[Presidents] Guestbook in 2 volumes, maintained by three generations of the Ridgewell Catering family in Washington, DC. Ridgewell’s was founded January 1, 1928, by the husband and wife team of Charles Ridgewell, who worked at the British Embassy, and Margaret Cuvillier, who was a chef at the French Embassy. They catered charity balls and fundraising events for Washington notables including Evelyn Walsh, Marjorie Merriwether Post, Pearl Mesta and the Blair family and entertained guests dining at the White House, Mount Vernon, the Smithsonian and the Folger Library. The firm passed to the Ridgewell children and then to the grandchildren, twins Bruce and Jeff Ellis. Exceptional signatures include 4 Presidents: Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower; 3 First Ladies; diplomats; and heads of state such as the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Most leaves are signed on recto only, with a blank verso. Mostly 1 signature per leaf, sometimes 2-3 signatures (typically members of the same family, i.e. husband and wife). Inscriptions are quoted verbatim below, followed by background information in parentheses. Leaf numbers given below are supplied to indicate relative position within the volumes, and do not actually appear on the guest books’ leaves: ++ [Vol I, leaf 1] “Timothy A. Smiddy/ January 4th, 1929.” (Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary from Ireland to the US, 1925-29.) ++[Leaf 2] “Dwight Davis. June 2. 1929.” (Middle initial not clear, but may be an “A.” or “D.”) ++ [Leaf 5] “Esme Howard/ 18 February 1930.” (British Ambassador to the US. Charles Ridgewell had worked as Esme Howard’s Head of Household and Principal Valet. See p31 of the company history, “Ridgewell’s: The Business, The Family, and Their Heartwarming Journey through the 20th Century.”) ++ [Leaf 7, upper] “Herbert Hoover” (President, 1929-33). ++[7, middle] “Lou Henry Hoover” (First Lady). ++ [10, upper] “C F. Adams”[10, lower] (Another member of the Adams family.) ++ [11, upper] “Roy D. Chapin” (President of the Hudson Motor Company 1912-23, then Chairman of the Board until death in 1936, and Secretary of Commerce 1932-33). [11, middle] “Inez Chapman” (Wife of Roy D. Chapman). ++ [13] “Madame Claudel/ 5 Avril 1933” ++ [16, upper] “Eleanor Roosevelt/ Jan. 31st 1935” (First Lady)[16, lower] “Franklin D. Roosevelt/ The White House/ Washington D C.” ++ [Leaf 17 recto, upper] “Harold L. Ickes” (Secretary of the Interior, 1933-46)[17r, middle] “Anna Wilmarth Ickes.” (Wife of Harold L. Ickes.)[17 verso, upper] “Elizabeth Lindsay July 1939.”[17v, lower] “Robert Lindsay Aug. 1939” (British Ambassador to the US, 1930 – June 1939 and Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs 1928-30, slight smearing of ink). ++ [19] “Irene Boyken July 14th 1939.” ++ [Vol 2, Leaf 9] “Jane R. Barkley” (Wife of Alben Barkley). ++ [Leaf 10] “Alben W. Barkley” (Vice President under Truman, 1949-53; Senator 1937-49, 1955-56, Majority Leader 1937-47). ++ [Leaf 11] “Best Wishes/ 1/27/51 Harry Truman.” (President. An event with Truman is described on pp72-76 of “Ridgewell’s: The Business, The Family…” Footnote 49: “Both granddad and dad had served at functions where most of the sitting Presidents were in attendance so the power players in Washington were not something new… full service cocktails and seated dinner for twenty-five…”). ++ 13] “Winston S. Churchill” (British Prime Minister during WWII). ++ [15] “Madame Ling Chiang” (Wife of Chiang Kai-Shek, ruler of Republic of China, a.k.a. Taiwan). ++ [19 recto, middle] “Dwight D Eisenhower” (President 1953-61; above signature is an inscription by another hand, “With best wishes to Ellis – and thanks for a nice dinner.”) [19r, lower] “Mamie Daud Eisenhower” (First Lady). ++ [20 recto] Sri Savang Vatthana” (King of Laos, with English rendering of signature by a member of the Ellis family at the lower edge of the leaf). ++ [22] “Park Chung Hee/ 18th May 1965.” (Signed in 2 languages. Seized power in South Korean military coup in 1961, ruled until assassination in 1979). Oblong 12mo/8vo. Vol I: Contemp leather. Vol I’s surface scuffed, Vol I’s covers edgeworn, Vol I’s interior loose at Hoover (leaf 7). Vol II contemp faux leather. Vol II’s exterior and the leaves of both vols are near fine. Should be seen.