American Historical Ephemera & Photography

2 pages, 7 1/8 x 10 1/2 in., creased at folds, with some discoloration and wear to edges. 

In this letter to Mr. Meyer Solmson, managing editor of New York City broadsheet newspaper, The Morning Telegraph, Britton takes aim at a recent editorial, citing "the direct implications therein, which are the mistaken conclusions of those who either have not read my book, THE PRESDIENT'S DAUGHTER, or have read it with eyes closed willingly to actualities and minds prejudiced in an unconscionable degree."

She points out a number of issues with the editorial, including factual errors and misrepresentations she perceives, writing, "Indeed, if you were to print the truth you would tell through the medium of your column my desire to exploit only the wrong social conditions in these United States which are permitting innocent children to carry a life-long stigma instead of giving them their rightful heritage -- an unblemished name. This and this only am I endeavoring to do, not only for my own dear child and Mr. Harding's but for every child born in these United States out of so-called legal union..." 

Nanna Popham Britton (1896-1991) published what is widely considered the first kiss-and-tell book, The President's Daughter, in 1927. The revelatory book detailed her sexual affair with President Warren G. Harding and the result of that affair, her daughter Elizabeth Ann Blaesing (1919-2005). Britton's book was met with criticism and skepticism from many including prominent politicians and journalists. 

Without any way to prove the parentage of her daughter after the President's sudden death in 1923, Britton never secured resources from the Harding family to help take care of her daughter. It was not until 2015, 10 years after the death of Elizabeth Ann, that DNA tests proved that she was, in fact, Warren Harding's daughter.