Historic pairing of official United States passport applications, both filled out entirely in the hand of President Woodrow Wilson, signed "Woodrow Wilson" and "Edith Bolling Wilson," each one page both sides, 8.5 x 13.75, no date but circa October-December 1918 (based on the ages given, "61" and "46"). Preparing for his trip to Europe in late 1918, President Wilson fills out passport applications for himself and the first lady. In all, there are over fifty words in the hand of the president, with the name "Wilson" or "Woodrow Wilson" appearing five times in the text. Within these autobiographical documents, "Woodrow Wilson" swears that he is a citizen of the U.S., born in "Staunton, Va. the 28th day of December, 1856," that his father "Joseph R. Wilson" was born in "Steubenville, Ohio," and is now "dead," adding that his present address is in "Washington," where holds the occupation of "President of the United States." His intention is to have the passport issued for "Official" business travel in "France, England, Italy"—representing his trip abroad to the Preliminary to the Paris Peace Conference in France (December 14-25, 1918), meeting with Prime Minister Lloyd George and King George V in London (December 26-31, 1918), return to Paris (December 31-January 1), and meeting with King Victor Emmanuel III and Prime Minister Orlando in Italy (January 1-6, 1919). These meetings preceded his attendance at the Paris Peace Conference (January-February and March-June, 1919), which resulted in the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles, the peace treaty that ended World War I.
At the bottom, President Wilson signs an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and on the reverse he supplies his complete physical description: "Age: 61, Statures: 5 feet 10 1/2 inches tall, Forehead: Square, Eyes: Grey, Nose: Prominent, Mouth: Small, Chin: Long, Hair: Grey, Complexion: Ruddy, and Face: Long." He has similarly completed Mrs. Wilson's application, indicating that their traveling party shall depart from the port of "New York." In overall fine condition.
An accompanying past auction description notes that these historic documents are from the estate of White House Chief Usher Ike Hoover; interestingly, Hoover accompanied Wilson on his trip to France for peace negotiations at the end of World War I, controlling the staff and household operations in the palaces where Wilson stayed. A remarkable, one-of-a-kind pairing of presidential documents, representing Wilson's greatest international achievement.
