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Thomas Jefferson Signed Act of Congress Extending Temporary Post Office
THOMAS JEFFERSON,
Printed Document Signed, as Secretary of State, “An Act to continue in force for a limited time, an Act, intituled ‘An Act for the temporary Establishment of the Post Office,’” New York, August 4, 1790. 1 p., 9½ x 15⅛ in. ,
8/4/1790.
“the act passed the last session of Congress, intituled ‘An act for the temporary establishment of the post-office,’ be, and the same hereby is continued in force until the end of the next session of Congress, and no longer.”
Item #26264.99, $27,500
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1790 Massachusetts Newspaper Discussing Nantucket Whalers
[NANTUCKET],
Newspaper, The Columbian Centinel. Boston: Benjamin Russell, December 15, 1790. 4 pp.
Item #30051.015, $450
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Harvard’s 1791 Graduating Students and Theses, Dedicated to Governor John Hancock and Lieutenant Governor Samuel Adams
HARVARD COLLEGE,
Broadside. List of Graduating Students and Theses for Disputation. Boston, Massachusetts: Samuel Hall, 1791. 1 p., 18 x 22 in.
Interesting broadside in Latin issued for Harvard University’s 1791 commencement lists Latinized names of 27 graduating students. Among the graduates are New Hampshire Justice John Harris (1769-1845); U.S. Representative Thomas Rice (1768-1854); and Henry Dana Ward (1768-1817), youngest son of General Artemas Ward (1727-1800), who initially commanded the patriot army around Boston in 1775.
Item #24462, $1,500
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Hamilton Letter Signed, on Overdue Invalid Pensions in Massachusetts
ALEXANDER HAMILTON,
Manuscript Letter Signed, to Nathaniel Appleton, February 8, 1794, [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]. Includes unsigned free frank by Hamilton: “Free Secy of Treasy.” 1 p., with integral address leaf, 8 x 9.75 in.
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton informs Commissioner of Loans for Massachusetts that he has directed Treasurer Samuel Meredith to send him the funds to pay the 1790 pensions. This applied to Revolutionary War veterans whose wounds rendered them unable to procure a subsistence by manual labor. Those who could perform some labor received partial pensions based on the extent of their disability.
Item #27442, $10,500
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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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Large 1801 Folio Engraving of Thomas Jefferson as New President
[THOMAS JEFFERSON],
Print. Engraved by David Edwin, published by George Helmbold Jr., 1801. 1 p., 13 x 19¾ in. (image); 14⅞ x 22 ½ in. (sheet). ,
1/1/1801.
This engraving by David Edwin pictures Jefferson standing beside a table, with his hand on a desktop globe. Edwin copied the head from the Rembrandt Peale portrait of 1800. Edwin placed Jefferson in a black suit in a formal setting, comparable to the 1796 portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (known as the “Lansdowne” portrait because it was commissioned as a gift for William Petty, first Marquis of Lansdowne).
Item #25421, $4,500
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Honoring Washington and Quoting His Farewell Address (Drafted by Hamilton)
GEORGE WASHINGTON,
A rare glazed cotton kerchief printed in black bearing a full length portrait of George Washington and a portion of his Farewell Address. Germantown Print Works, c. 1806.
The central image has a full length Standing Portrait of George Washington as President with his sword, after the original painting by Gilbert Stuart painted for William Constable, better known as the “Landsdowne Portrait.” Washington’s portrait is framed by a portion of his farewell address on the left, and his epitaph on the right. The bottom bears three panels, including the Great Seal of the United States, a sailing ship scene labeled “Commercial Union,” and “The British Lion.”
Item #24700, $2,850
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Madison’s Optimistic First Message to Congress: A Prelude to the War of 1812
JAMES MADISON,
Special Session Message. National Intelligencer, May 23, 1809. Broadside. Washington, D.C.: Samuel Harrison Smith. Handwritten on the verso: “Presidents Message 1809” 1 p., 10¼ x 12½ in.
“it affords me much satisfaction to be able to communicate the commencement of a favorable change in our foreign relations....”
