Lot 98
Harry S. Truman, 4 documents; Autograph Letter Signed "Harry" as U.S. Senator, one full page 8.5 x 11", Cape Girardeau, Missouri, November 27, 1940, to John W. Snyder on his rare personal stationery as Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Missouri, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Ornate Partly Printed Document Signed "John Wesley Snyder," countersigned by the Sovereign Grand Commander 33° and Grand Secretary General 33° of the Supreme Council Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, one page 16 x 20.75". Boston, Massachusetts, September 28, 1966, embossed gold seal affixed at bottom center, signed in the upper left "Harry S. Truman 33° / P G-M / 8-25-67 / Mo." Truman was made a Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33°, and Honorary Member, Supreme Council on October 19, 1945, Typed letter signed "Harry S. Truman" to John Snyder, dated November 16, 1965, on personal stationery, which reads: "Dear John: I sincerely hope that the 33° situation will develop as you anticipate. I wish I could be there for the ceremony. It is a lovely ceremony and one that you would like. It is still too far in advance for me to know what my situation will be next fall but, if it is at all possible for me to make the trip I would certainly want to be there. Sincerely yours (signed) Harry S. Truman", and a Typed letter signed "Harry S. Truman" to John Snyder, dated October 25, 1966, on personal stationery, which reads: "Dear John: I am happy to know that you are now way up there on the 33rd with the 'chosen few'. Congratulations! I agree with you that the outlook does not appear too good - and as you may have read, I have said so publicly. When you are out this way, come to see me and we will talk about it. Sincerely yours (signed) Harry S. Truman", also included is an envelope addressed to Snyder,with a printed frank of Truman; some minor flaws, Very Fine.Estimate $3,000 - 4,000.
AN OUTSTANDING HARRY S. TRUMAN MASONIC COLLECTION.
In 1911, Truman was among the organizers of Masonic Lodge 618 in Grandview. "I have the big head terribly," he wrote proudly to Bess Wallace on June 16, 1911,when he was elected its first Master. After World War I, Truman focused his efforts on serving the entire Masonic district that included Jackson County outside of Kansas City. In 1925, he was appointed District Deputy Grand Master and Lecturer and for about five years he gave courses of instruction in lodges throughout the district. In 1940, Senator Truman was elected Grand Master for the Grand Lodge of Missouri. His last duty in this position was to preside over the lodge's annual meeting, held in St. Louis, September 30-October 1, 1941. "Well my tour of duty as Grand Master ended up in a blaze of glory," Truman wrote to Bess after the meeting. "My good friends were the happiest men you ever saw and I felt like it was worth all the effort and time." On October 19, 1945, President Truman was given the 33rd degree of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite for the southern jurisdiction. Of 14 U.S. Presidents who were Masons, President Truman is the only one to be given the 33° of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite which he considered with satisfaction to be the culmination of his Masonic career. "Freemasonry," Truman wrote Frank Briggs in 1939, "is a system of morals which makes it easier to live with your fellow man, whether he understands it or not.".
Lot 99
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States, 1945-1953. Typed Letter Signed "Harry S. Truman" as ex-President, one page, 7¼" x 10½". Independence, Missouri, July 22, 1966, to James E. Webb, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C., accompanied with original 7½" x 4" printed franked envelope, staple holes in blank upper edge of letter and right edge of envelope, Very Fine.Estimate $750 - 1,000.
TRUMAN THANKS THE NASA ADMINISTRATOR - WHO DIRECTED THE SPACE PROGRAM FROM MERCURY TO APOLLO - FOR AN INSCRIBED COPY OF NASA'S FIRST "ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY.".
Letter reads in full, In full, "Dear Jim: Thank you for your good letter of July 15th, and the hook 'An Administrative History of NASA 1958-1963'. I appreciate most highly your thoughtfulness in remembering me with a copy of the hook and am most grateful for the kind inscription on the fly-leaf. I hope everything is going well with you and am sure it is." Also accompanied by an unsigned carbon of Webb's July 15, 1966 letter to Truman thanking him for the generous support.
James F. Webb served as Truman's Director of the Bureau of the Budget from July 13, 1946 to January 27, 1949, and as his Under Secretary of State from January 28, 1949 to February 29, 1952. He was NASA Administrator from February 14, 1961, 11 weeks before Alan Shepard's first manned Mercury mission, until October 7, 1968, four days before the launch of Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission.
Lot 100
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States, 1945-1953. Typed Letter Signed "H.S.T." as President, one page, 7" x 9", on pale green White House stationery, Washington D.C., November 10, 1949 in the form of a "Memorandum for: Acting Secretary of State / From: The President." to James F. Webb with oval receipt stamping "Under Secretary / Nov 14 1949 / Department of State." and reading in full, "Thanks for the background memoranda on the visit of His Imperial Majesty, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shahinshah of Iran. I appreciated your thoughtfulness in sending it to me very much.", Very Fine.Estimate $750 - 1,000.
PREPARING FOR THE FIRST VISIT OF 30-YEAR-OLD MOHAMMAD REZA PAHLAVI, THE SHAH OF IRAN, TO THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENT TRUMAN THANKS THE ACTING SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HIS "BACKGROUND MEMORANDA.".
