Sell or Auction Your Harry Truman Potsdam Declaration Signed for up to Nearly $45,000 or More at Nate D. Sanders Auctions
FREE VALUATION. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Harry Truman Potsdam Declaration signed that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
Sell Your Harry Truman Potsdam Declaration Signed
Below is a recent realized price for a Harry Truman Potsdam Declaration signed. We at Nate D. Sanders Auctions can obtain up to this amount or more for you:
Harry Truman Potsdam Declaration Signed. Sold for Nearly $45,000.
The following are some Harry Truman items we have sold:
Very personal and largely unpublished photos of the most important world leaders in the WWII era, including Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, plus Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Dwight Eisenhower as General, Eleanor Roosevelt and others. Collection comprises over 1,000 photos from the personal collection of William Rigdon, who served as White House and travel aide to FDR and Truman, accompanying the men on both personal and official trips, including the 1945 Potsdam Conference. Photos include FDR receiving a military briefing with Douglas MacArthur in front of a large map; Truman fishing and swimming post-war at his Key West home; Winston Churchill with cigar in hand; Eleanor Roosevelt with their dog Fala; Prime Minister Anthony Eden in Quebec; FDR, MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz eating pineapple, and many more.
Of the more than 1,000 photos, Truman appears in 594, FDR in 73, Churchill in 48, Eleanor Roosevelt in 3 and Joseph Stalin in approximately 7. There is also one of Chiang Kai-shek, 1 of Haile Selassie, 1 of Dwight Eisenhower, and several of Anthony Eden, Douglas MacArthur and Chester Nimitz.
Over 700 photos measure 8” x 10”, with approximately 300 measuring 5” x 4”, and other sizes in the minority. Photos show a variety of credits on verso, some from the Army Signal Corps, Navy Department, Bureau of Aeronautics, and others with no date stamp or credit, likely taken by Rigdon himself. Light wear and curling to most of the photos, overall very good condition. Sold for $5,000.
President Harry Truman Hiroshima Signed the Original Press Release Announcing the First Use of Atomic Weaponry — “…Hiroshima…may expect a rain of ruin from the air…”
Harry Truman Hiroshima signed press release, publicly announcing the very first use of the nuclear bomb, dropped upon Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Document signed “Harry Truman” is the press release of Truman’s announcement, the gravest and most controversial decision of his Presidency, perhaps of any 20th century President. Four page press release reads in part, “Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British ‘Grand Slam’ which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare. The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. And the end is not yet. With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces. In their present form these bombs are now in production and even more powerful forms are in development. It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East. Before 1939, it was the accepted belief of scientists that it was theoretically possible to release atomic energy. But no one knew any practical method of doing it. By 1942, however, we knew that the Germans were working feverishly to find a way to add atomic energy to the other engines of war with which they hoped to enslave the world. But they failed. We may be grateful to Providence that the Germans got the V-1’s and the V-2’s late and in limited quantities and even more grateful that they did not get the atomic bomb at all. The battle of the laboratories held fateful risks for us as well as the battles of the air, land and sea, and we have now won the battle of the laboratories as we have won the other battles. Beginning in 1940, before Pearl Harbor, scientific knowledge useful in war was pooled between the United States and Great Britain and many priceless helps to our victories have come from that arrangement. Under that general policy the research on the atomic bomb was begun. With American and British scientists working together we entered the race of discovery against the Germans…We have spent two billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history – and won…What has been done is the greatest achievement of organized science in history. It was done under high pressure and without failure…We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth…It has never been the habit of the scientists of this country or the policy of this Government to withhold from the world scientific knowledge…But under present circumstances it is not intended to divulge the technical processes of production of production or all the military applications, pending further examination of possible methods of protecting us and the rest of the world from the danger of sudden destruction. I shall recommend that the Congress of the United States consider promptly the establishment of an appropriate commission to control the production and use of atomic power within the United States. I shall give further consideration and make further recommendations to the Congress as to how atomic power can become a powerful and forceful influence towards the maintenance of world peace.”
Boldly signed “Harry Truman” on fourth and last page of document which measures 8″ x 12.5″. Some toning, staple mark to upper left corner, folds and small tears to edge. Overall in very good condition, housed in a blue cloth clamshell box. With a typed cover letter signed “S. Tucker” on National Press Club letterhead, presenting the document. Sold for $54,000.
Harry Truman’s Personally Owned Stetson Hat
Harry Truman personally owned and worn Stetson hat. Open road style Stetson hat features Truman’s name printed inside the band. Beige hat is near fine. Provenance from Heritage Auctions. Sold for $28,734.
Harry Truman’s personally owned rocking chair. Beautifully crafted wooden rocking chair was donated by Mrs. Truman in the fall of 1962 to the Women’s Guild charity sale at the Trinity Episcopal Church, the church where she married the president in 1919. Patterned cushioning is from the chair’s reupholstering in the 1950’s by Jennings Furniture in Independence, according to the Historic Furnishing Report of the Harry S. Truman Home and National Historic Site. Truman was known for making use of his rocking chair, having mentioned it in numerous interviews including one with Edward R. Murrow in which he joked, ”I do an immense amount of it [manual labor] from a rocking chair.” Staining to the upper left of the upper cushion, else near fine. Accompanied by an 8” x 10” notarized LOA, mounted on a wooden plaque, from the charity sale’s chairwoman, Mrs. W. Howard Huffman of Independence, Missouri. Sold for $23,116.
