Presidential

Only months after he lost his son Quentin, shot down by the German planes over France, Theodore Roosevelt consoles a woman on the death of her relative, killed by an artillery shell on the Western Front.

Theodore ROOSEVELT (1858-1919) Fine content Autograph Letter Signed, “Theodore Roosevelt” 1 page, 165 x 128 mm (5 x 6 1/2 in.) [Columbus, Ohio], 30 September 1918, addressed in his hand on the accompanying transmittal envelope to “Miss Betty Trudeau” in Columbus. Matted and framed with a transcript of the original letter from Truseau to Roosevelt and a 1907 Harris and Ewing photograph, a bust portrait of Roosevelt. 215 x 165 mm. (6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in) (sight).

A touching letter to a young woman, who had offered her condolences to the former President for the recent death of his son Quentin, an Army Air Service pilot who had been shot down over France. According to an anonymous relative, who’s account of the exchange is framed together with Roosevelt’s letter, accomplished on Ohio State University Department of Botany letterhead, that Betty had written the letter to Roosevelt, “who was here today to open the Liberty Loan campaign. It was her own idea and she carried it out without suggestion from anyone – even taking the letter to the Deshler Hotel so it would be delivered.”

Below, the writer proceeds to transcribe the contents of Betty’s letter: “The reason i am writing to you is because i have loved you ever since I was old enough to realize. I am so sorry about your son. I have two ungles [sic] in the war and my cousin Dick was killed at C[h]ateau Thierry. He was only 19 and was big and had rosey [sic] cheecks. He was hit by a shell and blown all to bits. I wish you would come to our house dinner and we would have all the children in the neighborhood like a big birthday party. Mother says I could have you if you will come.”

Her heartfelt letter elicited the following response from Roosevelt the same day: “Dear little Miss Betty, That’s a dear note of yours, I am very sorry about your gallant cousin Dick, and I hope all you other kinsfolk who are at the front, fighting bravely, will come tome to you safely. Your friend Theodore Roosevelt“.

The news of Quentin’s death deeply wounded the former President, who after war erupted in Europe in 1914 had staunchly advocated U.S. involvement in the conflict. With Archie Roosevelt already wounded, it was more than either he, or Edith, could bear. Feeling responsible for urging his sons to go into harm’s way, he wrote, “It is rather awful to know ath he paid with his life, and that my other sons may pay with their lives, to try to put in practice what I preached.”¹ While in Columbus, Roosevelt was greeted by Justice E. W. McCormick, whose son, Lt. Vaughn R. McCormick had been Quentin Roosevelt’s commander in the 22nd Aero Squadron. Tragically, Lt. McCormick had also killed serving in France on September 12, 1918—only two weeks before.²

His loss did nothing to deter his resolve to prosecute the war vigorously. Roosevelt had been in the midst of a multi city speaking tour promoting the Liberty Loan, including Baltimore, Columbus, Kansas City, and Wichita before returning to New York. As he had in Baltimore the evening beforehand, Roosevelt urged “universal obligatory service” for both men and women, as a means of preparedness as well as the deportation of conscientious objectors employing the reasoning that only those who were wiling to die for the country were fit to live here. Roosevelt also cited the lack of American preparedness before she entered the war, arguing that “‘the war would have been over ninety days after this country entered it…'”³

Expected folds, some minor but normal loss to top margin of transmittal envelope, else very good condition.

(EXA 6002) $5,750
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¹ Kathleen Dalton, Theodore Roosevelt: a Strenuous Life (2007), 504.
² Plain Dealer, Cleveland, 2 Oct. 1918, 13.
³ New York Times, 1 October 1918, 8.

Franklin Roosevelt signs a beautiful color print of the White House in the controversial 1936 Democratic Book

Franklin D. ROOSEVELT (1882-1945) His signature, “Franklin D. Roosevelt” as President, accomplished beneath a charming color engraving of the White House 365 x 285 mm. (14 1/2 X 11 1/2 in.), bound in a limited edition volume THE DEMOCRATIC BOOK 1936. ([Philadelphia, 1936]) 384 pp., quarto, bound in soft brown leather with gilt lettering and the original pictorial wraps bound in. Limited Edition #2,120 of 2,500 copies.

