Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$6500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Octavo, [25 leaves]. Plain paper wrappers, bound at spine with staples and cloth binding tape. Printed on 23 mimeographed leaves, tipped-in photograph of Fort Jefferson on second leaf. (Halter, 191) (Horowitz, 83) Includes the White House envelope and recipient's business card. Housed in custom blue cloth clamshell case, title in gilt on cover over red morocco label, compartment for envelope with archival sleeve. This copy is inscribed on the title page to Roosevelt's Secret Service Agent, who accompanied him on the cruise: "For Paul Hart, from Franklin D. Roosevelt." This copy is from the private estate of Paul M. Hart, Missouri City, Texas, February 2021. Possibly the scarcest of all the Roosevelt cruise logbooks. From Halter's research, there were a total of 17 logbooks, issued between 1934-1945. They were all privately printed, with the authorship being unknown for each volume. It is suspected that FDR military aide Edwin M. "Pa" Watson authored this volume, but there is no direct attribution. One other copy of Log of the Cruise of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Dry Tortugas Florida appeared in the 1996 Glenn Horowitz sale, and we can find one copy held by the Library of Congress. This fishing trip off the coast of Florida aboard the presidential yacht Potomac included visits to Miami and Fort Jefferson. The President was accompanied by his son James Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, Edwin M. Watson, recently widowed Harry Hopkins and twelve staff members. The President was suffering from a tooth infection during the trip, but was in good spirits. Soon after the trip concluded, Harry Hopkins was admitted to the hospital with stomach cancer and required life-saving surgery.
Seller: The First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Cincinnati, OH, U.S.A.
Price: US$7500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. 35 mimeographed leaves, printed on rectos only, glued into later plain wrappers. Fine in a custom quarter morocco slipcase. Presentation copy; inscribed by F.D.R., 'For William Simmons from Franklin D. Roosevelt.' The recipient was a White House communications director assigned to the cruise. Reportedly only 10 or 12 copies were issued, and, given its fragile and ephemeral nature, it is doubtful that many survived. The presidential yacht cruised between Port Aransas (near Corpus Christi) to New Orleans, escorted by naval vessels; most of the rest of the trip was by train, and included some political events. Aside from fishing, F.D.R. did conduct official business, including addressing a condolence note on the loss of the Hindenburg to Chancellor Hitler. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$12500.00 + shipping
Description: (ROOSEVELT, Franklin D.) [WATSON, Edwin]. Log of the Cruise of President Franklin D Roosevelt in the Gulf of Mexico. (Washington): [The White House], 1937. Quarto, original half cloth, original buff paper wrappers. Housed in a custom cloth clamshell box . $12,500.Limited first edition, one of an unnumbered limited, of this privately printed travel logbook about FDR's cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, inscribed on the title page: "For Paul Hart from Franklin D. Roosevelt."According to Roosevelt bibliographer Ernest J. Halter, at least 17 of these presidential cruise logs were issued between 1934 and 1945. Because they were all planographed or mimeographed to maintain their homemade appearance, their production didn't require a formal publisher and thus the exact number remains unknown. All, however, were issued in restricted editions for private distribution. The present log concerns FDR's Gulf of Mexico cruise on the U.S.S. Potomac. It also includes details of a condolence letter sent from Roosevelt to Hitler about the Hindenburg. It is believed to have been written entirely by Colonel Edwin M. Watson, Roosevelt's close friend and favorite advisor. Indeed, their friendship was even stronger than their professional association. During his administration, Roosevelt adopted Watson's Virginia estate as his Camp David-esque presidential retreat. Watson was also essentially the White House Chief of Staff at a time when the position had not yet been formally created. Notably, when Roosevelt wanted to stand at public appearances, Watson was one of only two people (the other being Roosevelt's son) that Roosevelt trusted enough to use for physical support. Watson served Roosevelt faithfully, until his tragic death from a hemorrhagic stroke while returning from the Yalta Conference. These pre-war logbooks are quite rare; we know of only two examples appearing for public sale. Halter, 191. From the private estate of Paul M. Hart of Missouri City, Texas.Fine condition.
Seller: Bauman Rare Books, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.