TAFT AND ROOSEVELT : THE INTIMATE LETTERS OF ARCHIE BUTT MILITARY AIDE (TWO VOLUMES COMPLETE)
Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1930. Second Edition. Hardcover. Matching set of two: Octavo, 9.6 in. x 6.5 in; Vol I: pp. xxiv, [2], 431; Vol II: pp. vii, [3], 433-862. Dark blue cloth boards with coat of arms stamped in blind to front and gilt title to spine. Gilt top-edge. Light nudging to corners. Previous owner's inscription, dated 1930, to both front free endpapers. Both dustjackets have sunning to spines, rubbing to edges, chips to corners and at base of spines, and are price clipped. Volume I dustjacket lacks top three inches of spine, has chips to corners, and a small spatter of soiling to front. Volume II dustjacket lacks top inch of dustjacket spine. Protected in mylar. Very Good / Fair. Item #87930
"Butt was born in Augusta, Ga., in 1865. At age 34, he joined the military and served as a supply officer in the Philippines and Cuba, where he rose through the ranks quickly after displaying an excellent aptitude for logistics. In 1908, he was recalled to Washington to serve as an aide to President Theodore Roosevelt. He was brilliant at the job, organizing the president’s schedule and state dinners and even going with Roosevelt on his frequent hunting, climbing and riding excursions. When Roosevelt’s successor, Taft, took office, Butt stayed on. The two men became extremely close — most photographs from Taft’s presidency show Butt nearby, dressed in an immaculate and eye-catching uniform. Behind the scenes, he was a key negotiator on budget issues." (from The Washington Post, 8/7/22).
Price: $135.00