Ronald Reagan Signed Photograph.

REAGAN, Ronald.

Item Number: 110180

Official White House photograph showing President Ronald Reagan and Ambassador Charles Price at the White House carrying their briefcases, inscribed by Reagan, “Dear Charlie – We both wound up with briefcase jobs! Warmest regards, Ron.” The recipient, Charles H. Price was a Kansas City businessman who met Ronald Reagan in the early 1970s. The Price’s held several receptions on Reagan’s behalf during the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City. Price helped raise money for Reagan’s 1980 presidential run, and in 1981 he was named ambassador to Belgium, where he served until his appointment to Britain. He took over as ambassador to the Court of St. James’s in November 1983, a moment of unease between Britain and the U.S. Mrs. Thatcher was upset because she had not been notified before the American invasion of Grenada the previous month, and many British elected officials opposed a plan to station American cruise missiles in Britain. During his five years as ambassador, Price participated in talks between the British and the Irish Republican Army and helped Mrs. Thatcher defuse protests after the U.S. used British bases to carry out attacks on Libya in 1986. He also deployed his sense of humor and Midwestern humility to try easing the anti-American sentiment that Reagan’s policies had stoked among many Britons: he hosted elaborate receptions for members of government and the royal family, became a familiar face on television news and talk shows and, on occasion, made widely publicized visits to pubs to hear the viewpoints of working-class citizens. Double matted and framed. The entire piece measures 14 inches by 12.75 inches. In fine condition.

Ronald Wilson Reagan served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and became a highly influential voice of modern conservatism. Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975. When Reagan left office in 1989, he held an approval rating of 68%, matching those of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later Bill Clinton, as the highest ratings for departing presidents in the modern era. He was the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve two full terms after the five prior presidents did not. Evaluations of his presidency among historians and the general public place him among the upper tier of American presidents.