Hoover, Herbert | Broadside of the The Child’s Bill of Rights, signed by Hoover

Hoover, Herbert 

The Child's Bill of Rights. No place [Washington, D.C.?]: Tiffany & Co., no date [circa 1923?]

Oversize printed broadside (760 x 655 mm). Bold title at top and text of the “Bill” underneath, the text beginning with a large decorative initial “T” flanked by blue floral designs, the lower corners with the emblem of the American Child Health Association and a large facsimile signature of Herbert Hoover; laid down on board, evenly toned, some pale staining, closed edge tears, two small chips at the corners, trimmed at the bottom edge shaving the lower half “Tiffany & Co.”, the “T” was originally printed in gold ink but is now toned or rubbed to dark brow, split at top margin.

Presentation copy, signed by Herbert Hoover in ink underneath the inscription “For Dr. A Elizabeth Ingraham” written in a calligrapher’s hand.

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), who had lost both of his parents before the age of ten, cared deeply about the welfare of American children. In 1923, while serving as President Harding’s Secretary of Commerce, he founded the American Child Health Association (ACHA). The organization’s mission was to sponsor and publish research on children’s health. The results of their surveys shocked Americans and helped convince the public of the importance of local health officials, vaccinations, and the pasteurization of milk. The ACHA also raised awareness for their cause by designated May 1^st as “Child Health Day.” By the end of the 1920s, they had measurably reduced child and infant mortality across the nation. When Herbert Hoover became president in 1929, one of his first directives was to hold a conference on children’s health. The White House Conference on the Health and Protection of Children, in November 1930, issued its own 19-point “Children’s Charter,” directly inspired by “The Child’s Bill of Rights.”

The Child’s Bill of Rights, offered here, was the founding document stating the ACHA’s goals. It was first published in February 1923 in “Mother and Child” magazine, and this large commemorative presentation broadside was likely printed soon after. This broadside was presented to Dr. A. Elizabeth Ingraham, the director of the bureau of child hygiene of the Connecticut State Department of Health from 1923 to 1936.

Rare—this is the only copy of this broadside to have come to auction since 2008.