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Congressmen Who Signed Thirteenth Amendment Abolishing Slavery
[THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT],
Photomontage of the Congressional supporters of the Thirteenth Amendment, which ended slavery in the United States. Composite oval albumen photograph, 13¾ x 16 in., credited in negative, on the original mount, 18⅛ x 20¼ in. New York: G. M. Powell and Co., 1865. Manuscript annotation on verso: “George May Powell / Great National Picture / Photograph of Members of United States House of Representatives and the Senate who voted Aye on Resolution to amend the Constitution of the United States so as to prohibit slavery. Passed Senate April 1864. Passed House of Representatives January 1866 [1865]. Abraham Lincoln – president.”
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,...shall exist within the United States....”
Item #27106, $1,950
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Television Tube Advertisement Capitalizes on 1960 Presidential Debates
[JOHN F. KENNEDY],
Printed Broadside, Advertising Television Picture Tube to Enjoy Kennedy-Nixon Campaign. 1 p., 22½ x 39 in.
This poster uses the 1960 presidential campaign between Democrat nominee John F. Kennedy and Republican nominee Richard M. Nixon to sell Sylvania television picture tubes. It features the faces of Kennedy and Nixon on a picture tube with a hand pointed to the bottom of the poster. It encouraged customers to “Enjoy the Presidential Campaigns More on a Silver Screen 85 Picture Tube” and to “Vote Here for Expert Radio-TV Service with Sylvania Tubes, Free Tube Testing Inside, Prompt ‘At-Home’ Service & Be Sure to Vote in November.” Local television dealers could add their business information beneath this poster.
Item #26689, $2,000
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War of 1812 Bandana Featuring “Glorious Battle of New Orleans”
[ANDREW JACKSON],
Textile, “Descriptive View of the Glorious Battle of New Orleans,” bandana, ca. 1815-1820. Likely produced in Scotland. Stitched along edges. Linen, 21¼ x 26½ in.
This impressive linen bandana features a detailed perspective image of the Battle of New Orleans, bordered by four other important events in early American history.
Item #27029, $3,600
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Hamilton Seeks Information from Pennsylvania Loan Officer for Report to Senate
ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Manuscript Letter Signed, to Thomas Smith, September 10, 1792, [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]. 1 p., 7¾ x 9⅛ in.
With this circular letter, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton requests financial information to respond to an order from the U.S. Senate. This copy went to Commissioner of Loans for Pennsylvania Thomas Smith. Hamilton submitted the report titled “List of Civil Officers of the United States, Except Judges, with Their Emoluments, for the Year Ending October 1, 1792” to the Senate on February 27, 1793.
Item #27441, $11,000
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Hamilton Explains to Bank of New York That Collectors Will No Longer Receive Its Notes
ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Manuscript Letter Signed, to President Gulian Verplanck and Directors of the Bank of New York, April 15, 1793, [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]. 1 p., 7¼ x 8⅞ in.
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton informs President Gulian Verplanck (1751-1799) and the directors of the Bank of New York, an institution he helped to found in 1784, that collectors of three New York and New Jersey ports would no longer receive their bank’s notes in exchange for specie. Those port collectors were John Lamb (1735-1800) of New York City; Henry Packer Dering (1763-1822) of Sag Harbor, on Long Island, New York; and John Halstead (1729-1813) of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
Item #27438, $19,000
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Hamilton Serves as Surety for Loan to Fellow Attorney and Second in His Duel with Burr
ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Manuscript Document Signed, Bond, Receipts, Deed, Release of Deed, Widow’s Relinquishment, June 5, 1802–March 24, 1807. 6 pp., 8 x 13 in.
