The Vietnam War was at its height when Nixon was inaugurated in January 1969, and his handling of it was controversial and led to demonstrations by a growing anti-war movement. In November, the March on Washington brought half a million protestors into the streets and a pro-war backlash resulted. It was a time of confrontation. In December, Nixon paused to thank Senator George Murphy, his long-time friend, for his ongoing support.
Signed Photograph. A color photograph of him put to an 11 by 14 inch mat, inscribed and signed on the mat “To Senator George Murphy, For whose friendship and support through the years I shall always be grateful, Dick Nixon.” He has dated the photograph “12-24-69,” so the presentation was signed as president. This is a very uncommon photograph, as few Nixon White House era pictures bear authentic signatures and fewer still are in color. In 1970, Murphy would engineer Nixon’s famous meeting with Elvis Presley. The mat is creased at top right. Provenance: the Murphy family.