August 2022 Auction Ends Thursday, August 25th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/25/2022
Very personal and largely unpublished photos of the most important world leaders in the WWII era, including Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, plus Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Dwight Eisenhower as General, Eleanor Roosevelt and others. Collection comprises over 1,000 photos from the personal collection of William Rigdon, who served as White House and travel aide to FDR and Truman, accompanying the men on both personal and official trips, including the 1945 Potsdam Conference. Photos include FDR receiving a military briefing with Douglas MacArthur in front of a large map; Truman fishing and swimming post-war at his Key West home; Winston Churchill with cigar in hand; Eleanor Roosevelt with their dog Fala; Prime Minister Anthony Eden in Quebec; FDR, MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz eating pineapple, and many more.
Of the more than 1,000 photos, Truman appears in 594, FDR in 73, Churchill in 48, Eleanor Roosevelt in 3 and Joseph Stalin in approximately 7. There is also one of Chiang Kai-shek, 1 of Haile Selassie, 1 of Dwight Eisenhower, and several of Anthony Eden, Douglas MacArthur and Chester Nimitz.
Over 700 photos measure 8'' x 10'', with approximately 300 measuring 5'' x 4'', and other sizes in the minority. Photos show a variety of credits on verso, some from the Army Signal Corps, Navy Department, Bureau of Aeronautics, and others with no date stamp or credit, likely taken by Rigdon himself. Light wear and curling to most of the photos, overall very good condition.
Incredible Photographic Archive of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Plus Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin & Others -- From the Personal Collection of FDR & Truman's Aide
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