PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN - COLLECTION WITH FIRST LADY BESS W. TRUMAN - HFSID 90550

HARRY and BESS TRUMAN
A B/w photograph of the 33rd U.S. President and another B/w photograph of his wife, Framed to 8x25 overall
Comprises: (1) Photograph inscribed and signed: "To Miss Frances Perkins with kindest/regards and best wishes/Harry Truman". B/w, 10x13 overall, image 7¼x9½ (one surface). Fine condition. This photograph is inscribed to Francis Perkins who was America's first female cabinet member. She also served as secretary of labor from 1933-1945. Perkins also established the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Labor Standards Bureau. Perkins strengthened the labor-law enforcement and helped to establish Social Security. (2) Photograph inscribed and signed: "With regards to Leo Hessler/Bess W. Truman". B/w, 10½x13 overall, image 7¼x9½ (one surface). Ink note (unknown hand) above inscription. Fine condition. Five-year-old BESS (1885-1982) first met six-year-old HARRY (1884-1972) in a Sunday School class at the First Presbyterian Church in Independence, Missouri. Truman later claimed it was love at first sight. They became friends in the fifth grade and both attended Independence High School but never dated: Harry was shy and Bess was an extrovert. After their first date in 1910, Harry regularly visited her from his job in Kansas City and they wrote letters to each other. In one 1911 letter, Harry proposed but Bess turned him down. In 1913 they had an "understanding" and, in 1917, were formally engaged but Harry's service in France in WWI delayed the wedding. On June 28, 1919, they were married at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Independence, Missouri. They had one child, Margaret (born 1924). Harry and Bess Truman had known each other for 82 years at the time of his death! Two items. Framed to an overall size of 28x25.