This compound legal document features the signatures of Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Hamilton, two of their sons, and the executors of his will. In June 1802, Alexander Hamilton became one of two sureties for a bond that Nathaniel Pendleton gave to John E. LeConte to ensure the repayment of $6,000 that LeConte loaned to Pendleton. To secure their support as sureties, Pendleton conveyed 4,000 acres of land in Ohio and Clinton County, New York, to Hamilton and the other surety. Pendleton made regular payments of interest and principal to LeConte and completed the repayment by June 1806. In March 1807, Hamilton’s executors (including Pendleton) reconveyed the land to Pendleton, and Elizabeth Hamilton relinquished her dower rights. Her sons James A. Hamilton and John C. Hamilton signed the relinquishment as witnesses.
Item #27210, $18,000
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Alexander Hamilton Writes to His Beloved Wife, Eliza, About the Deteriorating Health of Her Younger Sister, Peggy
ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Autograph Letter Signed “A.H.”, Albany, Tuesday, Feb(ruary) 25, 1801 to Elizabeth (“Eliza”) Schuyler Hamilton, regarding the deteriorating health of her sister, Margarita “Peggy” Schuyler Van Rensselaer. One sheet folded to make four pages, 5 x 7-3/4 in. Addressed on integral leaf in Hamilton’s hand: “Mrs. Hamilton/No. 26 Broadway/New York”, wax seal partially intact on same; further docketed at bottom by Hamilton, “Mrs. H.”
“My Dear Eliza/Your sister Peggy has gradually grown worse & it is now in a situation that her dissolution in the opinion of the Doctor is not likely to be long delayed. The L. Governor sends the bearer to bring home his Child--I have not time to add more
Adieu my Eliza A.H.”
Item #27110, $20,000
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Calvin Coolidge Appoints Trustee of the National Training School for Girls
CALVIN COOLIDGE,
Partially Printed Document Signed, April 18, 1925, Washington, DC. Appointment of Mrs. Otto L. Veerhoff as Trustee of the National Training School for Girls. Countersigned by U.S. Attorney General John G. Sargent (1860-1939); includes a “Department of Justice” red embossed seal. 1 p., 10½ x 16 in.
President Calvin Coolidge reappoints Amy Louise Veerhoff as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Training School for Girls. Originally appointed by President Warren G. Harding, Veerhoff served as president of the Board of Trustees for several years.
Item #26525, $1,500
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Senator Sprague of Rhode Island Writes About Fascinating Debates in Congress Involving Freedom for the Families of African American Recruits and the Limits of Free Speech in the Senate
[AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS],
William Sprague, Autograph Letter Signed, to William D. Ely, January 28, 1864, Washington, D.C. 2 pp., 5 x 8 in.
“a discussion upon a section of a Malitia bill freeing the wife & children of the slave that enlist will occupy most if not all the day.”
Item #26531, $1,250
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt Thanks for a “Heartening” Telegram Received September 27, While FDR was Trying to Prevent Hitler from Starting War
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT,
Typed Letter Signed, to Frederic R. Coudert Jr., September 28, 1938, Washington, D.C. On White House stationery. 1 p., 7 x 9 in.
“Please accept sincerest thanks for your telegram of September twenty-seventh. It is heartening and I appreciate much your sending it.”
FDR thanks Republican New York City attorney Frederick R. Coudert Jr. for a telegram received a day earlier, September 27, 1938. On that date, in response to Hitler’s threat to annex the western third of Czechoslovakia, known as the Sudetenland, Roosevelt sent a message urging German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to avoid the “incalculable disaster which would result to the entire world from the outbreak of European war” and “the mutilation and death of millions of citizens.”
Item #27516, $1,250
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Lucy Stone Promotes Bazaar to Suffragist Who Later Led Effort for Women’s Suffrage in Hawaii
LUCY STONE,
Autograph Letter Signed, to [Almira Hollander] Pitman, June 27, 1887, Boston, Massachusetts. On Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association letterhead. 1 p., 5½ x 8½ in.
“We hope you will be able to be ‘one with us’ in the bazar.”
Item #26792, $1,400
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Lucy Stone Thanks Suffragist Who Later Led Effort for Women’s Suffrage in Hawaii for Donation
LUCY STONE,
Autograph Letter Signed, to [Almira Hollander] Pitman, July 7, 1893, Boston, Massachusetts. On Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association letterhead. 2 pp., 5½ x 8½ in.
