Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) referencing Mrs. (Eleanor) Roosevelt and the White House, May 20, 1904

Richmond Hill NY, 1904. No Binding. Very Good. Richmond Hill NY, 1904 Very Good 2 page (front and back) handwritten, signed letter on 6"x85" Beech Street, Richmond Hill, Queens NY letterhead The letter is attached with tape along the left edge to a 9x11" card on which is a photograph of Riis, and handwritten note "Jacob Riis, the great friend of Pres Roosevelt" The letter is clean with mailing folds; 1 or 2 letters at the edge of the reverse side are hidden behind the tape Riis writes to Miss Dertz, thanks her for "kind words" writing "the book was written out of my heart, that is why it appeals to yours Your verses are so beautiful that I am sendng them this morning to Mrs Roosevelt to treasure among the memories that must make their White House stay forever dear to them in spite of the other side of human nature one sees so much of these" Undoubtedly, Riis refers to his book "Theodore Roosevelt the Citizen" published in 1904 Riis and Roosevelt had become close friends when Roosevelt was New York City Police Commissioner and accompanied Riis during the latter's research into the horrid slum conditions about which he wrote in his groundbreaking first book "How the Other Half Lives" (1890).