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Rare original autograph album containing nearly 200 signed letters, notes, and responses addressed to Thomas D. Neelands, longtime President of the Canadian Club of New York. Quarto, bound in full linen with titles stamped in black to the front panel, "Canadian Club of New York Thos. D. Neelands." The interior features tipped-in letters-typed and handwritten on a wide range of letterhead, from The White House to private businesses, law firms, and publications. The collection spans from 1914 to 1919, capturing the peak years of World War I and U.S. engagement with Canadian and Allied affairs. The album is highlighted by a typed letter signed by Theodore Roosevelt on letterhead from The Metropolitan Magazine, January 16, 1917, and reads in full, "My dear Mr. Neelands: You are most kind. I rarely read the New York Times, and did not know that it had misquoted me. I wish I could accept your invitation to dinner, but it is a simple impossibility. In the Metropolitan that is out in a fortnight hence, there is an article by me about Canada, and her share in the war. Sincerely yours, Theodore Roosevelt." Other especially notable signers include: William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Elihu Root, Chauncey Depew, Henry Cabot Lodge, George W. Goethals, Leonard Wood, George Dewey, Nelson Miles, Henry L. Stimson, Ernest Thompson Seton, Wilfred Grenfell, Thomas Lipton, John Galsworthy, Otis Skinner, Geraldine Farrar, Billie Burke, and Marie Dressler. The balance of the letters are signed by lesser political, military, and civic leaders; writers, journalists, and editors; actors and actresses; and fellow members of high society. In fine condition. The Canadian Club of New York is a civic and cultural group created to bring Canadians and Americans closer together through public events, conversation, and community-building. Historically, Canadian clubs have served as forums for diplomacy and professional exchange, offering lectures, dinners, and speaker programs that connect business leaders, government officials, and members of the broader Canadian community abroad. In a city as international and commercially connected as New York, the Club has worked as a space where Canadian identity and interests could be highlighted while also encouraging cross-border relationships in areas like business, culture, and public life.
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