Item #30051.005, $2,400
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Steamboat Inventor Robert Fulton and Six Other Commissioners Ask the Governor of Georgia to Support Federal Funding of the Erie Canal
ROBERT FULTON,
ROBERT FULTON, Printed Document Signed, October 8, 1811, New York. Letter to the Governor of Georgia David Brydie Mitchell announcing the formation of what would become the Erie Canal Commission. Also signed by GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, DEWITT CLINTON, SIMEON DE WITT, WILLIAM NORTH, THOMAS EDDY and ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. 2 pp., 10 x 15½ in. Together with: ELISHA JENKINS Document Signed as New York Secretary of State. “An Act to provide for the Improvement of the Internal Navigation of the State,” April 8, 1811, Albany, NY; certified, sealed, and signed, July 10, 1811. 1 p. with docketing, ordered to be filed, Nov. 4, 1811, 8 x 10 in.
“this Canal … will encourage agriculture, promote commerce and manufactures, facilitate a free and general intercourse between different parts of the United States, tend to the aggrandizement and prosperity of the country, and consolidate and strengthen the Union.”
Item #26559, $17,500
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“John Bull and the Baltimoreans” Lampooning British Defeat at Fort McHenry in Baltimore Following their Earlier Success at Alexandria
[WAR OF 1812]. WILLIAM CHARLES,
Print. John Bull and the Baltimoreans. Satirical engraved aquatint cartoon. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [October, 1814]. 1 p., 12½ x 9 in. Frame: 18¾ x 15 in.
“Mercy! mercy on me. What fellows those Baltimoreans are. After the example of the Alexandrians I thought I had nothing to do but enter the Town and carry off the Booty. And here is nothing but Defeat and Disgrace!!”
A masterpiece of design and composition.
Item #25448, $3,400
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Incredible Andrew Jackson Letter to His Wife Rachel, Reacting to the Burning of Washington, D.C., Believing it Will Usher in a Patriotic National Response
ANDREW JACKSON,
Autograph letter signed (“Andrew Jackson”) to Rachael Jackson, October 7, 1814. One page, silked, partial fold separations.
“It appears, that all the Patriots, must have buried themselves on the news of the burning of the capitol, as tho our national existence or liberties depended alone on that gothic mass of costly marble…. it ought and will give impulse to the nation — and every man who has a spark of national-pride, an ounce of love of country, will step forward, and at once blow at it [at] every point, crush the enemies to our country…”
He also mentions a key battle that helped lead to his victory in the Battle of New Orleans.
Item #26263, $48,000
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Unique Inscribed Set of John Marshall’s Life of George Washington, With Joseph Story Letter to the Daughter of the Late Associate Justice Henry Brockholst Livingston, Conveying Marshall’s Thanks and Noting That He Will Be Sending to Her These Very Books
JOHN MARSHALL,
Inscribed books, signed “The Author.” The Life of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the American Forces, During the War which Established the Independence of his Country, and First President of the United States, Compiled under the Inspection of the Honourable Bushrod Washington, From Original Papers Bequeathed to him by his Deceased Relative, 2 vols. Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1832. 2nd Edition, Revised and Corrected by the Author. Volumes I – II bound in red quarter leather spine and brown leather, each inscribed and signed, “For Mrs. Ledyard with the profound respect of The Author.” John Marshall’s magisterial biography of George Washington was originally a five-volume set. This 1832 publication was revised by Marshall and issued in two volumes, with a companion volume of Revolutionary War maps: Atlas to Marshall’s Life of Washington, Philadelphia: J. Crissy, [1832], 10 hand-colored maps, bound in red quarter leather with original blue boards. With scarce printed errata for Volume I laid in, and manuscript errata for Vol II. The letter requires conservation.
Item #26161, $27,500
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John Marshall’s “Life of George Washington”
and Companion Atlas with Hand-colored Maps
JOHN MARSHALL. [GEORGE WASHINGTON],
Books, The Life of George Washington Commander in Chief of the American Forces, During the War which Established the Independence of his Country and First President of the United States, Compiled Under the Inspection of the Honourable Bushrod Washington, From Original Papers Bequeathed to him by his Deceased Relative, 2nd edition, in two volumes. Philadelphia: James Crissy and Thomas Cowperthwait, 1840. 982 pp. plus index, 5½ x 9 in. Both have pencil inscription on blank fly leaf “A. Seeley 1851 Presented by T.C. Gladding.” Rebound; very good, some foxing toward the front. OCLC 183328030. With: Atlas to Marshall’s Life of Washington, Philadelphia: J. Crissy, [1832], 10 hand-colored maps. Ex-Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Massachusetts bookplate on front paste-down. Black cloth spine and corners, original green boards with label. Internally fine. OCLC 191237946.
Chief Justice John Marshall’s magisterial biography of George Washington was originally a five-volume set. This 1840 publication, revised and issued in two volumes, also includes the 1832 companion atlas of maps relating to the Revolutionary War.
