LBJ Time Machine
January 4, 1955. LBJ is elected Senate Majority Leader.
Above is a sofa (1970.21.16) used by LBJ during this period. LBJ was known to work long hours and spend many a late night on this obliging couch. At over 7 feet long, it was one of the few sofas that could fit his 6’3” frame. It is now in our museum.
1946: LBJ launches what would be his last Congressional campaign.
LBJ Museum object 1973.2615.1 Sticker. Belonged to Mr. Gohlke, an old friend.
LBJ’s days in the Navy are numbered. On June 17, 1942, President Roosevelt issued a directive that read:
“All members of the House and Senate who are now serving in an active status will be placed on inactive duty as on July 1, 1942, or immediately upon returning to the United States.”
LBJ Museum Image #1973.2210.1. Painting, Portrait of LBJ in Naval uniform during WWII. Signature: LR “M. Kunstler” This illustration done for McFadden Publications in 1964.
When LBJ left for Congress, he gave the desk set he used while head of the NYA to his successor, J.C. Kellam. Kellam returned it to LBJ in 1969, and now it resides in the LBJ Library and Museum.
This postcard is an LBJ Time Machine all of its own!
The back side reads: “Dear Friend…hope you can give him your vote and active support…” and it is signed by the person who donated it to the LBJ Library and Museum.
On the postcard’s front side, visible here, there is the 1973 LBJ stamp and first-day cancellation, as well as Mrs. Johnson’s signature.
Do you know what the symbol under the “Vote for Lyndon Johnson for Congress” represents?
Below is an aluminum dagger, made by NYA workers. It was donated to the LBJ Library and Museum by the senior statistician in the NYA, who was also the project director of the Inks Lake Dam.
The Inks Lake Dam was built from 1936-38 under the Lower Colorado River Authority, a public agency created in 1934 to build and manage dams along the Colorado River. In 1937, the LCRA would become very important to the campaign promises of aspiring Congressman Lyndon Johnson.
Today the lake created by the dam is the centerpiece of a much-loved state park run by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
(Source: tpwd.state.tx.us)
Lady Bird’s time at UT-Austin helped reinforce her lifelong love of learning and of reading. This book, The Doges of Venice, was in her personal library and the Johnsons’ library at the White House. It is currently in the LBJ Library Museum collection. [1970.12.2487]
From LBJ’s yearbook: members of Southwest Texas State Teachers College’s Press Club in 1930. President, Lyndon B. Johnson.
The LBJ Library and Museum has this sweater (1970.40.1) in its collection today. It is a Southwest Texas State Teachers College sweater donated by G. Preston Smith. The “D” on the insignia indicates this sweater belonged to a debate team member.
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