1609809
Calvin Coolidge
Beautiful fountain pen signature of Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., 1872–1933. 30th President of the United States, 1923–1929. Bold signature, Calvin Coolidge, on the back of a letter. With original envelope.
This is a large 3½” fountain pen signature by Coolidge, who has signed on the back of a collector’s letter requesting his autograph. The signature is in black fountain pen.
The original envelope, self-addressed by the collector, is postmarked at Northampton, Massachusetts, June 4, 1932. It shows that the former President signed this signature almost seven months to the day before he died. He died at Northampton on January 5, 1933.
Coolidge, a native of Vermont, lived in Massachusetts. He served in the state legislature before being elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1918. He was elected Vice President when Republican Warren G. Harding was elected President in 1920.
Coolidge succeeded to the presidency when Harding died unexpectedly on August 2, 1923. Coolidge was visiting his family in Vermont when a messenger informed him early the next morning of Harding’s death. Since the family home had no electricity, Coolidge’s father, a Vermont notary public and justice of the peace, administered the presidential oath of office by kerosene lamp in the parlor at 2:47 a.m. on August 3, 1923. The next day, Coolidge privately took the oath of office again before a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to eliminate any question about the authority of a state official to administer a federal oath.
This is a beautiful signature. The ink from the front side of the letter shows through in the light, but it is not obtrusive otherwise. There is a small piece of cellophane tape at the upper left corner of the third of the letter on which Coolidge has signed, but the tape is not near the signature. There are also some thinner spots in the paper where other tape has been removed, but they do not affect the signature either. Overall the piece is in fine condition. The original envelope has been opened cleanly at the top except for a tear to the left of the stamp, and it has tape in two places at the top and one along the left side. Coolidge’s name is written in pencil, apparently by the collector, where the return address would be. The envelope is very good to fine.
Unframed. Please ask us about custom framing this piece.
This item has been sold.
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