Description:

New York City Mayor William O'Dwyer Huge Archive 575 pages 166 photos

This archive of Mayor William O'Dwyer includes a variety of letters to the mayor, offers of honorary memberships or passes from a variety of businesses and organizations, documents from his World War II service, numerous photographs, and a variety of other items from his life and career, including his diplomatic passport from his work as a member of the Allied Control Commission for Italy.

NEW YORK CITY. William O'Dwyer, Archive of 24 documents from his career in the United States Army and as Mayor of New York City, 1942-1950. Approximately 575 pp. and 166 photographs.

Contents and Excerpts
- Photograph Album presented to William O'Dwyer by the United Labor Committee, A. F. of L. – C. I. O. for "Campaign 1949." 14" x 11.5" With 109 8"x10" black-and-white photographs from the campaign, including three with Eleanor Roosevelt.
- Correspondence to Mayor William O'Dwyer, 1949-1950. 55 pp.
     - Gordon Jenkins, Typed Letter Signed, to William O'Dwyer, ca. March 6, 1950, Malibu, California, thanking him for "your kindness to me" on The Ed Sullivan Show. 1 p., 6.25" x 9.75".
Gordon Jenkins (1910-1984) was an arranger, composer, and pianist influential in American popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. When Jenkins's orchestra performed a sixteen-minute suite on The Ed Sullivan Show, O'Dwyer gave him the Key to New York City.
     - Dean Acheson, Typed Letter Signed, to William O'Dwyer, October 13, 1949, thanking him for arrangements during his recent visit to New York City. 1 p., 7" x 9".
Dean Acheson (1893-1971) served as Secretary of State under President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953.
     - Archbishop Francis Spellman, Typed Letter Signed, to William O'Dwyer, May 16, 1950, thanking him for attending dedication of Alfred E. Smith Memorial Hospital. 1 p., 6.5" x 8.75".
Francis Spellman (1889-1957) was the Archbishop of New York from 1939 to his death. He was created a cardinal in 1946.
     - Harry Hershfield, Typed Letter Signed, to William O'Dwyer, June 17, 1950, thanking him for designating Hershfield an Honorary Deputy Police Commissioner. 1 p., 7.25" x 10.5".
Harry Hershfield (1885-1974) was a cartoonist, humor writer, and radio personality, known as "the Jewish Will Rogers."
- A folder of requests for photographs or autographed photographs of Mayor William O'Dwyer, 1949-1950. 21 pp. + 45 photographs, most 8" x 10".
- A folder of documents related to William O'Dwyer's service in the U.S. Army, 1942-1945. 98 pp., most 8" x 10.5".
     - Negative photostat of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Typed Document Signed, to U.S. Senate, August 3, 1944. Nomination of O'Dwyer as brigadier general. 1 p.
     - Cordell Hull, Typed Letter Signed, to Colonel William O'Dwyer, ca. July 1944. 1 p., 8" x 10.5".
"In connection with your designation as Vice President of the Allied Control Commission for Italy, with the personal rank of Minister, you are requested to keep the Department informed, through the appropriate diplomatic representatives of the United States, of the activities of the Economic Section of the Allied Control Commission. It is also requested that you keep yourself informed of the objectives and policies of the Department through the appropriate United States diplomatic representatives. To the extent that you can properly do so in your capacity as Vice President of the Allied Control Commission you should be guided by these policies and objectives."
Cordell Hull (1871-1955) served as U.S. Secretary of State from March 1933 to November 1944.
- A folder of honorary memberships and passes sent to Mayor William O'Dwyer, together with retained copies of typed letters of acknowledgment and thanks by his personal secretary, 1949-1950. Approximately 127 pp. + a badge. Some rust from paper clips and edge tears, generally not affecting legibility. Organizations presenting O'Dwyer with passes or memberships included:
     - Radio City Music Hall
     - Rockefeller Center Guided Two and Observation Roof
     - Honor Legion of Police Department of the City of New York
     - National Broadcasting Company Studio Pass
     - AAA Automobile Club of New York
     - Loyal Order of Moose
     - Newspaper Reporters Association / New York City
     - Foreign Press Association
     - Criminal Investigation Division Agents Association
     - Order of Railroad Telegraphers
     - Empire State Observatory
     - Brooklyn Paramount Theatre
     - Loews Theatres
     - Roxy Theatre
     - Paramount Theatre
     - Capitol Theatre
     - Fabian Theatres
     - New York Base Ball Club
     - Blind Brook Polo and Turf Club
     - Elliott Murphy's Aquashow
     - Honorary Watershed Fishing Permit
     - American Red Mogen Dovid for Israel (support for ambulances) with Star of David lapel pin
     - Commission as a Captain of the Sheriff's Department of Pima County, Arizona, with badge
- Two inscribed photographs of Mayor William O'Dwyer. 8" x 10".
- U.S. Passport for William O'Dwyer and Catherine M. O'Dwyer, issued September 11, 1931. 32 pp., 3.75" x 6.125".
- Diplomatic Passport for William O'Dwyer, as Vice President of Allied Control Commission for Italy with Personal Rank of Minister, July 1, 1944. 48 pp., 3.75" x 6.125",
- Program for the opening night of Hamlet, a film starring Laurence Olivier in the title role, December 21, 1948. 16pp., 9.75" x 6.625". In four languages.
- Program of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, biennial convention in Boston, signed by members of the New York state delegation and Boston mayor John B. Hynes. 1950. 8 pp., 8" x 10".
- Color transparency of the Statue of Liberty at night. 8" x 10".
- Sidney H. Bingham, Report on the Metropolitan Transit Authority to Paul A. Dever, Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. New York City, February 1950. 38 pp. + 3 black-and-white photographs, 8.5" x 11".
- Souvenir Program for the Folies Bergère at the London Hippodrome. 20 pp., 9" x 11.75".
- Six photographs of Air Force missiles, 8" x 11".
- Two Danbury Fair Auto Race Programs, 1937-1938. 4 pp., 13" x 9.5".
- New York City Transit Authority, "Traffic Control System for the Broadway Line," July 1955. 8 pp. + diagrams, 11.75" x 8.75".
- Issue of Circus Magazine Wild West & Animal Review, 1934. 72 pp., 7" x 10".
- Menu from the Bimbo's 365 Club, San Francisco, California. 3 pp., 4.75" x 7".
- Press badge for 1972 Republican National Convention, Miami Beach, Florida. 2" x 3.25".
- Season Pass for the Brooklyn Dodgers for Caryl Halley, 1946.
- Additional ephemera.

