TLS signed “Your uncle, Theodore Roosevelt,” one page, 8.5 x 11, Metropolitan letterhead, May 15, 1917. Letter to the Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, then assistant secretary of the United States Navy, making a recommendation. In full: "The bearer, Mr. Henry Reuterdahl, has been doing everything for the United States Navy that is in his power. He is now arriving to do all he can to help in the recruiting. He has been working under Commander K. M. Bennett as a volunteer without pay. He is glad to sacrifice his income and work entirely for the Navy, but he must live and so he cannot do the admirable work he is doing unless he is given a commission, as requested by the officer in charge of the Naval Publicity Bureau in a letter, copy of which I enclose. Reuterdahl’s only desire is to serve the Navy." In fine condition, with rusty paperclip impressions to the top edge, and slight fading to the signature. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.
A most interesting letter, recommending Swedish-American nautical painter Henry Reuterdahl for a commission in the United States Navy during World War I. Reuterdahl had previously been selected by President Theodore Roosevelt to accompany the Great White Fleet voyage in 1907 in order to document the journey. During World War I, he aided the Naval Publicity Bureau, commanded by K. M. Bennett, in the creation of propaganda posters to encourage enlistment.
Moreover, this is a remarkable association piece: we find no other auction records of letters from Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin D. Roosevelt, though some belong to museums and institutions. Theodore Roosevelt was actually a fifth cousin of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the uncle of his wife, Eleanor. At their 1905 wedding, President Theodore Roosevelt attended and 'gave the bride away,' as her parents were long deceased. As a letter from a past president to a future one—from one Roosevelt to another—this is an exceptional, museum-quality piece.
