Description
Typed letter from New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt to his close political ally, Jesse Straus. Letter is dated October 20, 1931.
Single page letter on State of New York Executive Chamber stationery, with embossed seal of the State of New York along top edge. Framed and double matted in gilt frame, includes a portrait of Franklin Roosevelt. Full piece measures 20″ x 15.5″. Letter previously folded, faint paperclip remnant. Letter reads: “Dear Jesse: I do not know what can be done about this man. Miss LeHand has answered two previous letters of his and told him that I could not give him the letter of introduction to you but, as you see, he is persistent. Will you do whatever you can? Always sincerely yours, Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
The recipient of this letter, Jesse Isidor Straus (1872-1936) was a political ally of Franklin Roosevelt. After Roosevelt’s speech nominating Alfred E. Smith at the Democratic National Convention in 1928, Straus commissioned a poll of Democratic delegates to gauge Roosevelt’s chances of receiving the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination. When Roosevelt assumed the presidency, he appointed Straus the United States Ambassador to France. Straus served until 1936, when health issues forced him to return to New York.
