Description
Photograph of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale at the FBI National Academy in Washington, D.C., on November 8, 1957, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
The monochrome photograph is mounted on white matte paper, previously framed, with mounting tape residue on verso. Full piece measures 9″ x 11.25″. Others in the photograph include former Attorney General Herbert Brownell, Jr., and Attorney General William P. Rogers. The photograph was taken by the Washington Post and the Times Herald.
Signed along the bottom quarter: “For Dr. Norman Vincent Peale / with best wishes and high esteem / Dwight D. Eisenhower / J. Edgar Hoover.”
Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) was a Protestant minister and the author of The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). His book sold over 20 million copies and was on The New York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks. Despite criticism from some psychologists and theologians for oversimplifying complex mental health issues, Peale’s ideas reached a global audience, and his philosophy influenced leaders like U.S. President Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Peale was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1984. Peale served as the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City for over five decades, where his messages of faith, optimism, and “positive thinking” resonated with millions.
