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Gilded Age (1876 - c.1900) |
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Civil War Hero David Dixon Porter Expresses Support for the Chinese in a Time of Hostility
DAVID DIXON PORTER,
Autograph Letter Signed, to John Philip Newman, March 14, 1879, Washington, D.C. 3 pp., 5 x 8 in.
“As you and I have both expressed friendly sentiments towards the citizens of the Flowery Kingdom, we may hope to be in high favor should we live till that time.”
In this humorous letter to Methodist minister John Philip Newman, retired Admiral and Civil War naval hero David Dixon Porter complements the pastor on his recent lecture on the Chinese and sends him a copy of Porter’s recent article from a monthly military affairs journal about the Chinese. Both men viewed the anti-Chinese hysteria in the United States as irrational and unworthy of a nation founded on the declaration that “all men are created equal.” Their lecture and article expressed admiration for Chinese accomplishments and urged public leaders not to give way to the anti-Chinese frenzy. Sadly, three years later, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first act restricting immigration into the United States.
Item #22730, $2,000
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Bartholdi Signed Note, on His Calling Card, Fundraising for the Statue of Liberty
STATUE OF LIBERTY,
Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. Autograph Note Signed, on his calling card, c. 1878. With Marquis de Rochambeau, Autograph Note Signed, on his calling card, and a calling card for Count Sérurier, during fundraising effort to present Liberty Enlightening the World to the United States. 3 items. 3¾ x 2¼ in.
Item #24842, SOLD — please inquire about other items
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“Let Us Have Faith that Right Makes Might…”
[ABRAHAM LINCOLN]. SCHUYLER COLFAX,
Autograph Quote Signed, from Lincoln’s Cooper Institute speech given on February 27, 1860. Sept 10, 1877.
Schuyler Colfax, U.S. representative from Indiana and vice president under Ulysses S. Grant, pens a famous quote from Lincoln’s Cooper Institute speech.
Item #23916, ON HOLD
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Declaration of Independence Centennial (SOLD)
[HARPER’S WEEKLY],
Newspaper. July 8, 1876.
The July 8, 1876 issue of Harper’s Weekly, containing a supplement celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, complete with a centerspread facsimile of one of Jefferson’s draft manuscripts and the signatures of the signers, along with related engravings.
Item #30011.003, SOLD — please inquire about other items
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Bartholdi Plans for Statue of Liberty Right Arm and Torch Exhibit at 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
FREDERIC-AUGUSTE BARTHOLDI,
Autograph Letter Signed, in French, recipient unknown, June 8, 1876, Philadelphia. On “International Expositions, Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, Superior Commission of International Expositions, General Station, Hotel de Cluny, Rue du Sommerard, Paris” letterhead. 2 pp., 5⅛ x 8⅛ in.
Complete Translation
Dear Mademoiselle,
It will give me great pleasure to see my work figured in the respected publication of Mr. Harper. I am thinking of returning to New York on Monday and I will have the pleasure of bringing you, in person, the block and the notes that you asked for.
Would you be so kind to thank Mr. Harper for <2> his appreciation of my work and yourself accept the expression of my most devoted feelings of friendship.
Bartholdi
Philadelphia 8 June 1876
Item #24887, SOLD — please inquire about other items
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Advertisement for Temperance Restaurant in New York City
[TEMPERANCE],
Advertising card for “McElree’s Temperance Restaurant & Lunch Room” The other side promotes “McElree’s Centennial Mead” for 5¢ per glass, claiming that it is “Healthful and Cooling” and “pleases ALL NATIONALITIES and tastes,” ca. 1876, New York. 2 pp., 5 x 1¼ in.
Item #26460.02, $300
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Susan B. Anthony Sends Letter to Kansas Suffragist Leader
SUSAN B. ANTHONY,
National Woman Suffrage Association Centennial Headquarters envelope, to “Mrs Judge Gray / Leavenworth / Kan,” with “Centennial Questions,” 1876. Philadelphia: National Woman Suffrage Association. 1 p., 5⅞ x 3⅜ in.