Item #22477, $1,250
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Whig Presidential Nominee William Henry Harrison to Daniel Webster
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON,
Autograph Letter Signed, to Daniel Webster, February 16, 1840, Cincinnati, OH. 2 pp., 7½ x 9¾ in.
“My friends are preparing for a convention at Columbus on the 22d whichwill be the largest assemblage of citizens & otherwise the most interesting ever held in the Western Country…”
Harrison asks U.S. Senator Daniel Webster for assistance on the sale of land in Vincennes, Indiana, and mentions an upcoming Whig convention in Columbus, Ohio. After his election, Harrison appointed Webster as his Secretary of State.
Item #26779, $5,400
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Rich 1845 Letter on the State of American Art to Hudson River Artist Jasper Cropsey
JOHN MACKIE FALCONER,
Autograph Letter Signed, to Jasper Cropsey, Washington, D.C., January 15, 1845. 4 pp., 7⅞ x 9⅞ in. Includes envelope.
Relates a conversation with Peter Rothermel on the need to nurture an “American School of Design,” with sharp criticisms of the deleterious effects of European study on budding talent as seen in Emanuel Leutze’s latest work.
“[Rothermel] during the evening suggested one thing as tending peculiarly to build up an American School of Design without the extraneous influences that all young men going abroad are subject too. it was that an embargo to prevent the leaving of artists for abroad, for a space of 50 years, be put in operation, thus causing their productions to be pure emanations of their own early & intuitive feeling…”
Item #25492, $1,250
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First Published Map Naming Dallas, Texas, from 1846 Travel Guidebook
[Texas],
J. Calvin Smith. A New Guide for Travelers through the United States of America: containing all the Railroad, Stage, and Steamboat Routes, with the distances from place to place. (New York: Sherman & Smith, 1846). 79 pp., 3⅝ x 5½ in.
This traveler’s guide included detailed listings of railroad, stage, and steamboat routes to locations throughout the United States with intermediate mileage and cumulative mileage on each route. It also includes a list of canals in the United States. It was issued annually from 1846 to 1850.
It is accompanied by a large folding map (20½ x 26 in.), with hand-colored outlines of each state and territory. It is believed to be the first published map to include the frontier settlement of Dallas, Texas, along the Trinity River.
Item #26523, $2,500
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Ohio Reformers Use Rhode Island’s Dorr Rebellion
to Justify Their Own Behavior
[DORR WAR],
Pamphlet. The Dorr Movement in Ohio; Being an Examination into the Causes, Progress and Probable Effects of the Revolutionary Course of Locofocoism in the Organization of the General Assembly of This State, for the Session of 1848-49. [Columbus, Ohio]: Legg & Murray, Columbus, [1849]. Disbound. Inscribed in pencil on the title by H.A. Swift, the author, in presentation.
Item #22543, $550
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Masonic Documents: James P. Kimball archive of master Mason, geologist, and Director of the United States Mint - with superb engravings
JAMES P. KIMBALL,
Archive. Approximately fifteen ornate Masonic documents, many relating to James P. Kimball and his family. Kimball was a noted geologist and one-time Director of the United States Mint. Plus over sixty related letters, documents, and ephemera most of which concern Kimball’s Masonic activities.
Item #22108.13, $9,500
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Mark Hopkins, Famed Educator and the Longest Serving President of Williams College, Preparing to Lecture at the Smithsonian Institute
MARK HOPKINS,
Autograph Letter Signed, as President of Williams College, [perhaps to Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian], November 13, 1851. 1 p., 5 x 6 ¼ in.
“What they may turn out to be I cannot say, but should like the liberty of choice when the time comes…”
Item #21553.08, $450
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The Congressional War on Kansas over Slavery
and Statehood – 1854 – 1858
[KANSAS],
Collection of 59 printed speeches and government documents. Mostly pamphlets printed in Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1854, 1856 and 1858. Includes President Franklin Pierce, Charles Sumner (who had nearly been killed in the Senate due to his anti-slavery views), Stephen Douglas, Schuyler Colfax, William Seward, Henry Wilson, Thomas Hart Benton, Daniel Clark, John Bingham, A.P. Butler, Erastus Brooks, Josiah J. Evans, Robert M. T. Hunter, and others. Printed pamphlets, speeches, orders, and Senate acts, some with original printed wrappers. Mostly octavo, pagination varies, as does condition.
Item #23739, $1,750
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