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Presidents and First Ladies
Free frank from Washington to ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne
1. George Washington Signed Free Frank. Desirable
free frank, 6.25 x 2.75, addressed in another hand to “On Public Service, Brig’r General Wayne, commanding Light Infantry,” and franked in the lower left, “Go: Washington.” Double-matted and framed with engravings to an overall size of 17.5 x 17. In fine condition, with light staining along the central vertical fold.
Any example of Washington’s autograph is highly sought, but this example is particularly desirable as it is directed to Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, whose daring tactics—and angry temperament—earned him the nickname ‘Mad Anthony.’ Considered to be one of the most brilliant Continental Army officers, Wayne commanded troops in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777–1778 before famously leading the 1779 storming of the British fort at Stony Point, New York. Starting Bid $1000
Monroe reclaims money owed by the bankrupt associate of Haym Salomon
2. James Monroe Docketed Letter by Edward
Carrington. ALS signed “Ed. Carrington,” one page, 7.25 x 10.5, June 13, 1787. Edward Carrington, a soldier and statesman from Virginia, writes to “Col. James Monroe, Attorney” to inform him of the repayment of a debt owed by the bankrupt Jacob Mordecai, a noteworthy American-born Jewish businessman and partner of financier Haym Salomon. Carrington writes, in part: “The eleventh of next month is appointed for the distribution of Mr. Mordecai’s effects. He has made return of your debt, the amount as well as I recollect one hundred & ten pounds. The assignee in whose hands the list of debts is being out of Town, I cannot have recourse to it for greater certainty—it will however be necessary that you make allotment of your debt and make affidavit for the justness of it, to [entitle] you to a dividend, as Mr. Mordecai’s return only presumptively places it on the list. Will you be good enough to do this and forward it immediately to me?” Addressed on the integral leaf to Monroe by Carrington, and franked “Free, Ed. Carrington” at the bottom; docketed in Monroe’s hand, “June 13, 1787, Col. Carrington.” In very good condition, with overall foxing, and adhesive residue stains to the integral address leaf, which also display a repair to seal-related paper loss. Starting Bid $300
President Jackson names a relative of George Washington as Acting Treasury Secretary
3. Andrew Jackson Letter Signed as President. LS as
president, one page, 8 x 10, October 16, 1833. Letter to Peter G. Washington, a relative of President George Washington, in his capacity as chief clerk of the US Treasury. In full: “During the absence of the Treasurer of the United States from his office, you will please take charge of the same and perform the duties thereof.” Boldly signed at the conclusion by President Jackson. In fine condition.
Col. Peter G. Washington was the son of Lund Washington, a distant cousin of George Washington who served as steward of the Mount Vernon estate during the Revolution. In Col. Washington’s career, he served as Chief Clerk of the Treasurer’s Office, Chief Clerk of 6th Auditor, Assistant Postmaster General, and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. He later founded the US Postal Guide and was also a member of the Washington National Monument Association. A unique presidential association piece. Starting Bid $300
signed “W. H. Harrison,” one page both sides, 7.5 x 9.75, February 10, 1840. Handwritten letter to Senator Daniel Webster, referring to the forthcoming Ohio Whig Convention and negotiating the sale of land. In part: “I will immediately upon being informed of this being done execute a deed of trust to Colonel Pendleton & your friend Fales...this property is totally unincumbered having been purchased by me 39 years ago, confirmed to me by the Government & ever since been in my actual possession…My friends are preparing for a convention at Columbus on the 22d which will be the largest assemblage of citizens & otherwise the most interesting ever held in the Western Country.” In fine condition, with seal-related paper loss, and some old mounting remnants, to the integral address leaf. Though General Harrison was not in attendance at the convention, his enthusiastic supporters were out in full force—tens of thousands of delegates and spectators filled the streets as a mile-long parade featured log cabins on wheels, with the builders drinking hard cider on the roof, and giant wooden canoes with the image of Old Tippecanoe. Starting Bid $300
