A Ticket to the 1952 Republican National Convention, Signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower to His Niece

The 1952 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago from July 7 to July 11, 1952. The fight for the Republican nomination was between Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who became the candidate of the party's moderate eastern establishment; Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, the longtime leader of the GOP's conservative wing; and Governor Earl Warren of California, who appealed to Western delegates and independent voters. When the convention opened, most political experts rated Taft and Eisenhower as neck-and-neck in the delegate vote totals. However, in the end, Eisenhower’s managers were able to siphon off some delegates, and Warren pledged California's delegates to Ike. So the momentum shifted, enabling Eisenhower to win the nomination on the first ballot. Warren was later appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

A ticket to that convention, engraved on the front with a picture of Abraham Lincoln and on the verso with a figure of Liberty, inscribed and signed by the soon-to-be-President, “To Janis, from Uncle Ike with deep affection, Dwight D. Eisenhower.” Janis was the daughter of Eisenhower’s older brother Edgar. This is the first convention ticket signed by Eisenhower that we have ever seen. It was obtained by us from the Eisenhower descendants and has never before been offered for sale.