Description:

William H. Taft TLS to Brother "Harry"

A 1p typed letter signed by 27th U.S. President William H. Taft (1857-1930) as "Wm H. Taft" at center. Dated May 10, 1912 and typed in blue ink on bifold stationery embossed "The White House / Washington" at upper left. The inner and remaining pages are blank. Expected wear including paper folds, toning, scattered foxing and minor stains, as well as a rusted paper clip impression in the upper left corner. Slight feathering to the "t" of the signed "Taft." Else very good. 7" x 8.75."

President Taft dictated the following message to his younger brother Henry Waters Taft (1859-1945), in part: "My dear Harry: I have yours of May 8th and shall take it along with me on the journey to help me in the suggestion…"

Henry W. Taft and his older brother, the President, had many things in common: they both graduated from Yale University (Class of 1878 and 1880 respectively); they both received legal training at the Cincinnati Law School, and they were both capable lawyers. Shortly after passing the Ohio state bar, Henry Taft had become a partner in a preeminent New York City law firm that later became Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft. The second youngest Taft brother specialized in anti-trust law, corporate law, and government clean-up. Did the letter of May 8th mentioned by President Taft discuss one of these matters?

In the letter, President Taft mentioned that he will be traveling. His destination was unknown, but the trip could have been related to his upcoming presidential reelection bid. Just one month later, President Taft was renominated as the Republican Party presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention held in Chicago between June 18-22, 1912. William H. Taft lost the reelection of 1912 to Democratic Party candidate Woodrow Wilson; his first and only presidential term spanned 1909-1913.

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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