Reading the Shadows of the Great Depression (Herbert Hoover's copy) 1930

JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post (Part of the series on Blank and Missing Things)

There's something unusual here about the bibliographic marginalia, the White House library, and the Great Depression.  My attention was initially distracted by the design on this pamphlet, decorating the cover of the National Chamber of Commerce's report from their 1930 annual meeting. Its an interesting piece of (small, 1"x 1"), the suited person emerging from a dark geometry into the brightness of a close-by shiny city.  Business Talks it Over is the title of the pamphlet, and they did indeed talk stuff over, with topics like "America's Economic Balance" "Stabilization of Business", "Government and Business", and so on. Unfortunately the pamphlet claims victory over the Depression that was just turning into the Great Depression, only fourteen months into a near-decade-long economic crisis. The pamphlet states: "...as a business nation...has so successfully met the challenge of a recent serious crisis...", ending the report on a happy and alien note that didn't yet exist.

The odd bit, though, is that my copy of this pamphlet was in the White House library, no doubt sent to president Herbert Hoover sometime late in 1930--it wasn't there for long. It was discarded by the White House on 19 February 1931--for what reasons, I don't know. Did Hoover ever see this? Impossible to say, and it really doesn't matter. The symbolism is all that remains, this report (no matter how flawed) needed to be discarded, skinny as it is, taking up no shelf space to speak of--off it went. This is similar to the bullet-proof resiliency of the federal government to becoming involved in any strong way with resolving the Depression. Hoover was on his way to becoming ignored and forgotten, with his re-election getting boot-stomped nine months later.  Then came the beginning of the Great Resolve, with FDR no longer the sphinx of Hyde Park, exploding into the Hundred Days action in March, 1932.  Anyway, I know I'm forcing this story, but sometimes shadow reading can actually lead to something.