Signed book: The Budget of the United States Government for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1941. Washington, D. C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1940. Hardcover, 9.5 x 11.75, 1079 pages. Signed, as president, on page XVI, at the conclusion of the President’s budget message. Book condition: G+/None. Half-bound in green morocco leather with marbled edges and endpapers. Front cover separated but expertly reattached along interior hinge (rear cover, still fully attached, is also reinforced along interior hinge); rubbing to exterior, predominantly along edges; small bumps and tears to corners; several tiny spots of soiling to covers; minor foxing throughout. A beautifully made edition.
While a thousand copies of the Budget were printed and bound in paper wrappers for general distribution to members of Congress and their staffs, only 25 copies of this Deluxe edition were produced and signed by the president for department heads and select key Congressional allies. Developed nearly two years before the United States entered World War II, with this budget FDR began the massive military expenditures that would increase steadily over the course of his wartime administration. The 1.8 billion dollars proposed for national defense surpassed the next largest outlay (for work relief programs) by 500 million dollars. In the prefatory message, FDR says he “tried to interpret the wishes of our people” when formulating it, noting “they want to strengthen our national defense and are prepared to pay additional taxes for this purpose.” An incredibly rare historic edition of the U.S. Budget on the eve of the nation’s entry into the war, this is a truly remarkable piece.
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