In this personal letter written months before her death, Lucy Stone thanks Almira Pitman for a donation of $5, congratulates her on the birth of another child, reminisces about Pitman’s mother, and speaks of her own child.
Item #26791, $1,800
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Andrew Jackson Signed Patent for Improvement in the Washing Machine
ANDREW JACKSON,
Partially Printed Document Signed as President, co-signed by Edward Livingston as Secretary of State, and Roger B. Taney as Attorney General. Patent for “new and useful improvement in the washing machine,” to South Carolina inventor Silvanus Minton, April 14, 1832. With Seal of the United States affixed. 2 pp., 11 x 14⅝ in.
Item #26760, $2,800
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Cornelius Vanderbilt Collects Dividends from Hudson River Railroad as Part of His Growing Railway Empire
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT,
Document Signed, Ledger for Dividends of Hudson River Railroad Company, October 15, 1867, April 15, 1868, New York, New York. 2 pp., 11¼ x 17¼ in.
This double-sided ledger page from the Hudson River Rail Road Company includes signatures by stockholders for receipt of payments for the 11th and 12th dividends, paid in October 1867 and April 1868, respectively. The company paid its shareholders 4 percent dividends on capital stock twice each year—in April and October. This page is signed twice by Cornelius Vanderbilt, once for the October 1867 dividends on his own 22,740 shares and again for those of his son William H. Vanderbilt’s 2,133 shares. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s shares generated $90,960, while those of his son yielded $8,532.
These two pages include the names of 42 individuals and companies that were stockholders in the Hudson River Railroad. Most entries are for from one to a few hundred shares of stock, but Work, Davis & Barton owned 3,000 shares of stock. One of Vanderbilt’s rivals for control of the Erie Railroad, James Fisk Jr. (1835-1872), later asserted that Work, Davis, and Barton held the shares on behalf of Vanderbilt.
Item #26796, $3,500
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JFK Signed Copy of Early History of Ireland
JOHN F. KENNEDY,
Signed Book. Edward A. D’Alton, History of Ireland, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, Half-Volume I to the Year 1210, 3rd ed. London: Gresham Publishing Co., 1912. One of six half-volumes. xxi, 3, 284 pp., 6 x 8.74 in. With a color frontispiece, eight plates, black and white illustrations, and one fold-out map of Ireland. Signed on the front free end page, “John F. Kennedy” in black ink.
“Brian Boru was of the family of Cormac Cas. His father was Kennedy, son of Lorcan. He was slain in battle with the Danes (951). At his death Brian was but a lad of ten years.”
What must John F. Kennedy have thought, when he read his surname in this history of the royalty of Ireland from a millennium ago? Brian Boru went on to become the high king of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He was less pleased to learn that the name Kennedy (Cennétig) meant “ugly head.”
President John F. Kennedy was America’s first Irish-Catholic president, and his family’s Irish roots stretched back for generations. The Fitzgerald and the Kennedy families both migrated to America in the mid-nineteenth century, escaping the devastating potato famine to find work and a better life. JFK visited Ireland during his presidency, in June 1963. This volume includes his ownership signature and details the history of Ireland to the year 1210.
The author, Rev. Edward Alfred D’Alton, was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1887. He become dean and vicar-general of the Archdiocese of Tuam in 1930.
Item #27515, $7,500
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Future Hero of Little Round Top Advises a Friend on Getting a Leave of Absence
GOUVERNEUR K. WARREN,
Autograph Letter Signed, to Philip L. Wilson, March 19, 1863. 2 p., 8 x 10 in.
Item #21386.08, $395
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Alexander Hamilton Signed Registration for Schooner Robert of Baltimore
ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Partially Printed Document Signed, Registration of Schooner Robert, April 10, 1790, Baltimore, Maryland. Form printed by Francis Childs and John Swaine in New York. 1 p., 8¾ x 13¼ in.,
4/10/1790.
