Description
Personalized letter from William Howard Taft, President of the United States, thanking vice presidential contender and Philadelphia merchant Mr. John Wanamaker.
Single-page letter, on embossed White House letterhead, bifolium. Includes the original mailing envelope. Previously folded along the center line, finger soiling to the envelope. Partially typed, with a personalized note from President Taft.
Note reads: “I have read what you say in the morning paper, I cannot conceive of any statement from any other source that will so rouse the business community as your favorable and illuminating statements.”
A unique association copy, written days before Wanamaker was considered for the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket.
With the untimely death of Vice President James S. Sherman, late into the 1912 presidential campaign, Republicans scrambled to fill the now vacant vice presidential slot on the ticket. A top contender was John Wanamaker of Philadelphia, who was a staunch supporter of President Taft.
John Wanamaker (1838–1922) was a Philadelphia merchant and retail innovator who opened his first men’s clothing store, Oak Hall, in 1861 before founding Wanamaker’s department store in 1876, widely regarded as one of the first true department stores in the United States.Â
Appointed U.S. Postmaster General by President Benjamin Harrison in 1889, he introduced innovations such as the commemorative stamp and expanded rural free delivery. Wanamaker maintained political connections into the early 20th century and was a close friend and supporter of President William Howard Taft, who attended Wanamaker family gatherings and considered him a trusted adviser.Â
