TERHAN CONFERENCE – Two signed banknotes, or "short-snorters," including a Persian five rial note signed by Joseph STALIN (1878-1953), Winston S. CHURCHILL (1874-1965), Dwight D. EISENHOWER (1890-1969), and Henry H. "Hap" ARNOLD (1886-1950), and a Turkish 10 lira note signed by Franklin D. ROOSEVELT (1882-1945), Harry HOPKINS (1890-1946) and 10 others, [en route to Cairo and Tehran, c. November-December 1943].

Persian note: 156 x 64mm; Turkish note: 120 x 62mm (both exhibit typical wear including creases and typical soiling, some signatures somewhat faded).

Signed mementoes of the Tehran Conference: the first meeting of the "Big Three." This impressive collection was obtained by Lt. Richard F. Brown, a pilot for the Army Air Corps assigned to a transport aircraft that when not ferrying critical supplies, flew high-ranking officers and other V.I.P.'s. In 1943, Brown was the co-pilot on the aircraft ferrying Franklin Roosevelt from Oran, Algeria (where the president had completed his trans-Atlantic voyage aboard the U.S.S. Iowa) first Cairo for a meeting with Churchill and Chaing Kai-shek (22-26 November 1943) and then on to Tehran for the first in-person meeting with Churchill and Stalin (28 November - 1 December 1943). This would be Roosevelt's first meeting with the Soviet leader. Held at the U.S.S.R.'s embassy in the Iranian capital, the three leaders and their delegations came to accord on several issues including relations with Turkey and Iran, operations in Japan and Yugoslavia, but most importantly, an agreement to open a second front in Europe.

[With:] six additional signed banknotes including examples form Bermuda, Egypt, Iceland, Algeria, as well as Allied military currency issued for Italy and a U.S. one dollar silver certificate, all signed by various dignitaries and officers including Clark GABLE (1901-1960), Hoyt VANDENBERG (1899-1954), and other dignitaries that undertook the journey; a series of over 50 slides featuring images from the Cairo and Tehran Conferences; and a later photocopy of the official itinerary recording F.D.R.'s journey from Washington to the fall 1943 meetings. Provenance: Richard F. Brown (1919-2008) – by descent to the consignor.