firm of Stebbins, Leterman & Gates in New York
City.  Stebbins, Leterman & Gates specialized in group coverage. In
1935, Mr Leterman launched his own insurance brokerage firm, Elmer G.
Leterman & Co., Inc., also headquartered in New York City.  In 1949,
he started a second firm called The Elmer G. Leterman Company.  In
1959, a new insurance brokerage company called The Leterman-Gortz
Corporation was formed. All of Mr Leterman's companies eventually
merged into Leterman-Gortz.

In addition to his highly successful career as an insurance broker, Mr
Leterman was the author of a number of best-selling books:

The Sale Begins When the Customer Says No (1953).
[see entry at the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+53005531&CNT=10+records+per+page

Personal Power through Creative Selling (1955).
[see entry at the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+55009691&CNT=10+records+per+page

The New Art of Selling, 1957.
( republished as Commissions Don't Fall from Heaven, 1964)
[see entry at the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+56011096&CNT=10+records+per+page

Sales Management (1965)
[see entry at the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+65006269&CNT=10+records+per+page

How Showmanship Sells (1965)
[see entry at the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+64025137&CNT=10+records+per+page

They Dare to Be Different, (with Thomas W. Carlin, 1968)
[see entry at the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+68009518&CNT=10+records+per+page

Elmer Leterman's Book of Useful Quotations (1972)
[see entry at the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+74079406&CNT=10+records+per+page


Elmer Leterman was a member of the Newcomen Society and Lone Star Boat
Club.

Mr Leterman died in December, 1982, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

source:
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2003.

------------

Mr Leterman's insurance firm Leterman-Gortz is still in business. See
the company's web site at:
http://www.lgbenefits.com/History.htm

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Well, worse has come to worse, and the only photo that I've been able
to locate is the childhood photo that I mentioned.  Elmer Leterman is
sitting on his father Jack Leterman's lap (on the right) next to his
brother in the second row (from the bottom) in this photograph, hosted
by the University of Virginia:
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/exhibits/seek/images/large/anniv.jpg

The context of the photograph is a family anniversary. Elmer
Leterman's mother Bertie Goldsmith Leterman is also in the photograph.
 As described on the following University of Virginia web page, the
Letermans were prominent retailers in the city of Charlottesville,
Virginia.
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/exhibits/seek/community.html

-----------

search strategy:
Contemporary Authors Online: leterman
"elmer leterman", "elmer g. leterman"

I hope this helps.

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Request for Answer Clarification by larusso-ga on 31 Oct 2003 17:02 PST

Do you have anything regarding details of his professionnal life in
some of the bios you consulted?

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 31 Oct 2003 18:52 PST

When you say "details about his professional life," do you mean his
career as an insurance broker?

If so, what sort of details would you find helpful?  

Information about the kind of insurance that he sold?  His business
partners?

Let me know the type of information that would be most useful to you.

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Request for Answer Clarification by larusso-ga on 03 Nov 2003 16:34 PST

Thanks, I got everything that I needed from the company's web page!

Many thanks

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 03 Nov 2003 17:23 PST

You're welcome.  And thank you!

Regards,
juggler

I got every thing that I wanted, expect for a picture of Mr. Letterman
in his adult life.