HISTORIC 1965 LYNDON B JOHNSON PRESIDENTIAL MEDICARE BILL SIGNING PEN+PROVENANCE

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HISTORIC 1965 LYNDON B JOHNSON PRESIDENTIAL MEDICARE BILL SIGNING PEN+PROVENANCE:
$15000.00

HISTORIC 1965 LYNDON B JOHNSON PRESIDENTIAL MEDICARE BILL SIGNING PEN+PROVENANCE.

Lyndon B. Johnson]: Medicare Bill Signing Pen. Several Presidents have proposed some form of national medical health insurance, including Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S Truman and John F. Kennedy. Their dream did not come into fruition until the signing of H.R. 6675 by Lyndon Baines Johnson on July 30, 1965. This was a keynote of his "Great Society/War on Poverty" program and one of his signal achievements. The signing took place in Independence, Missouri and was witnessed by former President Harry S. Truman who received the first pen used in its signing, as well as the first Medicare card. This lot consists of a letter, the original pen box, original envelope, 2 vintage photos of Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson with Mildred Mason and 2 Christmas cards from 1965, the year the pen was used and one of the pens used to sign that seminal piece of legislation, together with a caption describing the pen and provisions of the law, as well as a July 31, 1965 letter from Special Presidential Assistant Larry O'Brien to Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson. This letter, written one day after the bill signing, reads: "As one of the co-sponsors of the Medicare Bill the President has asked me to send you the attached pen he used in signing this legislation yesterday in the Truman Library, Independence, Missouri."

We purchased this pen and memorabilia from the estate sale of Mildred Mason…Who was the personal secretary to Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson….at her home in Liberty, Missouri, August 2, 2003.

Also included is a letter from Helen Jackson (wife of Henry Jackson) to Mildred Mason speaking of one of the Christmas cards.

Also included is a copy of the sale listing that was posted in the newspaper.

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