TLS as president, one page, 7 x 10.25, White House letterhead, March 25, 1959. Ike writes to the International Olympic Committee. In part: “I wish to join with all of our people in inviting you to celebrate the XVIII Olympiad at Detroit in 1964. I am informed that the United States Olympic association has selected Detroit as its recommended site for the Olympic Games, and I am sure you would find that city at once a splendid host and ideal location for the Games. I have always been an ardent devotee of amateur sports and have followed … the splendid work of the International and National Olympic Committees. Indeed, the Olympic movement has become a powerful international force in the most constructive sense, since the resurgence of the modern Olympic Games in 1896…. It has been a good many years since an Olympiad has been celebrated in the United States….” Stapled to the letter are unsigned translations of the letter, on the same White House letterhead, into Spanish and French. Despite Ike’s personal entreaty, Motown lost its bid, and the 1964 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo. Light rusting to staple, otherwise fine, fresh, clean condition. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