Large Presidential flag from 1948, used by President Harry Truman as he campaigned for re-election and marched in dozens of parades that summer. Used during one of these parades in Michigan, flag has print to hem along right edge, ”President Flag Parade MI 48”. Cloth flag in navy blue features the seal of the President of the United States, made entirely of integral cloth panels in six different colors with decorative stitching. Grommets are built in. Measures a large 75” x 59”. A few small holes, the largest measuring under 2”, else near fine. Sold for $12,500.
President Harry S. Truman’s personally-owned monogrammed chiming pocket watch, pocket knife, and Stetson hat, all gifted by Truman to his Secret Service agent Byron Ludwig Smith Jr. Lot includes: (1) Stunning gold-tone Beaumont brand pocket watch, monogrammed with Truman’s initials ”HTS” on the back cover. Functional manual winding watch features a second hand, a chiming mechanism, and elegant roman numerals. Measures 2” in diameter and 2.5” including the bow. In a Diamant’s of Kansas City, MO box. Light rubbing, but overall near fine. (2) Pocket knife, connected to the watch by a chain with a removable clasp. Gold-tone pocket knife features a folding knife and small pair of scissors. Measures 2.625” long. Also near fine with light rubbing. (3) Truman’s personally worn Stetson hat, reflecting the President’s signature style, who especially liked to wear his Stetson hat on his morning walks. Hat is size 7 3/8, with leather band embossed ”Made by Stetson especially for Harry S. Truman”. Handsome light brown hat features beige grosgrain band and maroon silk lining. Near fine condition. Lot is accompanied by an LOA signed by Smith’s daughter, as well as a copy of Smith’s Secret Service badge, a newspaper clipping of Smith with First Lady Bess Truman at President Truman’s funeral, and a newspaper clipping reporting on Bess Truman attending Smith’s funeral. A fantastic lot of very personal items belonging to President Truman, reflecting his signature style. Sold for $10,000.
Rare V-E Day proclamation signed ”Harry Truman” as President, given by Truman to his White House staff at the 1945 White House Christmas party. Dated 8 May 1945, printed document formally announces the Victory of Europe and surrender of Nazi Germany. Text reads in part, ”The Allied Armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God’s help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The Western World has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our Armies of Liberation have restored freedom to these suffering peoples, whose spirit and will their oppressors could never enslave…” Single-page Proclamation is beautifully decorated in red, blue and gilt. Measures 14.75” x 21.75”. Shallow crease to upper right and light buckling, but overall in near fine condition. Proclamation is cited in the Seeley reference book as having been issued as a Christmas gift to White House staff in 1945, and one example remains in the collection of the Truman Library. Sold for $9,375.
Harry S. Truman Speech Manuscript
Harry S. Truman autographed manuscript with more than 1,000 words composed in Truman’s own hand. Undated speech manuscript circa 1938 during Truman’s term as U.S. Senator. Extensive 11pp. speech delivered before a meeting of World War I veterans in Larchmont, New York, regarding Truman’s policy and political views in the years prior to Pearl Harbor. A unique glimpse at the future wartime President before he dropped the atomic bomb In part: “…We are a peace loving nation and all of us hate the very thought of war. None of us wants to see another World War in which we are likely to be involved…But we must not close our eyes to the possibility of another war because conditions in Europe have developed to a point, likely to cause an explosion at any time…In the coming struggle between Democracy and Dictatorship, Democracy must be prepared to defend its principals [sic] and its wealth…” The American people “…went rather hysterical on disarmament…after 1918…” Truman continues, “…We refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles [and] did not accept our responsibility as a world power…Andrew Jackson, the fighting old president from Tennessee said, ‘We shall more certainly preserve peace when it is understood that we are prepared for war’…The world knows…” he concludes, “…that we can and will fight for our rights in spite of a small and vociferous pacifist group. The World knows our honorable record in the World War…We fought for liberty and honor, just as we always have and just as we always will when occasion demands it…” 11pp. composed in ink on Biloxi, Mississippi stationery. Punch holes to top edges slightly affect text. An exceptionally rare Truman speech manuscript in excellent condition. From our Harry Truman memorabilia auction. Sold for $6,840.
Harry Truman Twice-Signed 10″ x 8″ Photograph, Famously Showing Truman Holding Up the “Dewey Defeats Truman” Newspaper — Original UPI Press Photo — With University Archives COA
Rare UPI press photo twice-signed by Harry Truman, showing the newly elected President holding up the famous “Chicago Daily Tribune” newspaper that erroneously proclaimed his defeat. Truman signs “Harry Truman” across the white newspaper, and again on his sleeve “Harry Truman”, where he also inscribes the photo. Upon the verso is the United Press-International stamp, transferring the photo to the Truman Library. A piece of paper from the Truman Library is also taped to the verso. Satin-finish silver gelatin photo measures 10″ x 8″. Mild buckling to lower portion and some fading to black ink signatures, otherwise near fine condition. An exceptionally rare photo as signed by Truman. With University Archives COA. Sold for $4,200.
FREE VALUATION. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Harry Truman Potsdam Declaration signed that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
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