[Americana - Presidents] Signed Presentation Copy of 'The President's Daughter,' by Nan Britton - Harding Affair

Britton, Nan. The President's Daughter. New York: Elizabeth Ann Guild, Inc., 1927. 8vo, blue and red modern cloth binding; 439pp. With inscription on a preliminary blank: "Inscribed for my friend, H.H. Timby, with appreciation and regard - Sincerely, Nan Britton /November 1927."

Nanna Popham (Nan) Britton (1896-1991) was born in Warren Harding's home town of Marion, Ohio. As a child, Nan developed what has been described as an obsession with Harding, who was a friend of her father's. She cut out pictures of him from newspapers and magazines and put them on her bedroom walls. After high school, she went to New York to work as a secretary. It was also here that she began her affair with Harding.

When Britton gave birth to a baby girl that she claimed was Harding's, he offered support, but never saw his daughter. He also promised support in the future, but with his untimely death in 1923, his family refused to acknowledge the child. They always claimed Harding was sterile, the result of a case of mumps when he was younger.

With his death, Britton needed support, and claims she wrote this book to generate funds to support herself and her daughter. It is often considered the first "kiss and tell" about Presidential affairs. The Harding family, of course, called her a liar (and worse).

When she could not find a publisher to take on her book, Britton founded the Elizabeth Ann Guild, to take up the cause of illegitimate children. The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice had all unbound sheets and the printing plates seized before they could be distributed. They were eventually returned to the Guild. Congressman John Tillman of Arkansas introduced a bill into the House of Representatives to ban the book, but that failed. Charles Klunk denounced Britton's claims in his book, The Answer. She sued him, but could not produce any concrete evidence of the affair because Harding had her destroy all letters and any other evidence during their six-plus years together. She lost the court case, so her daughter's paternity was never established legally.

After both Britton and Elizabeth Ann (Blaesing by marriage) died, some members of the family decided to use the new DNA technology on descendants of both famileis to answer the question of paternity. The results were announced in 2015 - Warren Gamaliel Harding was indeed the father of Elizabeth Ann Britton.

Page edges a bit toned. Generally very good; inscription strong. 

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