5. William Henry Harrison Autograph Docu-
ment Signed. Scarce ADS, signed “Wm. H. Harrison, aid de camp,” one page, 9 x 4.25, June 10, 1794. Order reads, in full: “The commissary will please to issue to the Chickisaws [sic] Patawatimies forty pounds of beef.” Signed at the conclusion by William Henry Harrison as Anthony Wayne’s aide de camp. In fine condition. Accompanied by an engraved portrait bearing a facsimile signature. Starting Bid $200
ALS as an Ohio congressman, signed “Willm. Henry Harrison,” one page, 7.75 x 9.75, May 7, 1817. Addressed from North Bend, Ohio, a handwritten letter to Missouri Territory politician and attorney John Scott, in full: “I have to ask for friend Mr. H. Glenn of Cincinnati who will deliver you this, your attention & civilities whilst he remains in your county to which he goes as contractor to the 3rd Military District. Any services you may render him will be very acceptable.” In very good to fine condition, with irregular toning. Starting Bid $200
8. Abraham Lincoln Original Hesler-Ayres Photo-
graph. Iconic original 5.75 x 7.75 studio photo of Abraham Lincoln, one of four known portraits taken by photographer Alexander Hesler in Springfield, Illinois, on June 3, 1860, at the old Capitol Building in Springfield, Illinois, two weeks after Lincoln was nominated for president by the Republican National Convention in Chicago. The photograph backing is annotated: “Copyright, Geo. B. Ayres, Phila.” Upon Hesler’s retirement, George B. Ayres took possession of his studio and plates, printing from the glass plate of Lincoln until the end of the century. Displayed without glass in a period oval frame to an overall size of 9.75 x 11.75. In fine condition, with a couple light marks and a small scrape to right side. Starting Bid $200
7. James Buchanan Autograph
Check Signed. Uncommon handwritten check, 8 x 3, filled out and signed by Buchanan, “James Buchanan,” payable to “M. Harrison Esquire” for $4.00, June 21, 1852. In fine condition, with several vertical folds, and a small stain to the top edge. Starting Bid $200
Rare March 1865 appointment to the “Revenue Service” by President Lincoln
9. Abraham Lincoln Document Signed as President. Civil War-dated partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 14.25 x 12.25, March 7, 1865. President Lincoln appoints Alfred Hornsby as “Third Lieutenant in the Revenue Service of the United States.” Signed at the conclusion by President Abraham Lincoln and Acting Secretary of the Treasury George Harrington. This is a particularly desirable and unusual pairing of signatures—six weeks later, Harrington was charged with organizing President Lincoln’s state funeral, acting as Grand Marshal on the mournful occasion. In fine condition, with faint toning along the intersecting folds. Starting Bid $1000
President Lincoln appoints a Gettysburg local as “Assistant Quartermaster of Volunteers” in 1863
10. Abraham Lincoln Document Signed as President. Civil War-dated partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 13 x 16.5, March 12, 1863. President Lincoln appoints Rufus C. Swope as “Assistant Quartermaster of Volunteers with the rank of Captain in the service of the United States.” Signed at the conclusion by President Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The green seal affixed to the upper left remains intact. Handsomely double-matted and framed with a portrait to an overall size of 33 x 26.5. In fine condition, with all of the handwriting (including the two signatures) a couple of shades light.
