Updated on September 30, 2004 at 2:30 p.m.
Posted on September 28, 2004 at 10:17 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — An impressive array of letters, invitations, books and other memorabilia of presidents of the United States, from the nation’s first executive officer to the current office-holder, are on display at the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) until December 30. More than 60 items including correspondence, photographs and signed certificates from 24 presidents, seven vice presidents and nine first ladies make up George Washington to George Bush, 1783-2002: Presidential and Vice Presidential Material from UAB Historical Collections.

The oldest item on display is a 1783 letter from George Washington to his dentist in Philadelphia. The most current is a photograph from George Bush's visit to UAB in July 2002.

The items have been donated over time to UAB Archives and UAB Historical Collections. Some come from the vast collection of historical letters and books obtained by Dr. Lawrence Reynolds. That collection is the foundation of UAB’s Reynolds Historical Library.

Other items in the presidential collection include photos of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt; a book from Washington's personal library at Mount Vernon; an English version of a Latin mining text translated by Herbert Hoover; a 1932 letter from then-New York governor Franklin Roosevelt to UAB pioneer Dr. Roy Kracke; Andrew Johnson’s 1865 Civil War pardon for Selma’s Dr. Albert Mabry; and a letter from Jackie Kennedy written on her personal mourning stationary in1964 in the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences is on the third floor of the Lister Hill Library for the Health Sciences, 1700 University Boulevard. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.