- 156
(Truman, Harry S.)
Estimate
2,000 - 3,000 USD
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Description
- paper and ink
Two copies, complete issues of the Chicago Daily Tribune, 3 November 1948, with alternate headlines: "Dewey Defeats Truman" and "G.O.P. Wins White House!"
Folio (23 1/2 x 17 in; 600 x 430 mm). Both issues toned. Blue cloth chemises and slipcase, navy morocco lettering piece on spine.
Folio (23 1/2 x 17 in; 600 x 430 mm). Both issues toned. Blue cloth chemises and slipcase, navy morocco lettering piece on spine.
Provenance
Sale, Christie's New York, 14 June 2005, lot 455 (undesignated consignor)
Condition
Folio (23 1/2 x 17 in; 600 x 430 mm). Both issues toned. Blue cloth chemises and slipcase, navy morocco lettering piece on spine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Dewey defeats Truman. The story of one of the great upsets in American presidential elections, and the most famous wrong call in American journalism. Most Americans, including President Truman's own campaign staff, were certain that the incumbent was going to lose to New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey. The majority of the nation's newspapers had endorsed him and even a slight drop in the polls late in the campaign would be of little or no concern.
Truman and his family voted in Independence, Missouri, on 2 November 1948, and retired early, unaware that the Tribune was going to press with two alternate headlines:" Dewey Defeats Truman" and "G.O.P. Wins White House." The blundering headlines resulted from a series of missteps. The returns were coming in slowly and the paper was fast approaching its deadline. Moreover, most of the editors on Col. Robert C. McCormick's rabidly anti-Democratic paper were convinced that Dewey already had one foot inside the White House door.
After delivery of the paper, the gap between Truman and Dewey started to close. The old New Deal coalition was still alive and kicking. Labor, Blacks, farmers, and urban liberals all came out for Truman. As the tally shifted in favor of the Democrats, panic seized Tribune officials. They sent staffers out to stop delivery trucks, even to swipe copies from people's porches. Many were reclaimed and the paper sent tens of thousands of the now valuable issues to be pulped. These two issues survived as did the one handed to Truman the next morning at the St. Louis train station where he stopped briefly on his way back home to the White House.
Tribune publisher Col. McCormick surely never made Harry Truman beam as brightly as he did when he read the headline and held the paper aloft for the cameramen. "This is for the books!" Truman wryly remarked. A framed copy was hung in the White House. "Mr. Truman always looked at that headline as if he had never seen it before. He never said anything about it. No need to. He just stood there and grinned" (Merle Miller, Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman, New York, 1974, p. 406).
Truman and his family voted in Independence, Missouri, on 2 November 1948, and retired early, unaware that the Tribune was going to press with two alternate headlines:" Dewey Defeats Truman" and "G.O.P. Wins White House." The blundering headlines resulted from a series of missteps. The returns were coming in slowly and the paper was fast approaching its deadline. Moreover, most of the editors on Col. Robert C. McCormick's rabidly anti-Democratic paper were convinced that Dewey already had one foot inside the White House door.
After delivery of the paper, the gap between Truman and Dewey started to close. The old New Deal coalition was still alive and kicking. Labor, Blacks, farmers, and urban liberals all came out for Truman. As the tally shifted in favor of the Democrats, panic seized Tribune officials. They sent staffers out to stop delivery trucks, even to swipe copies from people's porches. Many were reclaimed and the paper sent tens of thousands of the now valuable issues to be pulped. These two issues survived as did the one handed to Truman the next morning at the St. Louis train station where he stopped briefly on his way back home to the White House.
Tribune publisher Col. McCormick surely never made Harry Truman beam as brightly as he did when he read the headline and held the paper aloft for the cameramen. "This is for the books!" Truman wryly remarked. A framed copy was hung in the White House. "Mr. Truman always looked at that headline as if he had never seen it before. He never said anything about it. No need to. He just stood there and grinned" (Merle Miller, Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman, New York, 1974, p. 406).