Susan B. Anthony addresses an envelope from the National Woman Suffrage Association headquarters in Philadelphia to prominent Kansas suffragist Mary Tenney Gray. The pointed questions on this envelope urged women’s claims to suffrage as an essential part of their being citizens of the Republic. On July 4, 1876, Susan B. Anthony read The Declaration for the Rights of Women from a podium in front of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to a cheering crowd.
Item #22444.22, SOLD — please inquire about other items
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Seesaw - Gloucester, MA - Drawn by Winslow Homer
[HARPER’S WEEKLY],
Newspaper. Harper’s Weekly, September 12, 1874.
Item #H-9-12-1874, $295
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Discontent with Gilded Age Presidential Politics and the Influence of “the negro vote”
WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE,
Autograph Letter Signed, to Henry Anthony. Newport [R.I.], November 25, 1872. 4 pp.
A detailed, despairing letter on campaign politics after the reelection of Ulysses S. Grant. Lawrence observes the humiliating defeat of Democrats and “Liberal Republicans” – who united behind Horace Greeley because of corruption in the Grant administration – in the Election of 1872. Lawrence laments the elevation of personality over merit and virtue in elections, an observation which resonates today. He also expresses concern about how newly enfranchised African Americans tended to vote. “The negroes are naturally disposed to support those who are in power & whom they invest with superior dignity, on account of the possession of power. …the extraordinary denouement of the Cincinnati Convention has placed in bold relief the mode most unsatisfactory to an intelligent people, by which party conventions are constituted & which are readily made, the instruments of the vilest partisan combinations, carried on by men without character & without principle.”
Item #20020, $950
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A Ruff-Necked Hummingbird by Audubon
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON,
Print. Ruff-Necked Hummingbird, [1871].
Best known for his seminal Birds of America, Audubon’s prints are among the world’s most recognized images.
Item #22114.02, $1,750
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A Harlequin Duck by Audubon
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON,
Print. Harlequin Duck, [1871]. 14 x 12 in. framed.
Best known for his seminal Birds of America, Audubon’s prints are among the world’s most recognized images.
Item #22114.03, $350
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The 15th Amendment, Guaranteeing the Freedmen the Right to Vote, Passes the Georgia General Assembly
RUFUS BROWN BULLOCK,
Printed Letter Signed, as Governor of Georgia, to the Governor of New York, February 3, 1870, Atlanta, Georgia. 1 p.
Governor Rufus Bullock, a native New Yorker, informs the governor of his native state that his adopted state has ratified the 15th Amendment, shortly after New York rescinded its earlier ratification.
“I have the honor to transmit herewith Joint Resolution ratifying the proposed ‘Fourteenth (sic) Constitutional Amendment’ passed by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, February 2d, A.D. 1870.”
It is ironic that this printed letter incorrectly references the “proposed Fourteenth” amendment. Like all other Confederates states except Tennessee, Georgia had initially rejected the Fourteenth Amendment in 1866, just months after President Johnson sent it to the states for consideration. The recalcitrance of southern states led Congress to impose military governments and to require former Confederate states to ratify the Amendment before they could be represented in Congress. Georgia ratified the Fourteenth Amendment on July 21, 1868, providing the final necessary vote for the amendment to go into effect. This letter clearly refers to the Fifteenth Amendment, under consideration by the states in 1869 and 1870.
Item #22489, SOLD — please inquire about other items
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A Huge Print of the Great Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison
WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON,
Photograph. Mammoth Plate Albumen print, approximately 15 x 19 in. Mounted on original light card board approximately 19 x 24 in. Board worn, some cracks not touching print; minor staining in image area. “William Lloyd Garrison” printed on mount inder image. c. 1870s
An image of an older Garrison, as he appeared after his life’s work of abolition had been successfully completed.
Item #22464, $2,000
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English Sociologist and Novelist Martineau Signs a Note
HARRIET MARTINEAU,
Autograph Note Signed. Address leaf, n.p. n.d.
Item #21678.25, SOLD — please inquire about other items
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