Signed 1937 Brooklyn Borough President Ingersoll President Roosevelt & Dodgers

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INVREF#CL4-51
RAYMOND VAIL INGERSOLL (1875 – 1940) PRESIDENT OF THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK 1934-1940, COMMISSIONER OF PARKS IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 1914-1917, DELEGATE TO DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM NEW YORK IN 1928 & PROMINENT BROOKLYN LAWYER 1902-1909. Ingersoll and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia were friends and political allies. Ingersoll was a fervent supporter of Mayor La Guardia and backed to the limit many of the Mayor’s proposals, one of which was the proposed site for Brooklyn College. Raymond Ingersoll was very civic-minded. Some projects for which Ingersoll worked hard while Brooklyn Borough President were advocating for low-rent housing, construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, and improving Brooklyn’s highways and bridges. He was also a fervent advocate for the completion of the Brooklyn Central Public Library which had stalled due to funding issues. “It is a great lack in the borough’s educational and cultural equipment and should not be tolerated in so great a community,” Ingersoll decried in 1936 concerning the deficit of a central library for the borough. When his untimely and tragic death came in 1940, Ingersoll left behind him many reminders of his devoted service and a host of mourners which included every walk of life from the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to the “little” people he had worked so hard for. HERE'S AN UNCOMMON LETTER SIGNED BY INGERSOLL, 1p, ON ATTRACTIVE “THE CITY OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN” LETTERHEAD, DATED JAN. 6, 1937 TO JOHN FERRACO, BROOKLYN, NY RE A REQUEST FOR INGERSOLL’S AUTOGRAPH. The document measures 8½” x 11” and is very fine condition. > BIOGRAPHY OF THE HONORABLE RAYMOND V. INGERSOLL Raymond Vail Ingersoll (1875–1940), son of Andrew Jackson Ingersoll, was borough president of Brooklyn from 1934 to 1940, and Brooklyn Parks Commissioner from 1914 to 1917. “Ingersoll Hall,” one of the first buildings on the Brooklyn College campus, was named for him. The World War II Liberty Ship SS Raymond V. Ingersoll was named in his honor. Ingersoll married Marion Crary in 1908. He died in office 1940. Died, following surgery, in Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y. The People Have Spoken: Brooklyn Library’s Eagle Has a Name! Named after the late Borough President Raymond V. Ingersoll, the Eagle can now peacefully nest in the central library's main lobby. by Andrea Leonhardt January 15, 2019 After launching a contest to name the historic eagle sculpture adorning the Brooklyn central library’s main lobby, the Brooklyn Public Library has now revealed the people’s final choice: “Ingersoll!” Selected from a list of five finalists, runner-ups included “Dodger,” “Emily,” “Harmony” and “Winged Wonder.” the Eagle’s new name honors the late Brooklyn Borough President Raymond V. Ingersoll, who was a fervent advocate for the building of the central library. “The extended family of former Borough President Raymond V. Ingersoll is honored that Ingersoll the Eagle will soar in the Brooklyn Public Library as an inspiring tribute to my grandfather’s legacy of service to the borough of Brooklyn,” said Raymond V. Ingersoll II, the grandson of the former borough president. Raymond Ingersoll served as borough president from 1934 to 1940 and focused on improving the highways and bridges, advocating for low-rent housing and pushing for the completion of the central library which had stalled to a lack of funding. “It is a great lack in the borough’s educational and cultural equipment and should not be tolerated in so great a community,” Ingersoll decried in 1936 the deficit of a central library for the borough. When he died unexpectedly during his second term in office, his wife Marion Crary Ingersoll donated his salary to the library, according to the BPL. The Eagle originally nested atop the Washington Street headquarters of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper. Following the demolition of the newspaper’s building in 1955, the sculpture was donated to the Brooklyn Historical Society. In 1997, the organization loaned the sculpture to the library. Last summer, BHS officially gifted the Eagle to BPL, where it now has its permanent home. “We are grateful to the Brooklyn Historical Society for their generous gift,” said Linda E. Johnson, BPL’s president and CEO. “As the complete archives of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle comprise a significant part of the Brooklyn Collection, it is fitting to provide the sculpture a permanent home at the central library, and we are delighted to name him Raymond Ingersoll after one of the library’s most enthusiastic champions.” HISTORY OF PROVENANCE HISTORY Proud member of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC), The Ephemera Society of America, the Manuscript Society & the American Political Items Collectors (APIC) (member name: John Lissandrello). I subscribe to each organizations' code of ethics and authenticity is guaranteed. ~Providing quality service & historical memorabilia online for over 20 years.~