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FORD, EDSEL. (1893-1943). Son of Henry Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company from 1919-1943 and noted philanthropist. TLS. (“Edsel Ford”). 1p. 8vo. Dearborn, July 15, 1938. On his imprinted stationery. To Franklin D. Roosevelt’s law partner and associate Basil O’Connor (1892-1972).

I am very glad to receive your letter of June 23^rd, together with a copy of your letter of June 21^st addressed to the President of the United States covering the initial plans of operation for the newly formed National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Your outline of the Committee’s approach to the problem seems the proper one, and I am very glad to concur in the program as it was submitted to the President. Yours sincerely…

The only son of Henry Ford, Edsel was brought up to carry on the family business. However, unlike his father, Edsel was interested in the aesthetic appeal of the automobile. To that end, he purchased the Lincoln Motor Company, convinced his father to manufacture the Model A and inspired the design of the Lincoln Zephyr. However, his contributions to his father’s company are dwarfed by his commitment to the world of philanthropy. In 1936, Edsel founded the Ford Foundation, the function of which was to fund scientific, educational and public welfare initiatives. He was a patron of the arts in Detroit, commissioning the now famous Detroit Institute of Arts mural painted by Diego Rivera. Edsel even financed various polar expeditions. When he died at a young age, the reins of both the Ford Motor Company and the Ford Foundation were again taken up by his father. The Ford “Edsel,” introduced in 1957, was one of the auto industry’s most famous commercial flops.

During a 1921 vacation at Campobello Island, Roosevelt, referred to in our letter, contracted a form of polio which threatened the future of his public career. Despite paralysis from the waist down, Roosevelt refused to succumb to the disease and its physical limitations. In his continuing search for a cure, FDR visited a spa at Warm Springs, Georgia, in 1924. While there, Roosevelt swam daily in the therapeutic waters, a regimen that developed his upper body and offered him increased mobility. Impressed with both the results and the facility, Roosevelt purchased the institute and, with O’Connor, he founded the Warm Springs Foundation. His interest in polio treatment and research led him to found, in January 1938, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, an organization that would later become known as the March of Dimes and which FDR asked O’Connor to lead.

Docket stamp in the upper right corner with several other pencil marks. Folded and in very good condition. 

Item #14827

Price: $300