Description
First edition of A White House Diary, signed by President Lyndon Johnson to his tailor, Irving Frank.
Octavo, ix, [1], 806pp. Green cloth over white, title in gilt on spine. Stated “second printing” on copyright page. Solid text block, light soiling to cloth spine, a near fine example. In the publisher’s dust jacket, near fine, price clipped, bright illustrations, a near fine copy. Signed on the front free endpaper: “For Irving Frank, a great friend for many years – Lyndon B. Johnson.”
This copy is inscribed by President Lyndon Johnson to Irving Frank, the presidents personal tailor and owner of Sol Frank Uniform Company. Johnson valued his privacy, especially when he was away from the White House and ordered Frank to “stay out of the newspapers,” if he was going to be his tailor. Frank provided clothes for the entire Johnson family, members of the White House staff and even a suit for Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt. As the Vietnam war escalated, Frank used his White House contacts to secure a contract with the Pentagon to provide military uniforms for soldiers. The two remained close until Johnson’s death in 1973.
