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Typed letter signed "Calvin Klein" in black ink on Calvin Klein letterhead and is dated 20 November 1981. Letter reads as follows: Dear Mr. Gamble: Somehow your letter has only just reached my desk. I am glad that you enjoyed the press kit and advertising portfolios I sent earlier, and am enclosing a copy of my most recent portfolio for you to add to your collection. Unfortunately after giving the matter some thought, I am unable to come up with any suggestions as to how to make your collection into a profit-making venture. Perhaps a local museum would like to house some of the items. I appreciate your interest, and wish you continued success with your collecting. Sincerely, Calvin Klein Fine Condition Klein was born in 1942 in the Bronx, New York, where he spent all his childhood. As a youth he taught himself to sketch and sew. He attended the High School of Art and Design, moving on to the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology. He spent five years as an apprentice in a coat and suit house on Seventh Avenue in New York City, working long nights and weekends to hone his own designs. In 1968 he and close friend and financial backer/adviser Barry Schwartz created a Calvin Klein coat business. The first order was obtained purely, and ironically, by accident when a coat buyer from Bonwit Teller got off on the wrong floor of a hotel and wandered into Klein's workroom. She placed an order for $50,000, which was a hugh amount at that time. Encouraged by the fashion press' exaltations and store executives' support, Klein expanded his line to include women's sportswear. Klein's world soon included his couture line, Calvin Klein Collection for men and women, CK sportswear for men and women, and CK jeans. He also licensed arrangements for his menswear, coats, accessories, intimate apparel, hosiery, swimwear, eyewear, furs, socks, and fragrances, all under his careful control and management. Of the many categories licensed, denim jeans, along with fragrances, built a large following among consumers who sought an affordable way to attain the designer's cache. By 1997 sales of Calvin Klein Jeans approached half a billion dollars.
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