TLS signed “Wm. H. Taft,” one page, 8 x 10.5, National War Labor Board letterhead, July 22, 1918. Letter to Postmaster M. O. Chance. In part: “You may remember that Mr. Mischler or I sent you a number of anonymous letters, the source of which I cannot imagine, but which seem to be the result either of hallucination or knavery…So far as I know I have never seen and never heard of Mrs. Anna Wilson or her daughter Olga, and the matter is constructed out of ‘whole-cloth.’ The letter, you will observe, is a letter of blackmail and I submit it to you for such investigation as you may think is proper.” At the end, Taft pens a handwritten postscript: “I have asked Gus Karger to take this letter to you. He thinks it wiser not to send the letter I had dictated but to let you advise the best course to pursue, to see whether this is insanity or fraud.” In very good condition, with a rusty paperclip mark to the upper left and dampstaining to the lower right corner (affecting a portion of the handwritten postscript). Accompanied by several typed copies of correspondence related to the case, including one of the letters from Charles Ricketts that prompted Taft’s inquiry. Ricketts’s letter, in part: “Mrs. Wilson has made appeals to you which have been ignored...I have thought it best to communicate with you in the hope that proper relief may be afforded her...I am inclined to think that you would not appreciate the facts, which you know are true, set before the public at this time.” An additional carbon copy of a report sent to Taft is also present, stating that Wilson “said she was in Chicago...when she met you and mutual love ensued, resulting in illicit relations.” According to a book recently released in Norway, Den Amerikanske Presidentens Norske Datter [The American President’s Norwegian Daughter], Anna Wilson had traveled to the United States in 1892 and returned home to Norway alone, only to give birth to a daughter, Olga, in April 1894. Though the mystery remains unresolved, it is speculated that Taft may have been Olga Wilson’s biological father. An exceptional letter with supporting documents concerning this would-be Washington scandal. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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