Description:

Taft William 1857 - 1930 President William Howard Taft lovely TLS on White House stationery
Bi-fold TLS, typed to front page, remaining pages blank, 7" x 8.75", on White House stationary. Inlaid to another backing sheet. Dated March 1, 1910, and signed by President William Howard Taft as "Wm H Taft". Typed in bright blue ink. Small paper clip ghosts with tiny pencil mark. Else fine.


A lovely, neat and vibrant TLS in colorful ink with a silver penned signature. President Taft writes to Hon. Job E. Hedges requesting that he would join them the evening of "The Speaker's dinner". Of unusual interest is his note of "Kindly let me know when you will arrive from New York and I will send a machine for you", to which he enclosed, "a formal invitation for the dinner".

An elegant example of Taft's signature, in which he undoubtedly was mentioning sending a car, probably a 'Model T' (which went into production in 1908) to pick up Hon. Job Hedges. Intriguing commentary that at the time cars, which were a relatively new contraption, were perhaps called "machines". The recipient of Tafts letter,Job Elmer Hedges was a speaker at numerous political rallys. He was considered a Republican political activist from New York. Hedges authored a book, Common Sense in Politics (1910), and in addition, was a highly regarded speech maker. Mark Twain reportedly remarked that Hedges was "the best extempore speaker he had heard.

A fantastic letter which would present well framed.

Provenance: An important autograph collection of Howard Goldman, the bulk of which sold at Sotheby's in 1995. Accompanied by a note of provenance from the original purchase from Bruce Gimelson Autographs in 1978.

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June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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