Lot Details
Lot 43
ROOSEVELT, FRANKLIN DELANO Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
Washington: The White House, Christmastide, 1942. Number 84 of 100 copies, inscribed on the front blank in blue ink "For Sara D. Roosevelt/with much love from her/Grandfather/Franklin D. Roosevelt/March 13th 1943." Original vellum-backed marbled boards with a black morocco lettering label, the top edge gilt, original glassine and slipcase. 10 x 7 inches (16 x 18 cm); printed in red, blue and black, 56 pp., with the large folding facsimile of the Declaration of the United Nations. A very finely preserved copy, internally clean, only minor wear to the glassine and some scratches and toning to slipcase.
The first of Franklin D. Roosevelt's celebrated wartime Christmas Books, written at the peak of the early conflict and here inscribed to his granddaughter Sara Delano Roosevelt [later Wilford]. Issued in an edition of only 100 copies for private distribution, the book is rarely encountered at auction, particularly with such a close family connection. The texts offer several of Roosevelt's most important early addresses on the worldwide conflict, including his 1942 State of the Union Address, reminding the country of the perils of the enemy: "We must guard against complacency. We must not underrate the enemy. He is powerful and cunning-and cruel and ruthless. He will stop at nothing that gives him a chance to kill and to destroy. He has trained his people to believe that their highest perfection is achieved by waging war. For many years he has prepared for this very conflict-planning, and plotting, and training, arming, and fighting. We have already tasted defeat. We may suffer further setbacks. We must face the fact of a hard war, a long war, a bloody war, a costly war." The book also includes two addresses by English Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and a large folding facsimile of the Declaration of the United Nations, dated January 1st, 1942. This work is scarce in commerce: Rare Book Hub lists four copies sold since 2000.
C The Estate of Sara Roosevelt Wilford
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