1435602
Calvin Coolidge
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Pristine The White House card signed just before Coolidge left office
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., 1872–1933. 30th President of the United States, 1923–1929. Engraved The White House card signed Calvin Coolidge. With original White House envelope.
This is a pristine The White House card that Coolidge signed and sent to a collector four days before he left office. It is accompanied by the original White House envelope—mailed by air mail, without a stamp—that is postmarked February 28, 1929, in Washington, D.C. Inauguration day for Coolidgeʼs successor, Herbert Hoover, was March 4, 1929.
The Coolidge years were a time of great national prosperity—so much so that the period became known as the “Roaring Twenties." “The business of America,” Coolidge said, ”is business." In 1924, riding the growing wave of economic boom, Coolidge, who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of President Warren G. Harding, was elected President in his own right with more than 54% of the popular vote. In his inaugural address, he asserted that the country had achieved “a state of contentment seldom before seen,” and he pledged to maintain the status quo.
The taciturn Coolidge earned the nickname “Silent Cal" for his frugality with words. His wife, Grace, once recounted that a woman sitting next to Coolidge at a White House dinner told him that she had bet that she could get at least three words of conversation from him. Without looking at her, he quietly retorted, “You lose." Coolidge had such a reputation as a man of few words that upon hearing the news of his death, popular wit Dorothy Parker quipped, ”How can they tell?”
Toward the end of his term, Coolidge announced cryptically: “I do not choose to run for president in 1928." Historians have speculated whether Coolidge really wanted another term as President but simply would not say so or whether he wanted to retire. Regardless, the Republicans nominated Hoover, who won easily but within months suffered the blow of the Great Depression when the economic boom ended with the stock market crash in 1929.
We have never seen a nicer Coolidge card than this one, which is in extra fine condition. It has absolutely no defects and would be beautiful in a framed display. Coolidge has signed it in black fountain pen. The accompanying “Official Business" penalty envelope has been opened cleanly, without tears, and some of the original glue remains on the flap. It is soiled on the back and has a crease in the lower left corner but overall is in fine condition.
Unframed. Please click here for information about custom framing this piece.
This item has been sold.
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