JFK and the JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, JANUARY 1961 This is the rarest signed photo of Kennedy that we've ever seen! The newly inaugurated President poses in the Oval Office with his top military advisers: Lyman Lemnitzer, David Shoup, Thomas White, Arleigh Burke and George Decker. Kennedy and all 5 military chiefs have signed this very rare 20x16, color photographic display. Very Rare Photograph Mount signed: "John F. Kennedy", "David M. Shoup", "Thomas D. White", "L. L Lemnitzer", "Arleigh Burke" and "George H. Decker". Color, 20x16 overall, image 13¼x10½ (two surfaces, with the signatures on the lower mat) Framed under glass. Photo: Cecil W. Stoughton. Printed US government caption on verso dates this photograph on January 25, 1961. This is the rarest signed photo of Kennedy that we've ever seen! JOHN F. KENNEDY, inaugurated 5 days earlier, himself a naval veteran of combat in the South Pacific in World War II, poses with the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The Joint Chiefs of Staff, constituted in 1947 to advise the President and the Secretary of State, consists of a chairman and the highest ranking officers of the military branches. read more...

WOODROW WILSON The President of the United States autographed this letter in 1921 lamenting the country's decision to not join the League of Nations Typed Letter Signed, "Woodrow Wilson" on a 7x9 one-page letter. Dated January 22, 1921. On White House letterhead stationery. Six weeks before leaving office, a physically depleted Wilson writes to editor and pacifist Edward Bok, discussing his plans to talk about the League of Nations during his pending retirement. Wilson had conceived the League of Nations to settle disputes without wars, but America never joined the body because Congress did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Wilson, who suffered a stroke in 1919, lobbied heavily but unsuccessfully for the ratification of the Treaty, but the United States was the only one of 32 Allied powers that did not accept the Treaty. Wilson's letter states in part: “Thank you for your letter of the nineteenth and your renewal of the suggestion that I speak in Philadelphia on the League of Nations after my retirement from office. I think it depends very much upon the read more...

ABRAHAM LINCOLN The future 16th President of the United States handwrote and signed this four-page legal document around 1844 on behalf of several petitioners - including his law partner Stephen T. Logan and his brother-in-law Ninian W. Edwards - to partition 17 pieces of property. This is an excellent document from Lincoln's legal career and from early in his political career. Handwritten items by Lincoln are extremely rare. Rare autograph document signed: "Logan & Lincoln, for/Petitioners", 4p, 7¾x12½, front and verso. Christian County, Illinois, circa 1844. Begins: "To the Honorable, the circuit court of Christian county - Respectfully represent unto your Honorable court, your Petitioners Stacy B. Opaycke, Isaac Wickersham, Ninian W. Edwards, and Stephen T. Logan, that they may together with Benjamin Godfrey & Winthrop G. Gilman, Jesse B. Thomas, Thomas Mather Executor of the last Will & Testament of George Borquan L.D.; Benjuamin F. Edwards, Samuel G. Bailey, & Ebenezer Marsh, Miles Peck, Odell Gregory, & John T. read more...

JOHN F. KENNEDY Appointing a liberal Republican New York Congressman as part of the U.S. delegation to a unification celebration in Italy. Typed Letter Signed: "John F. Kennedy" as 35th U.S. President, 1p, 6¾x8¾. The White House, Washington, 1961 September 14. To Honorable Seymour Halpern, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. In full: "I am delighted to know that you will be able to serve as a Member of the delegation to attend the ceremonies incident to the Centennial Celebration of the Unification of Italy which is being held at Turin. My best wishes for a successful mission." The United Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed at Turin, its capital, on March 17, 1861. SEYMOUR HALPERN was a liberal Republican Congressman from New York City (1959-1973). His Queens district was about 10% Italian, but that was the largest among the many ethnic groups residing there. President KENNEDY knew that Congressman Halpern had been an autograph collector since he was a teenager. Out of consideration to Halpern, the President made a special effort to clearly sign his first name and middle initial. Kennedy usually wrote them in an illegible scrawl. read more...

