The Bible and speech cards used by President Ford during the Swearing-In ceremony.

Gerald R. Ford used this Jerusalem Bible given to him by his son, Mike, for both his Vice Presidential and Presidential swearing-in ceremonies. The Bible features a black cover, white pages with gold leaf trim, and a red ribbon bookmark. President Ford read from Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6 on August 9, 1974.

After the ceremony, Warren Burger handed the new President the card from which the Chief Justice read the oath (pictured here with Bible). On the backside of the card he had written a note, the first in Ford’s nascent administration where he was referred to as “Mr. President.”

Dear Mr. President,

It occurred to me that you might like to have this in your family archives relating to this day’s historic events.

Our thoughts and prayers will be with you in the difficult years ahead.
Sincerely
Warren E. Burger
Vera S. Burger

Later, The Bible then traveled in a display case on the Freedom Train during the American Bicentennial celebrations in 1976.