Two Typed Letters Signed on Peace Corps Letterheads, 1961

Washington, D.C., 1961. In this letter dated Sept. 18, 1961, Johnson is extending his personal invitation as Chairman of the National Advisory Council for the Peace Corps for the recipient to attend a regional Peace Corps Conference, one of 14 scheduled to take place after the passage of the Peace Corps act. The 6 paragraph letter gives detailed reservation information and is SIGNED, in blue ink, "Sincerely, Lyndon B. Johnson". The Peace Corps was established by Executive Order 10924, issued by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961, announced by televised broadcast March 2, 1961, and authorized by Congress on September 21, 1961. The Sargent Shriver letter, dated Oct. 3, 1961, thanks the recipient for serving as a member of the Host Committee for the Peace Corps Regional Conference held in Minneapolis, MN. Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. was the first director of the Peace Corps (1961-1966), appointed by his brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy. In 1972, he was chosen to be the Democratic nominee for Vice President to run with George McGovern after Thomas Eagleton resigned from the ticket. The recipient of both letters was W. Carl Jackson, who was then Chief Acquisitions Librarian, University of Minnesota. Mr. Jackson later became Dean of Libraries at Indiana University and authored the book "The Log of the Carla Mia." about his solo sailboat crossing of the Atlantic in 1978. He was lost at sea and declared legally dead in 1981 attempting to sail from Europe to America after wreckage from his boat was found off the coast of Spain. Both letters are Fine, folded twice for mailing. A unique archive, early Peace Corps material is SCARCE.. TYPED LETTER SIGNED. One Page. Fine. 8" x 10 1/2".