THEODORE ROOSEVELT This typed 1911 letter, addressed to a New York newspaper, contains numerous corrections in Roosevelt's hand. It's a scathing letter regarding a court decision and the newspaper's support for that decision - a decision that Roosevelt said violated one of the core philosophies of the Republican Party. This was written one year before Roosevelt tried to wrest the Republican presidential nomination from William Howard Taft - and, failing that, embarked on a third-party run under the Progressive banner. Public figures rarely commit such strong sentiments to writing, which makes this letter especially rare and significant. Superb content draft Typed Letter, heavily corrected with 216 words in Roosevelt's hand, not signed, on his personal letterhead, "The Outlook", "Office of Theodore Roosevelt", 2p, 7¾x9½, separate sheets. New York, May 30, 1911. To Mr. C.H. Betts, The Lyons Republican, 41 Williams Street, Lyons, N ew York. Most probably the final draft. In part: "Really it is hard to believe that read more...

JOHN F. KENNEDY Presidential appointment to international atomic energy conference two days after U.S. ratifies Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Partly Printed DS: "John F. Kennedy" as 35th U.S. President and "George W. Ball" as Acting Secretary of State, 1p, 23x19. 3½-inch Presidential seal affixed to left of Ball's signature. Washington, 1963 September 24. In part: "Know ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the Integrity, Fidelity, and Ability of HENRY DeWOLF SMYTH, of New Jersey I have nominated, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint him an Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Seventh Session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and do authorize and empower him to execute and fulfil the duties of that Office according to law...." Two days earlier, the U.S. Senate had ratified the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. HENRY DeWOLF SMYTH served as Representative to the International Atomic Energy Commission in Vienna, with the rank of Ambassador, from 1961-1970. read more...

JAMES GARFIELD The 20th President of the United States signed this 5¾x2¾ piece of paper less than two months before being assassinated in office. Signature: "James A. Garfield/May 21 1881" 5¾x2¾ piece of paper. James Abram Garfield (1831-1881) rose to the rank of Major General in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, participating in the battles of Shiloh and Chickamauga, before resigning his commission to take a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1863-1880). A political moderate, Garfield was the compromise choice of a deadlocked Republican Convention in 1880, nominated on the 36th ballot and elected President by a narrow margin. Garfield's assassination by a disappointed office seeker helped advance the cause of civil service reform which he had advocated. Shot on July 2 1881, Garfield died on September 19, only 200 days into his term. Signatures of Garfield as President, are thus extremely rare. Fine condition. Previously authenticated by PSA/DNA. read more...

FIVE PRESIDENTS (1969-1992): RICHARD NIXON, GERALD FORD, JIMMY CARTER, RONALD REAGAN and GEORGE BUSH This extremely rare color photo, taken at the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in 1991, contains the signatures of all five presidents to serve between 1969 and 1992: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. This event was the first time that five presidents of the United States, former or current, had ever gathered in one place for any reason. Photograph signed: "George Bush", "Ronald Reagan", "J Carter", "Gerald R. Ford" and "Richard Nixon". Color, 10x8 overall, image 8¾x5, one surface. The dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on a hilltop overlooking Simi Valley, California was marked by the attendance of five Presidents: then-President George Bush and former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon. The library, built at a cost of $57 million, was dedicated on November 4, 1991 at a ceremony that brought together five Presidents for the first time in history. read more...

CALVIN COOLIDGE Rare Presidential signature on a Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1928. Rare Printed Proclamation signed: "Calvin Coolidge" as President, 1 page, 8x13. Washington, 1928 October 23. Countersigned in type: "Frank B. Kellogg" as Secretary of State. President Coolidge proclaims Thursday, November 29, 1928 "as a day of general thanksgiving and prayer...." In part: "The season again approaches when it has been the custom for generations to set apart a day of thanksgiving for the blessings which the Giver of all good and perfect gifts has bestowed upon us during the year. It is most becoming that we should do this, for the goodness and mercy of God which have followed us through the year deserve our grateful recognition and acknowledgment...our industries have flourished; our commerce has increased; wages have been lucrative, and comfort and contentment have followed the undisturbed pursuit of honest toil...." President George Washington set aside Thursday, November 26, 1789, to thank God for the newly formed government. The first national Thanksgiving Day proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. read more...