Historical Background
As the 100th Mayor of New York City, Irish-American William O'Dwyer worked closely with the varied constituencies of the Democratic Party, including labor unions, the Tammany Hall machine, and even organized crime. As an immigrant who arrived in New York City in 1910, O'Dwyer worked odd jobs and took law classes at night until he completed a degree at Fordham University Law School. Elected in November 1945, O'Dwyer's first term was marked by managing the city as it reverted to a peacetime economy, dealing with debts accumulated during the war, and construction of the new United Nations headquarters. He was a personable mayor, popular with the public, even when he doubled the subway fares.

He won reelection by a landslide in 1949 but resigned the following year, and President Harry S. Truman appointed him as the new U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Some believed that Truman sent him out of the country because Brooklyn district attorney Miles McDonald was conducting a corruption investigation that threatened to reach the mayor's office. As McDonald's investigation continued, more than five hundred New York City policemen took early retirement rather than risk being called before a grand jury. Ultimately, seventy-seven officers were indicted, and the new acting mayor removed the police commissioner, and the new commissioner removed the entire plainclothes division and replaced them with rookies to break the corruption. Ultimately, James Moran, a longtime O'Dwyer ally whom O'Dwyer had appointed as deputy fire commissioner, was convicted of twenty-three counts of extortion for citywide shakedowns. Some believe that Truman sent O'Dwyer to Mexico City to avoid the scandal reaching the mayor's office and tarnishing the Democratic Party in New York and throughout the nation. O'Dwyer resigned as ambassador after just over two years on the job but remained in Mexico until 1960.

William O'Dwyer (1890-1964) was born in Ireland and studied for the priesthood in Spain. He later decided not to join the clergy and immigrated to the United States in 1910. He worked as a laborer and police officer while studying law at Fordham University Law School, from which he received his degree in 1923. In 1916, he married Catherine Lenihan (d. 1946), but they had no children. He built a successful law practice and won election as Kings County District Attorney in 1939. His prosecution of organized crime made him a national celebrity. He lost the 1941 New York City mayoral election to Fiorello La Guardia and joined the United States Army. He reached the rank of brigadier general and served as director of the War Refugee Board. In 1945, he won the Democratic nomination for mayor with the support of Tammany Hall and easily won election as the 100th Mayor of New York City. As mayor he successfully bid for the permanent home of the United Nations to be in Manhattan, presided over the first billion-dollar city budget, and raised subway fares from five to ten cents. In December 1949, he married Elizabeth Sloan Simpson, but they divorced in 1953. He was reelected as mayor in 1949, but a police corruption scandal led to his resignation on August 31, 1950. President Harry S. Truman appointed him as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in November 1950, and he resigned in December 1952, remaining in Mexico until 1960. In 1951, he returned to New York City to answer questions regarding his association with organized crime, and the accusations followed him for the rest of his life.

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.

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