Under a law passed in September 1789, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton signed blank certificates in New York and sent them to the collectors of the various ports of the new nation, where the local collector of the port filled them out and signed them. This registration system was part of a Congressional effort to limit the merchant marine to American-built ships owned and crewed by Americans. If a ship met the necessary requirements, it would “be deemed and taken to be, and denominated, a ship or vessel of the United States,” with all the benefits of any U.S. laws. Baltimore collector O. H. Williams filled out and signed this form for the Schooner Robert, owned by Baltimore merchant William Patterson.
Item #27521, $18,000
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Major General Alexander Hamilton Message to Father of American Viticulture During Quasi-War with France
ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Autograph Letter Signed, to John Adlum, August 24, 1799, New York. 1 p., 7.75 x 13 in.
During the Quasi-War with France, Congress established in May 1798 a three-year “Provisional Army” of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and one regiment of cavalry to exist simultaneously with the United States Army. Although the commanding officer of the Provisional Army was George Washington, he accepted the appointment on the condition that he remain in retirement at Mount Vernon until he was actually needed. In March 1799, Congress created an “Eventual Army” of 30,000 men, which was to include the Provisional Army and three regiments of cavalry, but neither army was fully recruited or mobilized. Congress dissolved the Provisional Army in June 1800.
This letter to Major John Adlum of Pennsylvania was part of Major General Alexander Hamilton’s efforts as the ranking general below Washington to prepare forces for the brewing hostilities with France.
Item #26539, $12,500
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Eleanor Roosevelt Thanks Former State Senator for Article to Assist Women in Monitoring Polling Places
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT,
Typed Letter Signed, to John Godfrey Saxe, June 22, 1925. On “New York State Women’s Democratic News, Inc.” stationery. 1 p., 7⅞ x 10⅞ in.,
6/22/1925.
Complete Transcript
June 22, 1925.
Mr. John Godfrey Saxe,
30 Broad Street,
New York, N.Y.
Dear Mr. Saxe:
Your article is exactly what we want. Do you want me to show the proff [proof] to Judge Olvaney,[1] or do you want me to send you the proof to go over it with him yourself. I will get it put up in type as soon as possible, and send you the printed proof for correction.
I think the best time to run it will be in the September Number, as I do not want to run it until the campaign has aroused preliminary enthusiasm. With it I want to make a special appeal for volunteers to do the work you so clearly point out as necessary.
Very sincerely yours,
Eleanor Roosevelt
(Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt)
[1] Judge George Washington Olvany (1876-1952) was a New York General Sessions Court judge, deputy New York City Fire Commissioner, and leader of Tammany Hall from 1924 to 1929.
Item #26795, $1,250
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt Congratulates Aviation Pioneer Amelia Earhart on Hawaii-to-California Flight
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT,
Typed Letter Signed, to Amelia Earhart, January 18, 1935, Washington, DC. On White House letterhead with matching envelope. 1 p., 7 x 9 in.
“From the days of these pioneers to the present era, women have marched step in step with men. And now, when air trails between our shores and those of our neighbors are being chartered, you, as a woman, have preserved and carried forward this precious tradition.”
This fascinating letter captures the nation’s enthusiasm for Amelia Earhart’s achievements in aviation. In this congratulatory message, President Franklin D. Roosevelt places her in a tradition of pioneering women who ignored gender expectations and accomplished great achievements in many fields including aviation.
Earhart’s flight from Honolulu to Oakland was the first of three solo long-distance records she set in 1935. In April, again flying the Lockheed Vega 5C, she flew solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City. In May, she flew from Mexico City to New York, where large crowds greeted her in Newark, New Jersey. Later that year, she participated in the Bendix Trophy race from Burbank, California, to Cleveland, Ohio. She was the first woman to enter the Bendix and took fifth place, blazing a trail for other female aviators, who won the Bendix in 1936 and 1938.
Item #27330, $125,000
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