Description:

Taft William 1857 - 1930 William H. Taft ALS/TLS regarding sale of Pierce Arrow roadster in 1915
Typed correspondence on "William H. Taft, New Haven, Conn" letterhead signed "Wm H. Taft" at center, with eleven lines and forty-three words of additional cursive text entirely handwritten by the 27th U.S. President. Stamped "Taft" in purple ink towards bottom of letter. Addressed to "My dear Hilles" and dated May 3, 1915. Cream "Old Berkshire" watermarked stationery in very fine condition with expected folds, measuring 7" x 9.25". Several rough patches verso suggests letter was once mounted on other support. Accompanied by a circa 1909 Harris & Ewing black and white photo postcard showing President Taft and his wife in an open Pierce Arrow automobile during the inaugural parade on March 11, 1909 in Washington, DC.

William H. Taft (1857-1930) was largely considered as Teddy Roosevelt's ideological and practical successor when he was elected in 1908. Taft returned to his alma mater Yale University in the spring of 1913 to serve as the Kent Professor of Law and Legal History after leaving the White House. For the next eight years, Taft taught courses, delivered paid lectures, and published articles and books including Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers in 1916. Our letter was written about two years after Taft returned to New Haven, CT. Four days after writing to Hilles, a German U-boat torpedoed the Cunard vessel Lusitania, which resulted in the deaths of over one hundred Americans and tipped the nation towards its entry into World War I two years later.

Both the letter and postcard relate to Taft's remarkable passion for automobiles. He was a vocal proponent of early automobile transportation, and single-handedly bolstered the auto industry when he ordered two Pierce Arrow steam powered roadsters to serve as official White House cars.

Taft's correspondent Charles D. Hilles (1867-1949) had had a long working relationship with the former President. Hilles resigned from his post as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to become the President's private secretary in 1911. When this letter was written, Hilles was chairman of the Republican National Committee. It's possible that Taft wanted to discuss Republican party issues with Hilles at the train station the following day, especially since he referenced "Judge Hunt" or William Henry Hunt (1857-1949) earlier in his letter. Hunt had been serving as a judge on the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals since his appointment to the office by Taft in 1911.

Provenance: Ex-Goldman Collection. Comes with June 7, 1988 letter from The Manuscript Society written by Vice President James F. Ruddy.

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

University Archives

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