Franklin Roosevelt diplomatic appointment

Hello to all! I am new here.

I have had my eyes on this Franklin Roosevelt piece for a while now. The signatures of both Roosevelt and Cordell Hull look good to me, but I have never seen a diplomatic appointment issued on such a plain-looking letterhead. It does not appear to be issued on White House stationery or any kind of official presidential stationary. It could have just been typed on someone's typewriter. But the signatures look good to me, so I need help from the professionals and experienced folks on this site.

Has anyone ever seen an appointment on paper like this? Also, the "water stains" don't appear to have smudged or blotted any of the typed ink, like maybe it was present before this was typed. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Tags: Cordell, Franklin, appointment, hull, roosevelt

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Permalink Reply by JK on March 16, 2021 at 5:58pm

I found a couple similar typed docs on ebay from his years as Gov of NY. Those had a nice state seal at the top but were otherwise very similar.

Funny thing is, I don't think the president was signing military appointments by FDRs time, so except for cabinet appointments and the like, a doc like this may be one of the few options.

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Permalink Reply by Robert B on March 16, 2021 at 8:15pm

Were those docs from his time as governor on a "plain" looking letterhead like this? If so,, that would be somewhat encouraging. I've seen a few from that time period but they were all on official Governor of NY type of letterhead.

You are right about him not signing military appointments (to my knowledge) but he did sign civil appointments for things like diplomats or U.S. attorney's/marshals etc....and the 6 or 7 that I've seen are the "fancy kind" with the ornate writing etc. I guess that is my concern with this piece, though I do understand that this appointment is not a standard "Ambassador to Canada" type of thing.

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Permalink Reply by Robert B on March 16, 2021 at 8:18pm

I think the sigs, to me, check out, so I might try to pull the trigger on the item. The content, as obscure as it is, is meaningful to me and my family

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Permalink Reply by JK on March 16, 2021 at 8:32pm

I'm sure the governor ones I saw are the same as the ones you saw.

Interesting that this document is more expensive than the other similar one. Must be content/appointment.

I see they have a "sale" going on so the "make an offer" option might be less applicable.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas William on March 17, 2021 at 4:01pm

Attached is some FDR secretarial reference material I have used in the past when reviewing his autographs.

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Permalink Reply by Robert B on March 19, 2021 at 9:57am

Thank you for this info. It doesn't appear to match any of the secretarial ones you have attached, unless you perhaps feel otherwise.

These known secretarials are a very useful tool

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Permalink Reply by KaiMi on March 19, 2021 at 1:17pm

The best expert in Presidents is Andreas Wiemer, who ist a member in this community. Try to contact him. You can be sure with his opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Robert B on March 19, 2021 at 2:13pm

Ok thank you! I am kinda new here though, how do I send him a mesaage?

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Permalink Reply by KaiMi on March 20, 2021 at 3:29am

Rober, you see the "Members"-Button far up (second from right)? Click on it and then fill in the name Andreas Wiemer. When you see his profile click on it and you will find a button to send him a message. Good luck!