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Three-piece group of signed material from Helen Keller, including a vintage photograph of Keller touching the face of President Dwight D. Eisenhower during their 1953 White House meeting, signed by both Keller and Eisenhower, and two additional items signed by both Keller and her longtime companion and interpreter, Polly Thomson, which were presented to West Virginia physician Dr. Ralph W. Ryan and his wife in June 1939. The items are as follows:
Vintage matte-finish 13.25 x 10.25 photo of Helen Keller touching the face of President Dwight D. Eisenhower during their meeting at the White House on November 3, 1953, signed in white ink by Keller and in fountain pen by Eisenhower. Matted and framed to an overall size of 20 x 17. In fine condition. Keller’s white ink signature exhibits evidence of later retracing or reinforcement, with portions of the original signature apparently overwritten in white. Accompanied by a 6.75 x 5 large-format sheet-film negative of the same image, with original negative folder issued to Dr. Ralph Ryan. Keller famously used touch to perceive Eisenhower’s features during the meeting, afterward communicating to her companion Polly Thomson that the president had ‘courage and a gentle smile.’
Vintage matte-finish 7.25 x 9.25 portrait photo of Helen Keller seated with her longtime companion and interpreter, Polly Thomson, signed and inscribed in pencil, “To Mr. and Mrs. Ryan, whose bright society helped us through a crowded day of adventure. Gratefully, Helen Keller, June 18th, 1939.” The photo is also signed in ink by Thomson. The reverse bears an affixed handwritten note in pencil from Thomson, which reads: “Dear Mr. Ryan, Will you kindly send me a note of your bill at Daniel Boone Hotel. I did not find the receipt up on my return home. I know those articles will interest you greatly. The book will follow.” In very good condition, with a horizontal crease between the inscription and signatures, some staining to edges, and dampstaining to the bottom section touching both signatures.
Signed book: The Decline and Fall of the British Empire by Robert Briffault. Second printing. NY: Simon and Schuster, 1938. Hardcover, 5.25 x 8.25, 264 pages. Signed and inscribed on the first free end page in pencil, “For Mr. Ralph Ryan, with pleasant memories of our talk on world affairs, Cordially, Helen Keller, June 24, 1939.” The page is also signed in ink by her companion and interpreter, Polly Thomson. In very good to fine condition, with uniform toning to the signed page, and a partial separation to the rear hinge and rear free endpaper, with associated adhesive toning.
Accompanied by several early and modern photographic prints related to the Eisenhower and Keller images (some bearing facsimile signatures), as well as ephemera from the estate of Dr. Ralph W. Ryan, M.D., including his West Virginia Lions Sight Conservation Foundation medical advisor name badge, West Virginia Office of Civilian Defense identification card, and federal Civil Defense identification card. Also includes the Summer 1956 issue of Better Hearing magazine containing the Helen Keller article ‘Teacher,’ and the November 1995 issue of The Lion, the official publication of Lions Clubs International, containing the illustrated article ‘A Bountiful Partnership,’ which chronicles the longstanding relationship between Keller, the Lions, and the American Foundation for the Blind and reproduces the Keller-Eisenhower photograph offered here.
Of particular significance is an accompanying detailed provenance letter from Dr. Ryan, a member of the Charleston Lions Club who, with his wife Mary, served as Keller’s host during her visit to West Virginia for a state Lions convention in Beckley. Ryan recalls their memorable drive from Charleston to Beckley with Keller and Polly Thomson, Keller’s appearance at the convention, and the circumstances by which he obtained the signed Eisenhower photograph, writing in part:
“I transferred my Lions membership to Charleston, but enjoyed visiting clubs all over the state where I worked. We had a State Lions convention at Beckley, and my Charleston club learned that Helen Keller was to be on the program. It was decided that we should have Helen fly to Charleston, and the Charleston club would drive her to Beckley…My wife and I were to serve as her hostess and host. But Helen did not appear on the plane as expected. Mary and I and the mayor waited a while and tried to call Helen's home. Then a tiny white plane landed, taxied up to the door, and out walked Helen. But we were 2 hours late.
“Helen had to rest at the hotel for an hour, and then we started up the Kanawha River with a state police car and the mayor leading us. At the mouth of New River the police car lost its fan belt while it was being replaced I got Cokes for the group. We went up Gauley Mountain with Mary and the driver in the front seat, Helen sitting between Polly Thomson and me. Our speed was 80 mph around the sharp curves in the narrow road. We were all scared, but Helen, who swayed back and forth, trying to keep the bottle to her lips…
“Helen was the hit of our convention. She showed us how she could dance to slow music with a strong rhythm by feeling the rhythm through her feet. On the return trip, we stopped at Hawks Nest, and Polly described the scenic beauty. Helen said she smelled wild roses. One of the policemen and I searched the vicinity and found one tiny wild rose…
“The picture with President Eisenhower was from Life magazine. I asked to have it enlarged and autographed for my eye clinic at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness. I gave the president and Helen copies, kept one, and put one over a door of the eye clinic. Helen and Polly never forgot the wild ride from Charleston to Beckley. We spoke of it when I met Helen on later occasions. Helen was a remarkable woman!”
