Four ALS With Annotation; Addressed to James and Patsy Webb

Stonewall, TX, 1977. SIGNED "Lady Bird" in brown ink with additional notes of acknowledgment. 6.5" x 8.5" on LBJ Ranch letterhead. All letters are in fine condition with only a center mailing fold. Includes two, original, free frank envelopes addressed to Honorable James Webb. Most of the content is routine; "...appreciation for you splendid and generous gift of 40 shares of Kerr-McGee stock to the Friends of the LBJ library.", "Come see us sometime!", "What a treat it was to be in you home - I so much enjoyed the dinner!". All signed with salutations of endearment.<br /> <br /> James Edwin Webb (1906 - 1992) was the second appointed administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968. Webb oversaw NASA from the beginning of the Kennedy administration through the end of the Johnson administration, thus overseeing all the critical first manned launches in the Mercury through Gemini programs, until just before the first crewed Apollo flight. He also dealt with the Apollo 1 fire. In 2002, the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) was renamed the James Webb Space Telescope as a tribute to Webb.<br /> <br /> Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson (née Taylor; 1912 - 2007) was the wife of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson from 1963 to 1969. After marrying Lyndon B. Johnson in 1934 when he was a political hopeful in Austin, TX, she used a modest inheritance to bankroll his congressional campaign and then ran his office while he served in the Navy. As First Lady, she broke new ground by interacting directly with Congress, employing her own press secretary. Johnson was an advocate for beautifying the nation's cities and highways ("Where flowers bloom, so does hope"). The Highway Beautification Act was informally known as "Lady Bird's Bill." She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1988, the highest honors bestowed upon a US civilian. "The nicest thing that happens during these long hospital days is when I take a handful of letters...into Lyndon's room - they do a world of good for his spirits...we are just hoping for the passage of time - uneventful - permitting the blood vessels to grow and expand and get additional blood to the heart. We'll never be able to properly thank you for coming down to help us plan the Space exhibit. It meant a great deal to both of us. Fondly, Lady Bird" (March 12, 1970).