Swope’s biography appears in the History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania, in part: ‘In 1862 he was appointed, by Gov. Curtin, draft commissioner of this district, and delivered a regiment [the 165th Pennsylvania Drafted Militia] to the authorities at Gettysburg. In December, 1862, he was appointed by President Lincoln captain, assistant quartermaster, and remained in the service until August, 1866, being on duty in Washington for a year after the close of the war.’ Accounts of the Battle of Fairfield, fought amidst the Gettysburg Campaign on July 3, 1863, note that the Swope house was used as a hospital. Starting Bid $1000
11. Abraham Lincoln Autograph Notation Initialed
as President. Brief autograph notation initialed by Abraham Lincoln as president, “A. L.,” who writes in his own hand, “File & Preserve,” and adds the date below, “March 20, 1863.” The sheet measures 3.75 x 1.5 and is handsomely matted and framed with a large portrait to an overall size of 14.5 x 19.5. In fine condition. Starting Bid $300
12. U. S. Grant Signed Photograph. Excep-
tional vintage matte-finish 4 x 5.25 oval portrait of U. S. Grant, signed in black ink. Double-matted and displayed under glass in a beautifully carved period frame from J. S. Bradley of New York, which measures to an overall size of 13 x 14.5. In fine condition, with a semicircular crease to the top, and the signature light but fully legible. Starting Bid $300
13. U. S. Grant Document Signed as
President. Manuscript DS as president, one page both sides, 10 x 14, June 9, 1870. President Grant appoints John L. Stevens as the “Minister Resident of the United States to the Republic of Uruguay.” Signed neatly at the conclusion by U. S. Grant, and countersigned by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. Double-matted and framed with an engraved portrait of Grant to an overall size of 23 x 20.5; a window to frame backing reveals the first page of the document. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Stately portrait of President Cleveland
14. Grover Cleveland Signed Oversized Photograph as President.
Impressive vintage matte-finish 9.5 x 14.5 portrait photo of President Cleveland, signed and inscribed in black ink, “To Mrs. Childs, from Grover Cleveland, July 18, 1888.” Nicely matted and framed to an overall size of 16 x 21. In fine condition, with scattered light foxing. Starting Bid $200
15. Warren G. Harding Signed Check. The Riggs
National Bank check, 7.25 x 2.75, filled out and signed by Harding, “W. G. Harding,” payable to Western Union Tel. Co. for $26.40, March 6, 1919. In fine condition, with a few flecks of surface loss to reverse. Starting Bid $200 17. Franklin D. Roosevelt Signed Check. Scarce State
of New York Adjutant General’s office check, 9 x 3.5, filled out in type and signed by Roosevelt as governor, “Franklin D. Roosevelt,” payable to Fred C. Westphal for $5, April 3, 1929, “and charge same to Pay Refund, Spanish War.” Countersigned by the comptroller and adjutant general. In fine condition, with some paper loss to the top edge. Starting Bid $200
Rare geometry textbook signed by schoolboy Roosevelt
16. Franklin D. Roosevelt Signed Book. Signed book: A Text-Book of Geometry by G. A. Wentworth. Later printing. Boston: Ginn & Company, 1896. Hardcover, 5 x 7.5, 437 pages. Neatly signed on the first free end page in ink, “Franklin D. Roosevelt, Groton School, Groton, Mass.” A different pencil ownership signature appears below, and there are ink and pencil sketches and equations written on the rear endpapers in an unknown hand. The signed page is in fine condition; the book itself is good to very good, with staining and ink blots to fore edges and many interior pages, cracking to the hinges, and heavy wear and some damage to the front cover and spine.
FDR attended Groton School from age 14 through 18, before matriculating to Harvard University. The school’s headmaster, Endicott Peabody, urged his students to enter public service and remained a strong influence throughout Roosevelt’s life, officiating at his wedding and visiting him as president. Starting Bid $200
18. Harry S. Truman Signed Photograph and Typed Letter Signed with Atomic Bomb Content. Two signed
items, including: a historically significant TLS, one page, 7.25 x 10.5, March 22, 1972, to Mrs. Margot L. Chadwell, in part: “I was pleased to have your letter of March 12, which I read with special interest and all the more so since you consider that by my decision regarding the atom bomb, your husband’s life was spared. I appreciate your wanting to share with me your personal experience.” Second, a matte-finish 3.5 x 5 head-and-shoulders portrait, signed and inscribed in the lower border in ballpoint, “To Lance Balusk, Harry Truman.” Also includes an official double-sided USAAF leaflet in Japanese, 8.5 x 5.5, warning the residents of eleven cities, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to flee before the arrival of American bombers. The message reads, in part (translated): “Bombs have no eyes…heed this warning and evacuate these cities immediately.” In overall fine condition.