A voluminous book of information and advertising (many liquor ads) that was used as a fundraiser for the Democratic Party containing FDR’s acceptance speech, the Democratic Platform of 1936, and biographies of all the Cabinet members as well as articles on Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet departments, and reproductions of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Franklin Roosevelt signed 1936 Democratic Book

The Democratic National Committee published the volume with fund-raising for the 1936 campaign in mind, charging $2,500 for full-page advertisements. Republicans, observing that many of the sponsors, which included General Electric, General Motors and U.S. Still, had pending business before the government, immediately accused the D.N.C. of violating the Corrupt Practices Act.

Boards and spine rubbed at edges and especially at corners, interior pages and signed White House print is pristine and other pages quite clean.

(EXA 6006) $2,650

A scarce broadside announcing a store closure in honor of Garfield’s funeral, September 1881

(James A. GARFIELD) Broadside, IN MEMORIAM, 231 x 317 mm. (9 1/8 x 12 1/2 in.), bearing an engraved bust portrait of the recently-deceased President Garfield at left: “In respect to the memory of the deceased President of the United States, this Store Will be Closed the day of the funeral. MONDAY, the 26th inst.” Garfield had died of wounds inflicted by Charles Guiteau on September 19, 1881.

Mounted to another sheet, small losses at corners do not affect text or imagery, light spots of toning, else very good.

(EXA 6074) $850

After suffering a sprained ankle after a day of golf in the midst of the Election of 1912 against Wilson and Roosevelt’s Bull Moose, Taft assures his correspondent, “A few more days of rest, and I’ll be out on the links again.”

Typed Letter Signed, “Wm H Taft” as President, 1 page, 6″ x 6.5″ (sight) on White House letterhead, Beverly, Massachusetts, September 7, 1912, to Charles A. Ricks in Collinwood, Ohio. Matted and framed with a photograph.

Taft writes, in full: “Thank you for your kind letter of September 7th. It won’t be necessary for me to try Doctor Phillips’ remedy this time, for, I am glad to say, my ankle is very greatly improved. A few more days of rest, and I’ll be out on the links again. I appreciate your thoughtfulness, old man!”

What exactly constituted the doctor’s “remedy” is anyone’s guess. Taft was the target of a good deal of ridicule in the press due to his penchant to hit the links during the bitter campaign against Theodore Roosevelt’s breakaway Progressive Party, which split the Republican vote and cost him the Presidency. Ironically, he sprained his ankle while playing golf over the weekend before he returned to Washington on September 4, 1912.¹

The recipient, Charles A. Ricks (1869-1914) was a manger for Standard Oil in Cleveland when he organized the G. C. Kuhlman Car Company, serving as the electric railroad car manufacturer’s secretary and treasurer until his death in 1914.²

Fine condition.

(EXA 6003) $1,200
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¹ “Taft Suffers from Sprained Ankle,” The New Orleans Item, 4 Sept. 1912, 5.
² Samuel Peter Orth, A History of Cleveland, Ohio: Biographical (1910), 819; Electric Railway Journal, 29 Aug. 1914, 44:409.

Edith Kermit Roosevelt hand makes a gift for the Needle Guild of America in the depths of the Great Depression

Edith Kermit ROOSEVELT (1861-1948) Autograph Note [in Edith Kermit Roosevelt’s hand?] on her “MRS. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, SENIOR SAGAMORE HILL OYSTER BAY, NEW YORK” stationery, 175 x 150 mm. (6 7/8 x 5 7/8 in.), offering her “Best wishes for a successful coed party“. Offered together with the enclosure, a purple and tan felt thread holder fashioned as an owl, stitched with black thread, 165 x 80 mm. (6 1/2 x 3 in.). One of the more unusual pieces that we have had the pleasure of offering in some time.

Her note and gift are accompanied by a note of provenance from “Aunt Marion” to “Lois“, writing “…here is that item Mrs Roosevelt made for the Needle work Guild of America, quite a long time ago, November 1932, she did not date her note, I wish I had, as you can see it is a quite hold…” 227 x 152 mm. (9 x 6 in.).

