An Enormous, Imposing Signed Photograph of the Inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, the Largest of Any Swearing-In We Have Ever Seen

Ronald Reagan was a transformational president, and that transformation began on January 20, 1981, the day he was inaugurated as President of the United States

In foreign affairs, his leadership led to the successful resolution of the decades-old Cold War. As the Soviet Union disappeared into the mists of history, Reagan noted that democracy had prevailed in its long “battle of values” with collectivism. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote that Reagan had “achieved the most difficult of all political tasks: changing attitudes and perceptions about what is possible. From the strong fortress of his convictions, he set out to enlarge freedom the world over at a time when freedom was in retreat—and he succeeded.”

In domestic affairs, his presidency brought an end to the New Deal policies of government programs to fix social ills. His “small government” philosophy triumphed, reducing the role of government in all spheres. He reduced taxes, making the top income tax rate, which was 70% when he took office, 28% when he left. He got skyrocketing interest rates in check and kept them there, which led to a record period of peacetime economic growth.

Reagan also left a monumental political legacy. After he was reelected in a 49-state landslide in 1984, it became clear that Democrats would be unlikely to return to the White House under a traditional liberal banner. This paved the way for “centrist” capture of the Democratic Party, which remains in place today. He had an even greater impact within his own party. He made the Republican Party a conservative one, and set its course for half a century and more. The United States would be a different place had Ronald Reagan not been President.

Nancy Clark served as assistant press secretary to Reagan during his governorship of California (1967-1975), then for two years was his special assistant. When Reagan was elected president in 1980 he recruited her to join his White House transition team (as she explained in a Washingtonian profile in 2007, “I was the only one in Washington who knew the Reagans and everybody in the Reagan camp”), and she remained a valued friend and advisor throughout his two presidential terms and beyond. Reagan appointed her US representative to the Commission on the Status of Women of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in September of 1981.

Enormous photograph of the swearing in of President Ronald Reagan, 17×23 inches, inscribed to Nancy, with the note, “You made the long road to this happier, easier and a lot of fun.  Love, Ron.”

This is the largest signed of any Presidential inauguration we have ever seen.