OLD TEXAS AUTOGRAPHS+SEALS-MAYOR OSCAR HOLCOMBE+SIGNED

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6 political signatures, 5 applied seals, etc. with tape or marks. removed from album 1951-San Antonio Tx, Mayor Jack White with applied seal with ribbons on reply letter.ca1948 Austin Texas. Secretary of State- Paul H Brown and applied Seal with ribbonsFortworth Mayor Edgar Dern -with impressed stamp on original request letter.Houston Mayor Oscar F Holcombe on reply letter with impression seal,1950-El Paso Tx. Mayor Dan R Ponder(D.L.P Duke?} with impression seal1931-Coryelli County Court Seal, Gatesville, TX-signed by clerk1930-Dallas County Court Seal, Dallas-signed by D.C. Whiteley, county clerk1930-Dissolution of Gonzalez Telephone Company-document, signed by Jane Y McCallum, Secretary of State of Texas, with State Seal *Biography: Oscar Fitzallen Holcombe (December 31, 1888-June 18, 1968) served as the mayor of Houston, Texas for 22 years, in 11 non-consecutive terms.Holcombe was born in Mobile, Alabama and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He moved to Houston when he was 18, and founded his own construction business, the O. F. Holcombe Company, at age 26. His business acumen and contacts eventually made Holcombe a millionaire.Six years after founding his business, in 1921, Holcombe won his first term as mayor. He would serve as mayor from 1921 to 1929, 1933 to 1937, 1939 to 1941, 1947 to 1953, and 1956 to 1958. His administrations were considered to be conservative and pro-business, though Holcombe was also aggressive about expanding the city's boundaries and improving public services (such as libraries, a municipal auditorium, and an improved sewage system).He came into office at the beginning of a major building boom after World War I.qv During his terms of office the site of Houston grew from an area of less than thirty-five square miles to 352 square miles. Holcombe, nicknamed the "Old Gray Fox" because of the premature grayness he developed in his first campaign, won his first election in 1921 and began a twenty-two-year career as mayor. He won elections in eleven nonconsecutive terms; he served from 1921 to 1929, when he returned to the construction business, and from 1933 until 1937, 1939 to 1941, 1947 to 1953, and 1956 to 1958. In his first campaign he promised better business administration, reorganization of city departments, and new schools and paved streets. In 1922 his refusal to fire three Catholics from his administration led to opposition by the Ku Klux Klan. To refute allegations of gambling and drunkenness, he arranged a Trial by fourteen Baptist ministers (Ten of whom w Klansmen) that cleared his name to the voters' satisfaction. During his early administrations he aggressively annexed territory to the city and was instrumental in obtaining wider streets, better sewerage, a new municipal auditorium, a farmers' market, and several libraries. He established the new municipal offices of city manager and public service commissioner, as well as the city planning commission. He also developed and installed traffic signals and parking meters citywide. In 1932, when the city treasury was depleted, Holcombe turned the streetlights back on and promised to clean up the books, but had to fire many city workers. Charter changes in the period reduced the administrative authority of the council and concentrated power in the mayor. This led in 1942 to a successful campaign by the Citizens Charter Commission, which replaced the strong-mayor form of government with a city manager, an eight-man council, and a part-time mayor. The new system did not last, however, and in 1946 citizens revoked it, returned Holcombe to office, and eliminated the city manager. Holcombe is credited with separating jurisdiction over the port of Houston from politics by combining the Houston Harbor Commission and the Harris County Navigation District. He came out of semiretirement in 1956 to run successfully against incumbent mayor Roy M. Hofheinz,qv ... read more

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