ALS as president, one page, 4.25 x 6.75, White House letterhead, November 21, 1907. In full: “I shall be pleased to have my name put on M. Rodin’s statue to labor and peace.” A notation in another hand at the bottom reads “A Monsieur Dayot,” likely the French art historian Armand Dayot, a friend and biographer of Rodin. In fine condition. Accompanied by an unsigned engraved portrait. Though seemingly never completed—probably due to its ambitious nature and lack of funding—Rodin spent several years working on a monument dedicated to ‘Labor and Universal Peace.’ Committees in each ‘civilized’ country were formed to name figureheads to represent those ideals, and President Roosevelt was the first to be asked—this letter offers his approval. Among the other Americans eventually named were William H. Taft, Mark Twain, Jacob Riis, and Julia Ward Howe. Roosevelt’s handwritten letters as president have grown increasingly scarce, particularly with such fascinating cultural associations. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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