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Lot #73
Franklin D. Roosevelt

President FDR wishes "a happy, active and useful life" for a newborn child

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Estimate: $600+
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Description

President FDR wishes "a happy, active and useful life" for a newborn child

TLS as president, one page, 6.5 x 8.5, White House letterhead, February 3, 1934. Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Rosenberg, in full: "I have received your telegram of February second and send you my hearty congratulations upon the birth of your little son on January thirtieth. I am enclosing a small memento for him with the hope that he may have a happy, active and useful life." Matted with the original White House mailing envelope and a folded cream-colored handkerchief with lettering: "Happy / Franklin D. Roosevelt / Days"; framed to an overall size of 19 x 16. In very good condition, with intersecting folds, creasing, and soiling to the letter.

In 1932, the song '“Happy Days Are Here Again' by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen became closely associated to the presidential campaign of New York Democratic Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his effort to unseat incumbent President Herbert Hoover. The song was famously played when Roosevelt arrived at Chicago Stadium to accept his party’s nomination for president. Its optimistic tone and cheerful lyrics matched Roosevelt’s upbeat tempo and stood in stark contrast to Hoover’s worn demeanor. In addition, the song resonated throughout the nation, with most Americans looking to FDR in hopes that his pledge of 'a new deal for the American people' would usher them safely through the Great Depression into a new era of economic prosperity. 'Happy Days Are Here Again' has long been associated with the Democratic party and remains a sentimental favorite for its political leaders and supporters such as singer and actress Barbara Streisand, who later recorded her own version of the song.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Fine Autographs and Artifacts
  • Dates: #585 - Ended June 10, 2020





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