Description:

VICTORIOUS WORLD WAR II LEADERS SIGN A NUREMBERG 'GALLOWS'
A terrific early postwar piece, a personalized program of menu cover signed by 21 important American military and civilian leaders of World War II on January 5, 1946. The 9.75 x 12.5 in. document is personalized to 'Captain Grantham' (who has signed it), and it is further decorated with a wooden 'gallows' with yellow cord 'noose', in obvious celebration and anticipation of the ongoing Nuremberg War Crimes Trials and the almost-certain execution of the major war criminals. We have been able to decipher a good number of the signatures, which include: DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II and largely responsible for the successful invasion on D-Day; CHESTER W. NIMITZ, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II; HENRY H. 'HAP' ARNOLD, Commander of the Army Air Force through most of World War II, responsible for instituting the daylight bombing raids on Germany; WILLIAM D. LEAHY, American admiral and Chief of Staff to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman; ERNEST J. KING, commander in chief of the Atlantic fleet and Chief of Naval Operations; HARRY H. VAUGHAN, American major general and military aide to Harry S. Truman during his time as vice president and president, one of Truman's closest advisors; CARL SPAATZ, American general who initiated daylight bombing raids over Germany and oversaw the dropping of the atomic bomb; CLARK M. CLIFFORD, naval aide to President Harry S Truman and later a major political figure; Capt. GEORGE FREDERICK PINE, secretary to the head of the British Admiralty Delegation in Washington, D.C.; and others unidentified but certainly worth study. The upright of the gallows appears to have been initially dropped on the paper and then reset in its proper position, with a little bit of the glue offsetting to the left. Regardless, some of the signatories applied their signatures consistent with the 'gallows' having been on the paper from the start. There is a one inch interior tear beneath Spaatz's signature, else very good. The signed page is double-matted with a copy of the menu for this celebratory dinner, as well as a copy of a page of caricatures of some of the principal attendees, all set into a wood frame. A very rare assemblage of the top American military leaders of World War II.

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January 25, 2023 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
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$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000