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175

Harry S. Truman

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:4,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
Harry S. Truman

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Auction Date:2012 Aug 15 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
ALS signed “Harry,” one page, 8.5 x 11, Grand Lodge of Missouri letterhead, November 27, 1940. Letter to John W. Snyder reads, in full: “Just had a telegram from Bess saying that the experts have decided not to operate on Momma. It sure took a load of bricks off my head. I had another leg & foot specialist look at her and he said ‘not now.’ I am wiring you today asking you to see Lou Holland. He’s a real big man and my friend. You can trust him and he really wants to do something for Missouri. No ax to grind himself. I’m doing a little ‘high hatting’ down here. Hope to see you soon.”; and an ornate partly printed document, signed “John Wesley Snyder,” countersigned by the Sovereign Grand Commander 33° and Grand Secretary General 33° of the Supreme Council Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the Thirty Third and Last Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America, 16 x 20.75, September 28, 1966. Signed in the upper left “Harry S. Truman 33° P G-M, 8-25-67 Mo.” In very good to fine condition, with punch holes and staple holes to top edge of letter, as well as an office stamp; and central horizontal fold to document, as well as some scattered light toning and soiling, and adhesive remnants to reverse. Accompanied by two TLSs to Snyder, both signed by Truman, regarding Snyder’s Masonic situation.

These pieces originate from John W. Snyder, a businessman and close friend of Truman, who later appointed him Secretary of the Treasury in his administration. Truman was an active Mason, and of the fourteen U.S. Presidents who were Masons, President Truman is the only one to have been given the 33° of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite. “Freemasonry,” Truman wrote, “is a system of morals which makes it easier to live with your fellow man, whether he understands it or not.”

In this letter, Truman mentions his wife Bess and “momma,” Martha Ellen Young Truman, who celebrated her 88th birthday two days before her son wrote this letter. He praises Lou Holland, a Kansas City businessman who worked with Truman to finance road construction in Jackson County. A fine pair of items related to the president’s Missouri connections and his Masonic ties.
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