Signed Calling Card / Unsigned Photograph.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's trusted Secretary of the Interior (1933-46), an ardent reformer who earned the nickname "Honest Harold"; he also headed the Public Works Administration (1933-39). Item #40727
Signature in bold blue ink on a heavy stock 3½" X 1 3/4" card with "The Secretary of the Interior" printed in ornate large italics at center and "Autograph of" printed quite small near top edge. Near fine. Faintly age toned. On the verso, noted Lincoln/Civil War scholar Arnold F. Gates (1914-93) pens note to himself and dates it 21 July 1941: "One of a score sent in through the years." Accompanied by a handsome vintage glossy 8½" X 6½" black and white news agency photograph (International News Photos). Very good. Archivally mended 3" tear at left edge, but overall attractive. Sepia tone candid closeup head-and-shoulders photograph of Ickes, with original mimeographed paper label neatly affixed to verso titles "Secretary of the Interior Ickes Offers Testimony" and dated 19 January 1944. Reads in part: "Picture shows Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, as he left the District Court House. Mr. Ickes testified before the grand jury in the alleged forgery of Harry Hopkins signature to a letter published in the book, 'One Man -- Wendell Willkie."
Price: $95.00