Gorgeous Signed Photograph of Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office

More than any president since Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan’s public image was closely tied to the American West. In the 1930s, Reagan moved to California, where he became a successful Hollywood actor who often played in western films. Thereafter, he always considered himself a true westerner in spirit.

Reagan’s film and TV career not only won him public-name recognition but also helped establish his enduring “good-guy” reputation. In his Westerns he usually played the brave and wholesome sheriff or cowboy who killed the outlaws, saved the school marm, and brought justice to the Wild West. Surely Reagan’s white hat movie image helped win him some confidence and votes, a great help in his subsequent political career.

Reagan’s politics also reflected the iconic western image of rugged independence and self-reliance. Though his days as a western movie star were long past by then, Reagan continued to celebrate the mythic independence of the western pioneer as a parallel to modern conservatism. To drive home the point, during his presidency, Reagan made frequent and highly visible retreats to his California ranch, where he rode horses, fixed fences, and cut firewood for the TV cameras. This president, Reagan’s actions seemed to say, was a self-reliant cowboy at heart and only a reluctant politician.

Signed Photograph, a color print of Reagan in the Oval Office, 7″ x 9½”, invoking his iconic cowboy image, inscribed and signed, “Dear Dr. Thomas – My thanks to you and Very Best Wishes & Regards. I’m back in the saddle again & enjoying every minute of it. Ronald Reagan”.

Reagan’s friend Gene Autry wrote a popular cowboy song – “Back in the Saddle Again” – in 1939. The phrase was one Reagan liked, and it was used in the 1980 presidential campaign to refer to Reagan’s rising into the lead as a candidate. His affection for the cowboy theme is shown in this inscription.