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.".