Housed in a 8 x 7 x 1 1/2 in. Cardboard box addressed to “MRS. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, SAGAMORE HILL, OYSTER BAY“. On a printed label from The American Stationery Co., of Peru, Indiana.

Fine condition overall.

(EXA 6007) $750

Collection of medical prescriptions for William & Ida McKinley signed by the President’s personal physician, Admiral Rixey

President & Mrs. McKinley medical prescriptions

(William and Ida McKINLEY) Admiral Presley Marion RIXEY (1852-1928) Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy fro 1902-1910, personal physician to Presidents William McKinley (1897-1901) and Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909). He attended to McKinley after he was shot by American anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York in 1901.

Eleven Autograph Documents Signed “R.“, 1 page each, 85 x 124 mm. (3 3/8 x 4 7/8 in.), 3 January 1899 to 12 June 1900, prescriptions for President McKinley (1) and Mrs. McKinley (10), on U.S. Naval Dispensary prescription paper. The prescription for President McKinley for Glyco-Thymoline (mouthwash) was issued on 12 June 1900, a week before he diverted troops from the Philippines to spearhead the China Relief Expedition, a multi-national military rescue mission sent to liberate U.S. Citizens and European nationals trapped in China during the Boxer Rebellion.

Light soiling and edge wear, some creasing, overall fine condition.

(EXA 6001) $950

A rare and unusual Soviet imprint on Karl Marx’s 1864 petition to Abraham Lincoln

Nationalization of the Land — Letter to President Lincoln, unpaginated, ([Moscow?], c. 1930), 5 leaves, 251 x 170 mm. (9 7/8 x 6 13/16 in.), the first two leaves bearing reproductions, the first: 300 x 194mm. (11 3/4 x 7 5/8) folded into quarters, the second: 170 x 112 mm. (16 13/16 x 4 1/4) folded into two leaves. All housed in unstitched titled paper wraps, first leaf separate and balance bound together though independent of the outer wrap.

A highly unusual imprint offering a reproduction of Karl Marx’s petition to Abraham Lincoln, on behalf of the International Working Men’s Party, composed in November 1864 and presented to Charles Francis Adams, the American Ambassador to the Court of St. James in January 1865. The balance of the work concerns Marx’s 3 December 1869 memorandum to English philosopher Robert Applegarth advocating his reasons for the abolition of private property. The volume includes a four page color reproduction of Marx’s draft memorandum to Applegarth as well as a five page printed transcript of the same.

The origin of this rare publication is murky. We have been able to source only two extant copies of this imprint one at the University of Kansas and the other at the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin (OCLC 56194628). The copy owned by Kansas is cataloged as possibly printed in the United States. However, the example in Berlin is cataloged suggesting a Soviet origin c. 1930. (The presence of stamps from the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute in Moscow, visible in the reproduction of Marx’s draft letter to Applegarth is likely what informed this supposition).

Corner creases and small tear to rear cover, light soiling to front cover, tear at bottom os spine neatly repaired, other light marginal wear, light toning, and some mild creases.

(EXA 5707) $1,200

Large format silver print of William McKinley c. 1898 with Generals Joseph Wheeler, Henry Lawton, William R. Shafter and Joseph W. Keifer

(Spanish American War: William McKINLEY) (1843-1901) A large mounted silver print photograph, 175 x 255 mm. (6 7/8 x 10 1/8 in.) on a 245 x 355 mm. (9 3/4 x 14 in.) mount, c. 1898, showing McKinley seated on the deck of a ship together with (from right to left) Generals Joseph Wheeler, Henry Lawton, William R. Shafter and Joseph W. Keifer. Image originally published as a stereoview by Strohmeyer & Wyman. Very rare in this larger format.

Bottom portion of mount, lower margin rough as shown, some moderate silvering.

