Truman, Harry S.
33rd President of the United States (1884-1972). Five letters signed, with ephemera. Washington, D.C. 5 letters. 4to, bifolium, each 1 p. Three typed letters signed in black ink. With franked envelopes, photograph, and accompanying ephemera.
$ 1,622 / 1.500 €
(92620/BN61912)
Five letters on official White House stationery and signed by Harry S. Truman during his presidency, written to his old high school friend Mary B. Womack and often making reference to their mutual friend Charlie Ross (1885-1950). All three individuals graduated from Independence High School in 1901, along with Truman's wife Elizabeth ("Bess") Virginia Truman (1885-1982), and Charlie Ross went on to become Truman's Press Secretary. Womack achieved a senior role with the Missouri State Teacher's Association and visited Truman in Washington when she stayed with her brother, himself a senator for Missouri.
- Truman writes in 1945, "Dear Mary: Bess and I are delighted to hear of the honor that has been conferred upon you by the Missouri State Teachers Association [...] As one President to a potential President, my heartiest congratulations - and condolences!" In another letter from the same year, he adds, "The quotation which you gave me from Tennyson is the one I carry in my pocket all the time." In 1948, "Bess joins with me in sending best wishes. Charlie Ross also wants to be remembered." And in 1952, as Truman was deciding not to run for a second term, "All through the years I have been steadfastly sustained by your support and, as you say, there never was any doubt about how my good old friends, Miss Tillie and Charlie, felt. I can't forget loyalty like this." Charlie Ross had died two years earlier. - A few hints of toning, wear to envelopes. Very good condition..