29. [Political Figures.] A fine group of 15 letters by important political figures such as J. Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon who outline their favorite novels and authors.

Hoover, Edgar J. Two typed letters signed, 1 page each, 10 February 1966 and 4 October 1967 on United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation stationery; with original envelopes.

Hoover’s first letter, in full: I received your letter of February 5th, with enclosure, and want to thank you for the interest in writing.

Reading has always been a great pleasure for me since my childhood, and it is difficult to select a writer who was a favorite among the many I have enjoyed, including Homer, Defoe and Emerson.

As a student in the eighth grade, I read with great interest the Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper which consists of five books: “The Deer Slayer,” “The Last of the Mohicans,” “The Pathfinder,” “The Prairie” and “The Pioneers.”

As I grew older, I read Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey.” I have always recommended very highly the complete works of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Reading is a very personal thing. It is a most worthwhile pleasure, and you will find many life-long friends among the great books.

A second letter included allows permission for his letter to be published.

Nixon, Richard M. Three typed letters signed, 1 page each, 10 August 1967 and 5 December 1967, to Dr. Evelyn B. Byrne; with original envelope.

In Nixon’s first letter, he writes in full: I enjoyed reading your letter of August 7 and heartily endorse your efforts to provide “the extra spark for sharpening the students’ perception and appreciation of reading.” I have long felt that teenage years provide a wonderful opportunity to begin a reading program. And, of all the disciplines that your students will have to exercise in the years ahead, the habit of reading good literature will be the most rewarding. Through it they will have a richer, fuller, more meaningful existence as it will bring them tremendous insights into the world around them.

As a boy, I enjoyed reading Revolutionary and Civil War stories and I also spent a great deal of time reading of the lives of famous men such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, both of whom I admired greatly.

Today, most of my reading time is devoted to current events, although, as in my youth, I still ejoy biographies of famous men such as Winston Churchill and Robert Blake’s “Disraeli”.

The second letter notes changes to his original letter and includes a re-typed version with notable changes and a typo. A notecard with autopen signature postmarked 30 November 1973 on stationery with the Presidential seal and a White House envelope expresses words of thanks.

Also included are 1-page correspondences from Nelson Rockefeller, John V. Lindsay, Thomas E. Dewey, Everett M. Dirksen, Ralph J. Bunche, and Lyndon B. Johnson. $1,200 - $1,800