(EXA 5644) $125

Decoration Day Broadside offering an “EXCURSION TO NEW YORK CITY over the West Shore Railroad”, the same parade where Grover Cleveland publicly revealed his engagement to Frances Folsom

(Grover Cleveland) Broadside, “DECORATION DAY EXCURSION TO NEW YORK CITY over the West Shore Railroad“, 255 x 123 mm. (10 x 4 3/4 in.) and reads, in part: “Decoration Day[^*] will be observed in New York City on Monday, May 31st, 1886, in a manner that will interest every citizen of the Republic. A Grand Military Parade, participated in by the Grand Army Posts, National Guard and Civil Societies, will be an attractive feature of the day. The ceremonies at the TOMB OF GENERAL GRANT, Riverside Park, will be of unusual interest.” The broadside provides instructions for acquiring tickets and information regarding the return trip and proximity to steamships, “…The down-town station at foot of Jay Street is convenient to the Iron Steamboats at Pier One, and to the Steamers of the Bay Ridge Route at Battery Place, for Coney Island & Manhattan Beach.”

The broadside is a fun association piece in that President Grover Cleveland marched in the advertised New York parade and thrilled the scandal-hungry press when he returned the affectionate salutations of parade observer Frances Folsom, a young woman who grew up calling him “Uncle Cleve”, who in that moment revealed herself, with a flirtatious wave of her handkerchief, to be the President’s secret fiancé. Two days later, Frances Folsom married Grover Cleveland in the Blue Room of the White House.

The West Shore Railroad was chartered in 1885 on a 475 year lease to the New York Central Railroad, succeeding the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway. The total trackage of the West Shore Railroad was 495.20 miles, with the main line running between Weehawken, New Jersey and Buffalo, New York, and the branch lines servicing the New York City suburbs, Athens, Syracuse, and the Buffalo suburbs.

Edge wear with moderate chipping at bottom margin, a tiny area of paper loss at top margin not affecting content, light creasing, fragile, overall very good condition.

(EXA 5659) $200
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^* Decoration Day was the original name for Memorial Day. While different accounts of its inception persist, the practice of decorating the graves of fallen soldiers predates the American Civil War. The first organized observance of Decoration Day traces back to 1 May 1865, when 10,000 black citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, in combination with educators, students, abolitionists and missionaries, paraded on the grounds of the Washington Race Course and Jockey Club, a property owned by a slaveholder that had been converted to an outdoor prison by the Confederate Army. Due to deplorable conditions, 257 prisoners died of exposure or disease, and were buried in a mass grave behind the grandstand. After the war, a groups of Charlston citizens took it upon themselves to exhume the deceased soldiers and give them a proper Union burial. The massive parade and gathering commemorating the lives of deceased soldiers is often referred to as the First Decoration Day.^† John A. Logan, the Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, led a campaign in 1868 promoting the recognition of Decoration Day as a national holiday. See Gulla Heritate and Wikipedia

A superb albumen photograph of Hesler’s Lincoln

[Abraham LINCOLN] George AYRES (1829-1905) after Alexander HESLER (1823-1895), mounted albumen photograph, 215 x 174 mm. (8 1/2 x 6 3/4), a portrait of Abraham Lincoln in near profile printed from the original negative. (Ostendorf #26)

Chicago photographer Alexander Hesler was invited to photograph Lincoln in Springfield in June 1860 soon after his nomination for President at the Republican National Convention. During the sitting in the Old State House Hesler took three portraits. Lincoln remarked upon seeing the proofs, “That looks better and expresses me better than I have ever seen; if it pleases the people I am satisfied.”

This photograph is considered one of the finest ever taken of Lincoln. His law partner William Herndon noted of it, “There is the peculiar curve of the lower lip, the lone mole on the right cheek, and a pose of the head so essentially Lincolnian; no other artist has ever caught it.”

Artist George B. Ayres acquired two of Hesler’s original negatives following the close of the Civil War and made a living selling prints of them from the 1880s through the turn of the century. Ayres’ original interpositive for this image was broken in transit in the 1930s.

Housed in a deep and ornate victorian frame (14 x 12 in.) with gilt trim.

Some loss to backing from previous housing in a twentieth century photo album, slightly trimmed, however the albumen is in superb shape with very little evidence of wear or fading.

(EXA 5437) $2,500

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