A native of Kentucky, Reed served as general counsel for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal agencies, before Roosevelt appointed him Solicitor General of the United States at a crucial period during the 1930s.  As Solicitor General, Reed represented the government—often unsuccessfully—in a number of cases involving presidential power and the constitutionality of New Deal legislation. 

In 1938, Roosevelt, seeking to reshape the Court, made Reed his second appointee.  Reed replaced Justice George Sutherland, one of the Court's four stalwart conservatives who opposed Roosevelt and the New Deal.

As a Justice, Reed took a moderate approach, at times siding with the liberals and at others siding with the conservatives.  A Southern Democrat, Reed was reluctant but ultimately acceded to the entreaties of Chief Justice Earl Warren to outlaw public school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).  Warren saw Reed's vote as critical because only a unanimous decision would earn public acceptance.

This is a beautiful photograph of Reed, who has boldly inscribed and signed it in black fountain pen.  The photograph is in extra fine condition.