That is a terrific story and the photos are amazing. Thanks for posting.

: After years of looking at these, I finally pulled the trigger. It's
: the one I always wanted and this one is pretty minty and it has
: never been polished. The price was inline with the condition and
: I didn't want to pass it up. I will post some more pics latter.
: I have a Monaco story that follows the watch pic that is pretty
: interesting.

:

: Back in the 50's my Dad had a seaplane charter service out of Lake
: Whatcom in Bellingham, Washington and one day a man named Howell
: Conant showed up to have my Dad fly him out to San Juan Island
: to take some photos. When he arrived early that day it was foggy
: so he spent some time in our house having coffee and telling us
: of his adventures as he had travelled all over the world. At
: that time, my hobby (like a lot of kids my age - around 10) was
: collecting stamps so I asked him if he could send me something
: from one of the countries he had visited. I really didn't expect
: anything but in a couple of months I received a personal letter
: from Howell which contained an envelope with some Monaco stamps
: on the and he told me that it was Grace Kelly's hand writing on
: the front. This became one of those cherished possessions that I
: have kept all these years.
: He was the only US photographer allowed at her wedding in Monaco!
: Here are some pics of the letters and I have attached a site
: that has a lot of the pictures that he took of Grace - truly
: amazing!

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: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f61/grace-an-intimate-portrait-by-howell-conant-10573.html