On November 16, 1949, President Truman greeted Mohammad Rez Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, on his first visit to the United States. The Shah was given a 21-gun salute and full military honors. Truman said, in part, "I have looked forward to Your Majesty's visit with great pleasure, and 1 trust that during its course you may have the opportunity of becoming well acquainted with our country. 1 trust, too, that we may have the opportunity of acquiring through Your Majesty a better knowledge of Iran, its heritage of greatness and culture, and the courage and farsightedness with which present-day Iran, led by Your Majesty, is facing the problems of the modem world…" James F. Webb served as Truman's Under Secretary of State from January 28, 1949 to February 29, 1952.
Realized: $600
Lot 101
Harry S. Truman, 1884-1972, 33rd President of the United States 1945-1953. Signature "Harry Truman" on Harry S. Truman Inauguration Day cachet cover bearing 4½¢ White House prexie issue tied by "Washington D.C. Jan 20 1949" machine cancel, unaddressed, Very Fine.Estimate $500 - 750.
Lot 102
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States, 1945-1953. Typed Letter Signed "Harry Truman" as ex-President, one page, 7" x 10", on his personal letterhead, April 29, 1963 addressed to Jacob Baal-Teshuva, "I will, of course, be most happy to receive the first copy of the book and if it is not possible for me to be in New York, and it doesn't look as ifl will be, you can present it to Margaret for me. She will be glad to receive it." Truman adds a handwritten postscript: "Margaret's address is Mrs. Clifton Daniel, 830 Park Ave., N. Y. City.", with the original transmittal envelope plus two other envelopes, Very Fine.Estimate $500 - 750.
TRUMAN LETTER WITH JUDAICA CONTENT. TERRIFIC ASSOCIATION, IN THAT TRUMAN INITIATED THE RECOGNITION OF THE JEWISH STATE.
Lot 103
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States, 1945-1953. Typed Letter Signed "Harry" as President, on light green White House stationery, one page, 7" x 9", Washington D.X., January 6, 1949, to John W. Snyder, Sec. of the Treasury reads in full "Dear John, I appreciated your note of the fifth in regard to the Message. I am glad you liked it. I believe the response was good. I also received the letter addressed to - Fellow Missourians on the Float Celebration. I'll talk with you about it at a later date.", Very Fine.Estimate $200 - 300.
Realized: $100
Lot 104
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, 1953-1961. Autograph Letter Signed "Ike", 2 pages, 8" x 10½", [Portsmouth], July 15, 1944 to his wife Mamie Eisenhower giving her an update on his health and well-being, and commenting on the crush of mail from well-wishers, light creases and expected mailing folds, Very Fine.Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.
FIVE WEEKS AFTER D-DAY, EISENHOWER IS OVERWHELMED WITH LETTERS "FROM PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY ARE INTIMATE FRIENDS - THEY'VE BECOME SO SINCE MY NAME GOT INTO THE PAPERS. BUT BUTCHER OR LEE WRITES TO ANSWER ALL EXCEPT THOSE PALPABLY LOOKING FOR SIGNATURE - THOSE THEY THROW INTO THE WASTEBASKET…".
In the letter, Eisenhower makes reference to Harry C. Butcher, his naval aide, as well as Ernest "Tex" Lee, one of the General's aides-de-camp. Eisenhower writes in full, "I've been trying to remember whether or not I wrote to you yesterday. Since my notes to you are always in long hand I have no record in which to check. In any event, I have to wait a few minutes on a paper[?] I've just dictated- so I can send a short message. My health remains good, though I have been useless since I've exercised. This a.m. I had a teletype from Jerry Matjka, saying you were in good health & sprits, and indicating that you had the reports on our current operations. Now you can see only I've been talking lately of 'pressure.' Everything is going well at the moment. I hope we can keep on in the same way. My correspondence is in arrears. I owe a hundred letters - but I can't help it. I hear from people who say they are intimate friends - they've become so since my name got into the papers. But Commander] Butcher or [Lieutenant Colonel] Lee tries to answer aii except those palpably looking for signature - those they throw into the wastebasket. My gosh - here is Marshall with the report. Lots of love, my sweet -1 miss you terribly! Always yours Ike.".
Lot 105
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Typed Quote Signed "Dwight D. Eisenhower" as President, being a typescript of the Oath of Office as President of the United States, one page, 6" x 9". The Capitol, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1953. Accompanied with a photograph of Eisenhower being sworn in as President. Ideal for framing., Very Fine.Estimate $500 - 750.
Lot 106
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Typed Letter Signed "Dwight D. Eisenhower" as Republican nominee for President on Office of Eisenhower letterhead, one page 7" x 10¼", Denver, Colorado, July 31, 1952, letter to campaign supporter Estelle D. Tanner with some interesting content reading in part "I have been in cordial communication with Senator Taft since the convention and have been meeting personally with many of his leading supporters. The evidence of unity and teamwork revealed in all of these conversations gives me great confidence in a Republican victory next November", Very Fine.Estimate $300 - 400.
The 1952 Republican National Convention was held at the International Amphitheater in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois from July 7 to July 11, 1952, and nominated the popular general and war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower of Kansas, also known as "Ike," for President and the anti-communist crusading Senator from California, Richard M. Nixon, for Vice President.
Realized: $210
Lot 107
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Typed Letter Signed "Dwight D. Eisenhower" as Republican nominee for President on Office of Eisenhower letterhead, one page 7" x 10¼", written aboard the Campaign Train, September 22, 1952, to Estelle D. Tanner thanking her for her support, Very Fine.Estimate $100 - 150.
Realized: $90