This is a rare souvenir from the G.O.P. going-out-of office final D.C. ball event. It is a paper napkin folded as issued in 4.5x8.5" size and lightly tanned. Text in metallic blue "Crying Towel/Transition Ball/January 16, 1961." The next day President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his farewell speech on television beginning: "My Fellow American's: Three Days From Now, After Half A Century In The Service Of Our Country, I Shall Lay Down The Responsibilities Of Office As, In Traditional And Solemn Ceremony, The Authority Of The Presidency Is Vested In My Successor." Also in his speech was his famous warning: "In The Councils Of Government, We Must Guard Against The Acquisition Of Unwarranted Influence, Whether Sought Or Unsought, By The Military Industrial Complex. The Potential Of The Disastrous Rise Of Misplaced Power Exists And Will Persist." A rare ephemeral item ending an era and a precursor to the New Frontier and all that transpired in the 1960s. VF. One seen.