Donald Trump Signed High School Term Paper, "Trump: A Man...

Donald Trump Signed High School Term Paper, "Trump: A Man Before His Time," Presented to Him Nearly 20 Years Later at Trump International Golf Club
Original 13-page typewritten term paper entitled “Trump: A Man Before His Time,” 8.5 x 11, written by David M. Sanok as a high school senior for his Advanced Composition class and dated December 21, 1989, signed prominently on the title page in blue ballpoint by Donald Trump when the author presented him with the paper nearly 20 years later at a welcome party for the Trump International Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. The title page is graded with a score of 186/200 plus 10 bonus points, and the paper bears handwritten editorial annotations, corrections, and comments throughout. In fine condition.

Accompanied by the author's original research material (rough draft, index cards, and copies of the periodical articles cited in the bibliography), the original photograph taken at the Trump International Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, shortly after Trump signed the title page, depicting the author, his wife, and Donald Trump, and a signed letter of provenance from the author: “I wrote this term paper as a senior at Merrillville High School in Merrillville, Indiana, for my Advanced Composition class. It's dated December 21, 1989, and is 16 pages total, including the title page and bibliography, exploring the business career, philosophy, and public image of Donald J. Trump, drawing on 64 footnoted sources from period publications including Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Life, People Weekly, and Business Week. I chose the title myself, and the paper's conclusions, including the closing line calling him "a man ahead of his time," were my own analysis as an 18-year-old, not drawn from any source.

My mother had kept the paper since 1989. When I learned my family would be attending an event at a club Trump had just purchased, I asked her to ship it to me. My paper had noted that Trump doesn't care for small talk but understands it's part of doing business, and I thought bringing it along would give me a real conversation piece if I got the chance to speak with him.

On July 4, 2009, my family and I attended the welcome party for Trump International Golf Club members in Sterling, Virginia. I brought the paper with me, and Trump signed the title page in person. A few minutes later, my wife and I ran into him again in the club lobby and asked for a photo. He said, ‘Anyone who writes a term paper about me, I'm happy to take a photo with.’”