LETTERS: Archive of incoming correspondence.
ER Prepares To Become First Lady
Roosevelt, Eleanor. Incoming Correspondence. 1913-1920.
A mini-archive of correspondence showcasing Eleanor Roosevelt’s activities as the wife of FDR during his tenure as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, as she practiced duties that would become an active component of her life as first lady. These documents show her relating to a range of diplomats and government officials, and to her new peer group: wives of the men who were running the country. The archive includes incoming notes and letters accepting invitations, expressing regrets, thanking her for gifts and time or sending her tokens. The following items are present in a specially made quarter-morocco slipcase. Material dating to this period in the life and career of FDR and ER is virtually unheard of outside of the FDR Library at Hyde Park.
Provenance: Eleanor Roosevelt; by descent to her son; acquired by Glenn Horowitz Bookseller from Irene Roosevelt Aitken, John’s widow.
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The center of the archive is a trio of communications from the wives of President Wilson, Vice President Bryan, and FDR’s immediate superior, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, dating to the earliest days of their acquaintance. Mary B. Bryan covers both sides of a Calumet Place note card with the following message:
My dear Mrs. Roosevelt:— After prolonged consultation with Mr. Bryan we agree that Saturday, January 24th is the time for us to come to you. We shall enjoy the evening very much—our little visit on the Mayflower has made me anxious to know you better. Thank you so much for your kindly thought of us. Very sincerely yours…Tuesday.
Edith Bolling Wilson writes as much, on a White House note card:
Tuesday. My dear Mrs. Roosevelt: What a sweet thing you are to send me this fascinating traveling case and I am starting off with it in an hour feeling very “dressy”—It will always be a charming reminder of our journey together and we will miss you & the Secretary on the “George Washington.”
We are both awfully blue at going but your thought brightens me as only a real friend’s thought can. Goodly and good [ ] to you both. Faithfully yours, …”
Finally, Addie Worth Bagley Daniels covers both sides of her personal monogrammed note card with an invitation to be one of “a few of the friends of our bride to be, Miss Jessie Woodrow Wilson.”
Another highlight of this collection is a mini-archive illustrating the protocol of designing and hosting a dinner party; this one, scheduled for Thursday, December 1915. The following items are present:
Guest list, typescript, arranged by country: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay,
Uruguay. With ER’s ink note on the bottom, “Salvador—Mlle. Guirola.”
Revised guest list, typescript, arranged by country: Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Uruguay, Bolivia, Argentine. With the following note at the bottom of the page: The names marked with a star (*) have been suggested to take the place pf the guests who were unable to accept. If you will kindly have invitations made out for these new guests they can be delivered at once by the Diplomatic Aides.”
Attached are four 3 x 5 typescript and several typescript carbon slips, each with biographical details on an anticipated or proposed guest.
With typed acceptance notes from Sarmiento, Varela, and Gonzalez, each on a leaf of
The New Willard / Washington letterhead.
A 1917 typed letter signed by the Paymaster General of the Navy (signature illegible) composed on one leaf of Navy Department letterhead, includes a two page typed Memorandum for the Paymaster General dated February 13, 1917. The Paymaster General addresses to ER a discussion of supplies needed, to be provided through her own channels. He mentions the inclusion of sample pairs of Navy uniform gloves and socks, and contributes his opinion on the need for sweaters, comforters, and mittens.
Other items present include the following:
1913, ALS, “Horace P
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