1906 AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY WILLIAM McKINLEY\'S FIRST LADY IDA S. McKINLEY
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1906 AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY WILLIAM McKINLEY\'S FIRST LADY IDA S. McKINLEY:
$361.98
Very rare and original, August 8, 1906 Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) from First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley - wife of President William McKinley - written to the President\'s Personal Physician Rear Admiral Presley Rixey and his wife. Dr. Rixey attended to President McKinley after he was shot in Buffalo, new York in 1901.
This fascinating, Hand Written Letter is written on a 4 page, folding lettersheet that measures approx. 4 3/4\" by 6\" with all pages featuring a thick, black mourning border (Mrs. McKinley remained in mourning for the remainder of her life after the assassination of her husband). The front page of the folded stationary has a raised, black colored, printed monogram at the top that reads \"I S McK\". The Letter is dated August 8th, 1906 from Canton, Ohio and addressed to “Dr. and Mrs. Rixey”.
The Letter is entirely in the hand of Ida McKinley and reads:
\"My dear Dr. and Mrs. Rixey,
It seems a long time since I have heard from you. Are you not planning to come west this autumn? I should be very pleased to have you come out and make me a long visit. Mr. Cortelynn was here last Thursday with the other members of the Memorial Association. I was hoping Mr. Rixey would have been among the members.
I should enjoy hearing about the trip to the Philippines. Mr. Portmann returns from Europe about the twentieth. I shall be very glad to see him again - he writes that he is ever so well.
Write me and tell me I may expect to see you soon.
With love I am sincerely your friend
Ida S. McKinley”
Ida Saxton McKinley (June 8, 1847 – May 26, 1907), wife of William McKinley, was First Lady of the United States from 1897 to 1901.Possessed of a fragile, nervous temperament, Mrs. McKinley broke down under the loss of her mother and two young daughters within a short span of time. She developed epilepsy and became totally dependent on her husband. Her seizures at times occurred in public; she had one at McKinley\'s inaugural ball as Governor of Ohio. Although an invalid the rest of her life, she kept busy with her hobby, crocheting slippers, making gifts of literally thousands of pairs to friends, acquaintances and charities, which would sale pairs for large sums. She often took barbiturates, laudanum, and other sedatives for her condition
President McKinley took great care to accommodate her condition. In a break with tradition, he insisted that his wife be seated next to him at state dinners rather than at the other end of the table. At receiving lines, she alone remained seated. Many of the social chores normally assumed by the First Lady fell to Mrs. Jennie Tuttle Hobart, wife of Vice President Garret Hobart. Guests noted that whenever Mrs. McKinley was about to undergo a seizure, the President would gently place a napkin or handkerchief over her face to conceal her contorted features. When it passed, he would remove it and resume whatever he was doing as if nothing had happened. The President\'s patient devotion and loving attention was the talk of the capital. \"President McKinley has made it pretty hard for the rest of us husbands here in Washington,\" remarked Mark Hanna. The First Lady often traveled with the President. Mrs. McKinley traveled to California with the President in May 1901, but became so ill in San Francisco that the planned tour of the Northwest was cancelled. She was also with him on the trip to Buffalo, NY in September of that year when he was assassinated, but was not present at the shooting
With the assassination of her husband by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York in September 1901, Mrs. McKinley lost much of her will to live. Although she bore up well in the days between the shooting and the president\'s death, she could not bring herself to attend his funeral. Her health eroded as she withdrew to the safety of her home and memories in Canton. She was cared for by her younger sister. The President was interred at the Werts Receiving Vault at West Lawn Cemetery until his memorial was built. Ida visited daily until her own death. She survived the president by less than six years, dying on May 26, 1907. She was buried next to him and their two daughters in Canton\'s McKinley Memorial Mausoleum.Click Here to Read More about the Life of Ida Saxton McKinley.
This rare and wonderful, Autograph Letter Signed by Ida Saxton McKinley is in excellent condition. There is a horizontal crease as sent through the mail but otherwise the Letter is clean and crisp and exceptionally well preserved. The hand writing is dark and bold as is the signature of Ida McKinley. Overall the Letter is well preserved and will display nicely.
The signature of Ida Saxton McKinley and the manuscript of the Letter are unconditionally guaranteed authentic and original and the Signature and text are unconditionally guaranteed to be in the hand of Ida McKinley. The Letter and Signature are backed by our “no questions asked” return policy and lifetime guarantee of authenticity. The Signature and Letter are unconditionally guaranteed to be deemed authentic by any third party authentication service.
A very rare and original, 1906 Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) hand written by First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley - wife of President William McKinley - and a fantastic addition to any collection!!
Be sure to check out this seller’s other sales for a number of other Roosevelt and McKinley Family Letters written to the wife of the President’s Personal Physician Presley Marion Rixey which are also being offered for sale this week on !!
Overseasshippping is extra and cost will be quoted at buyers request. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax.
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Important Notes about Shipping Charges:
The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 \"packing fee\" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.
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PLEASE NOTE:It has been brought to our attention that although this Letter is from Ida McKinley, it is NOT written by her. A kind friend informed us that Mrs. McKinley was frail and did not write her own letters; she famously used stamped envelopes rather than even frank them with her bare signature and had others write and respond to all her correspondence including those to close friends. The undecipherable notation below the \"Ida McKinley\" signature on the Letter actually reads \"Per ?\" - in other words, the letter was written for Mrs. McKinley by someone else - likely her personal secretary.
1906 AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY WILLIAM McKINLEY\'S FIRST LADY IDA S. McKINLEY:
$361.98