PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT - PRINTED LETTER SIGNED IN INK 01/23/1904 - HFSID 154638

THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Appointment of a delegate to the Universal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists to be held at the St. Louis Worlds Fair.
Printed (engraved) LS: "Theodore Roosevelt" as President, 1p, 8¼x13. White House, Washington, 1904 January 23. To "Hon. Alfred Hemenway", whose name has been written in calligraphy at lower left. In full: "In pursuance of the request of the respective Presidents of the Universal Exposition, St. Louis, and of the American Bar Association, that the President of the United States should designate a certain number of delegates to the Universal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists to be held at St. Louis in September, 1904, you are hereby designated a delegate on behalf of the United States to the said Congress." On April 30, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt opened the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also called the St. Louis World's Fair, in St. Louis, Missouri. Two weeks later, the first Olympics ever held in the United States opened in St. Louis. The exposition, which took six years of preparation, cost more than $31.5 million. It attracted more than 19 million visitors and lasted until December 1, 1904. Its 1,240 acres made it the largest international exposition to date. Among its exhibits: more than 100 different automobiles, a Philippine exhibition showing America its recent acquisition from Spain, and replicas of European landmarks. Stains at upper left and upper right blank areas. Mounting remnants on verso of blank integral sheet. Slight separation at right edge at all three folds, shading at edges only, wear at lower right corner.