PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 03/13/1969 - HFSID 13865

RONALD REAGAN
The Governor sends thanks for the Great Seal of California, which will hang in his office; his wife "Nancy says thanks, also, because she's the decorator...."
Typed Letter Signed: "Ron" as Governor of California, 1p, 8½x11. Sacramento, 1969 March 13. To Lester A. Weinrott, Senior Vice President, Geyer-Oswald, Inc., Advertising, Chicago. In full: "Bless you, and thank you. It was more than kind of you to send the 'Great Seal' and it shall hang in our offices here at the Capitol. The old 'Seal' has undergone some changes but always in a unique way in that they only moved the lady and the bear around to profile positions, so this is a collector's item. Nancy says thanks, also, because she's the decorator here in the Capitol. Give our best to Betty; and, again, our heartfelt thanks." The Great Seal of California, in this letter's watermark, was adopted by the Constitutional Convention on October 2, 1849. It was designed by Major Robert S. Garnett, who was an army officer stationed in Monterey. The current official seal is the fourth design, standardized in 1937. The lady in the Seal is the Roman goddess Minerva. The myth of Minerva's birth says that she sprang full-grown from Jupiter's brow. This represented California because California became a state without having to "grow up" first as a territory. There is a grizzly bear at Minerva's feet. Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) had two careers: actor and politician. His first movie was Love is on the Air (1937) and his 53rd and last film was The Killers (1964). In 1965, he wrote his autobiography, Where's the Rest of Me?, a line from his role as Drake McHugh in King's Row (1942). Reagan left his job hosting television's Death Valley Days during the 1965-1966 season, when he entered politics. Elected Governor of California in 1966, he was reelected in 1970. Reagan began his campaign for the presidency and narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to Gerald Ford. He was elected President in 1980 and was reelected in 1984. After leaving office in 1989, he wrote his second autobiography, An American Life. On February 6, 2001, Reagan became just the third U.S. President to reach the age of 90 and the nation's longest living President until Gerald Ford (d. 2006) lived 45 days longer. Lightly creased, not at signature. Adhesive mounting remnants on verso, light show through at upper corners. Overall, fine condition.