Description:

Nancy Reagan
n.p., ca. May 21, 1963
Nancy Reagan AN On Barry Goldwater TLS Re: 1963 Ronald Reagan Kansas Campaigning, & Stu Udall's Crack About Unemployed Actors
AN
A 1p typed letter signed by Barry Goldwater (1909-1998), then U.S. Senator from Arizona and future 1964 Republican presidential nominee, as "Barry" above his typed signature as "Barry Goldwater." May 21, 1963. [Washington, D.C.] On watermarked stationery with "Barry Goldwater / Arizona / United States Senate / Washington, D.C." letterhead. Goldwater's letter addressed to Ronald Reagan has been inscribed at bottom by Nancy Reagan (1921-2016) as: "This is the letter I told you about on the phone -." Expected wear including flattened folds, a few extra wrinkles, and isolated closed tears. Staple holes at upper left. One letter of Nancy's inscription is slightly smeared. Else near fine. 8" x 10.5." With impeccable provenance.

Barry Goldwater wrote to Ronald Reagan about the latter's trip to Wichita, Kansas earlier that month to campaign for the Republican Party, a political party that Reagan had fully embraced by the early 1960s. Whether through accident or design, Kansas Republicans and Kansas Democrats scheduled banquets on the same day at the same time, the evening of May 4, 1963. Republican champion Ronald Reagan had welcomed 2,000 Republicans to the Sedgwick County Republican Dinner at the Broadview Hotel in Wichita, Kansas; while defender of the Kennedy administration and Secretary of the Interior Stewart "Stu" Udall (1920-2010) had mustered 400 Democrats to the Roosevelt-Truman Dinner hosted by area Democrats at the nearby Lassen Hotel. Goldwater significantly refers to these lopsided banquet statistics in his letter to Reagan.

Goldwater wrote in part:

"Dear Ronnie, Neither you nor I is unemployed, but I think I have a little more ham in me than you give me credit for, and I recognize you as one of our outstanding actors. Stu Udall is mis-employed and should be unemployed and if the reaction to him in Wichita where only 400 turned out, compared to your 2,000, is any indicator, I think he may be becoming too much of a stone for even Kennedy's neck…"

At the Roosevelt-Truman Dinner in Wichita, Secretary Udall had dug at Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, calling them both "unemployed actors." This was an especially offensive remark to Barry Goldwater, as he had never been a professional actor like Reagan had. But Goldwater assures Reagan that he has sufficient "ham" in him to sway future voters.

Reagan continued supporting Goldwater's campaign over the next 18 months, culminating in his October 27, 1964 "A Time for Choosing" speech, sometimes simply called "The Speech." Reagan's remarks on conservatism on this occasion catapulted him into the limelight of conservative circles. Goldwater's presidential campaign against Lyndon B. Johnson failed in November 1964, but it launched the political career of Ronald Reagan, who was elected Governor of California in 1966.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

  • Provenance: With impeccable provenance, coming from the files of Helene von Damm (b. 1938), Reagan's longtime personal secretary and later Ambassador to Austria, and gifted to our consignor, her White House assistant.
  • Dimensions: 8" x 10.5"
  • Medium: AN

Accepted Forms of Payment:

ACH, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

April 10, 2024 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000