Description:

Ronald Reagan
[Washington, DC], n.d. but ca. late 1981
Ronald Reagan 150+ Word ALS Commissioning a Bowie Knife Scabbard!
ALS

A 1p autograph letter signed by sitting 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) as "Ronald" near the bottom of the second page. N.d. but ca. late 1981. [Washington, D.C.] Inscribed with approximately 157 words in Reagan's hand, in black ink on either side of a yellow blue-lined red-ruled paper sheet with "Ronald Reagan" letterhead. With several edits in pen, including cross-outs and rewrites. This letter draft was later typed, signed, and sent to the recipients. Expected light wear and wrinkles, with a non-rusted paperclip impression along the left edge, else near fine. 4.875" x 7.875." Impeccable provenance as this item comes 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.

Ronald Reagan wrote this letter to his longtime pen pals, Samueline, Bertha, and Joseph "Buzzy" Sisco, a family of engraved leather good makers from Healdsburg, California. Buzzy Sisco was a middle-aged physically and mentally handicapped man whose sisters had contacted then California Governor Reagan in 1972 inquiring how to obtain government support for their brother. Reagan routinely sent the Siscos letters and gifts, and corresponded with them until at least 1987. And as we shall see in this letter, Reagan sometimes commissioned bespoke leather pieces and often promoted the Siscos' leather-working enterprise among his personal network. (For more information, see Kiron K. Skinner, "Reagan: A Life in Letters" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 648.)

In part, with original usage:

"Dear Miss Sam, Miss Bertha & Buzzy

Sorry to hear about the power failures but from what I've heard the freezer is good for 24 hours. If you're careful and dont open it too much.

I yield to you on the scabbard - I guess the box would display it better. The knife measures 16 3/8 inches from tip to top. The hand guards overall width is 4 3/4. Lying on it's side it's highest point is 1 1/6 inches. It's that at the hand guard & the end of the grip. The blade itself is almost an inch because the weight of the guard helps it from tipping & resting on the point.

I think you are right also about the Mexican motif. And you can be assured it will be our own personal possession. My thanks in advance & Nancy says from her also. Tell Buzzy he's right about who helped me.

Best Regards
Ronald."

While the bulk of the letter is devoted to a description of a Bowie knife scabbard that Reagan was commissioning from the Sisco family, it also almost certainly contains an oblique reference to God. Reagan's last cryptic line - "Tell Buzzy he's right about who helped me" - is probably an allusion to divine intervention, when protecting Reagan from assassination several months earlier, in March 1981. Reagan wrote that he believed God had spared him in a previous letter written to the Siscos dated June 16, 1981.

The Sisco-designed tooled leather sheath would house a decorative Bowie knife that Reagan had been gifted by a Hartford, Connecticut armorer. The exact knife - along with the Sisco-made holder - are currently in the collection of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, listed as Artifact ID 1981.00135.01a-b. The museum's object physical description states: "The Leather sheath is tooled with a floral pattern on one side, an outdoor winter scene with deer on the other, and the message 'Happiness To Ronald and Nancy, From Sam - Buzz - Bert Sisco 12-25-1981.'" The Bowie knife and scabbard were displayed at Rancho del Cielo, in Santa Barbara, California, the "Western White House." (See screenshot of the Bowie knife and scabbard included for reference.)

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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  • Dimensions: 4.875" x 7.875"
  • Medium: ALS

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