AN OVERSIZED HERBERT HOOVER SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH

HERBERT HOOVER (1874-1964).  Hoover was the Thirty-First President.

PS. 13 ½” x 20”. No date. No place.  A giant Harris and Ewing studio photograph signed “To the 16^th Assembly District Republican Club With Good Wishes of Herbert Hoover” on the lower mount.  The 16^th Assembly District was most likely in California.  It is mounted to a board and has some faults to the lower left margin.  It is in very good condition.  This is the largest Hoover signed photograph I have ever seen.

HERBERT HOOVER (1874-1964).  Hoover was the Thirty-First President.

Telegram. 1pg. May 29, 1929. Washington, DC.  A telegram sent by Herbert Hoover, wishing Adolph Lewisohn a happy eightieth birthday.  Hoover notes “Mr Lewisohns valuable and unselfish labors in philanthropy and enterprises of civil altruism…please present my heartiest congratulations upon his birthday…”.  The Western Union telegram has faults, and is framed with a photograph of Hoover at a dias.

AN ANDREW JACKSON AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED AS PRESIDENT, REGARDING SURVEYING

ANDREW JACKSON (1767-1845). Jackson was the Seventh President.

ANS. 1pg. October 11, 1836. N.p. An autograph note signed “A.J.” as President. It concerns Major W. J. McNeill, an engineer who was engaged in surveying northwestern land for the President: “Commercial agent & corresponding secretary Major McNeil topographicol [sic] staff if not already let him be ordered to his topographicol [sic] duty on the north western frontier A.J.”. The note is in very good condition with dark writing. It is mounted to another sheet, with an unrelated letter overlapping with it, yet not obscuring any of the writing.

LETTER WRITTEN ON BEHALF OF PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON DECLINING A DINNER INVITATION JUST ONE MONTH AFTER HE SURVIVED IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: “I LOVE GREATLY TO PAY TRIBUTE TO A SELF MADE MAN – A SELF MADE MAN MYSELF HAVING RISEN FROM THE POSITION OF AN ALDERMAN IN MY NATIVE VILLAGE THROUGH THE VARIOUS GRADES OF STATE LEGISLATOR GOVERNOR OF MY NATIVE STATE, REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS, SENATOR, VICE PRESIDENT TO THE HUMBLE POSITION I NOW HOLD AS PRESIDENT OF A GREAT AND GLORIOUS REPUBLIC”

ANDREW JOHNSON (1808-1875). Johnson was the Seventeenth President.

Letter. 2 pg. 8” x 10”. July 28. 1868. Washington, D.C. A letter written on behalf of “A. Johnson” to “Gentlemen” declining an invitation to a banquet celebrating the birthday of a mutual friend.  As Johnson disdained handwriting, this is in the handwriting of a secretary.  In giving the reason for declining the invitation, President Johnson cites “I regret exceedingly that my labors on behalf of an imperiled constitution will deprive me of the pleasure of paying due honors to your distinguished guest”. For Johnson, going to the banquet would be gratifying since he and the guest are self-made men: “I love greatly to pay tribute to a self made man – a self made man myself having risen from the position of an alderman in my native village through the various grades of state legislator Governor of my native state, representatives in Congress, Senator, Vice President to the humble position I now hold as President of a great and glorious republic…Permit me to thank you gentlemen, for your kind invitation and the opportunity it thus affords me to pay my humble tribute to a self-man made”. Johnson then concludes the letter by returning to his theme of an imperiled country: “Believe me, that pressing official duties alone prevent me from meeting around your festive band and raising my humble voice in offering a toast to that sacred and much violated instrument, the great work of our revolution of sires, a record which we are all bound to love and obey – the Constitution”. That year, President Johnson survived removal by the United States Senate by one vote over violations of the Tenure of Office Act, the culmination of a running feud with Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction and civil rights for blacks. A list of the gentlemen addressed in the letter is given on the left side of the first page. The letter is in fine condition and an excellent example of Andrew Johnson’s mindset.

PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON ENDORSES A CHECK RELATED TO LOANS MADE WHEN HE WAS MILITARY GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE IN 1862; IT HAS RARE PRESIDENTIAL HANDWRITING

ANDREW JOHNSON (1808-1875).  Johnson was the Seventeenth President, becoming President upon Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.  He was also the first President impeached.

DS. 2pg. 3 3/8” x 8”. October 31, 1866. Washington, DC.  A partly printed check endorsed “Executive Mansion Nov 5^th 1866 Please pay first National Bank Andrew Johnson” on the back.  The front of the check is signed by Michael Burns, a Tennessee businessman and politician.  It is from Nashville, dated October 31, 1866, and was for the stunning amount of $14,600, payable to Dempsey Weaver.  The money was most likely for loans Johnson made when Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862.  This was signed just days before the 1866 Congressional midterm elections that affected the direction of Reconstruction.  There is a tax stamp, vignettes, a cancellation cut and light creasing.  Johnson handwritten materials as President, of any sort, is extremely rare.  While there are some Johnson Presidential checks on the market, I’ve never seen this format before.

PRESIDENT JOHNSON SENDS AMBASSADOR WILLIAM BLAIR BIRTHDAY WISHES DURING THE 1966 MANILA SUMMIT CONFERENCE

LYNDON JOHNSON (1908-1973). Johnson was the Thirty-Sixth President.

WILLIAM BLAIR (1916-1915).  Blair was President Kennedy’s Ambassador to Denmark and President Johnson’s Ambassador to the Philippines.  He was also law partner with Adlai Stevenson.

TLS. 1pg. 6 ¾” x 9”. October 24, 1966. The White House. A typed letter signed “Lyndon B. Johnson” as President on “The White House” letterhead. Johnson wrote to the Ambassador to the Philippines William McCormick Blair Jr. on Blair’s fiftieth birthday that occurred during the historic Manila Summit Conference: “Dear Bill: What a happy coincidence for you to have a birthday on the convening of this historic conference in the city of your Ambassadorial assignment! I am sure this birthday will be one that will seldom be surpassed either for the hours you have worked, the contributions you have made, or the illustrious company with whom you have participated on this occasion. I want to wish you many more birthdays – less hectic than this perhaps, but certainly filled with the warm good wishes of so many friends as you have with you today. Sincerely, Lyndon B. Johnson”.  At the 1966 Manila Summit Conference, Johnson and leaders from six other nations met to discuss the Vietnam War. The letter is in very fine condition with a faint mailing fold.