The husband of this letter’s recipient was Lieutenant Colonel George T. Chadwell, who served in the Pacific with the 19th Bombardment Group during World War II and conducted daylight raids against strategic objectives on the Japanese home islands, bombing targets in Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka. The decision to drop the two atomic bombs on Japan remains one of the most controversial in American history, and was justified by Truman for saving countless American lives that may have otherwise been lost during a military invasion. Only a handful of known Truman letters have content pertaining to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and this is possibly the only letter in private hands in which he mentions the atom bomb saving American lives. Starting Bid $500
19. Harry S. Truman Signed Dollar Bill. Desirable
series 1935 D silver certificate one-dollar bill, signed on the left side in fountain pen, “Harry S. Truman.” In fine condition, with expected light handling wear. A sought-after format for the president who famously popularized the phrase, ‘The buck stops here!’ Starting Bid $200
20. Harry S. Truman Signed Photograph.
Sharp vintage mattefinish 8.75 x 11.75 portrait of Truman at his desk by Harris & Ewing, signed and inscribed in fountain pen, “Kind regards to Arthur D. Condon, Harry S. Truman.” Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 12 x 15. In very fine condition. Starting Bid $200
21. Dwight D. Eisenhower Typed Letter Signed. World War II-dated TLS, one page, 7.5 x 9, personal Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force letterhead, July 15, 1944. Letter to Bennett H. McGee, in part: “I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity of sending through the pages of your magazine a message to the men that the East Glenville Methodist Church has sent to the fighting services. To each of them I should like to say that in this war they are definitely fighting for those basic principles of human rights and dignity that are implicit in the teachings of Christianity. I should like to tell them, also, that even though there are grim and bitter tasks still facing us, when soldiers are sustained by deep-seated conviction in the eternal justice of the cause for which they are fighting, the first great step toward victory has already been attained.’” Handsomely matted and framed with a portrait of Ike in uniform to an overall size of 19.75 x 14.5. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Boldly signed presidential portrait of JFK
22. John F. Kennedy Signed
Photograph. Classic vintage mattefinish 7.5 x 9.5 portrait of President John F. Kennedy, boldly signed and inscribed in the wide lower margin in fountain pen, “For Elizabeth Darby—with warm regards, John Kennedy.” Nicely double-matted and framed to an overall size of 12.5 x 14.5. In very fine condition. A highly attractive example, signed as president. Starting Bid $500
President Johnson appoints the Attorney of the United States for Idaho
23. Lyndon B. Johnson Document Signed as President.
Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 19.5 x 15.5, August 11, 1965. President Johnson appoints Sylvan A. Jeppesen of Idaho as “Attorney of the United States, in and for the District of Idaho.” Signed at the conclusion by President Johnson and countersigned by Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. The gold foil Department of Justice seal affixed to the lower left remains intact. Framed to an overall size of 23.5 x 19.5. In very good to fine condition, with light overall wrinkling (apparently from mounting), and some fading to the signature. Starting Bid $200
24. Richard Nixon (2) Typed Letters Signed. Two TLSs,
both signed, “Dick Nixon,” each one page, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead. Both letters are to Helen Copley, the widow of newspaper publisher James S. Copley, with Nixon adding the greeting in his own hand, as well as a postscript to each letter. The letters are dated December 15, 1975 (“Only during difficult periods does one learn who his real friends are”), and January 6, 1976 (“Late in the evening on Christmas Day.. we remarked that of all the Christmas observances we have enjoyed-at the White House, in California, in Florida, and at Camp David-this was without question one of the best”). The letters are housed in a luxurious custom-made clamshell case. In overall fine condition. Starting Bid $200 25. Ronald Reagan Autograph Letter Signed. ALS,
one page, 6.75 x 9.75, personal letterhead, June 7, 1961. Handwritten letter to “Mr. Daniels,” in part: “I have no objection to anything you’d like to do about making copies available or with regard to anyone quoting from the article. I have no need for re-prints myself as General Elec. prints up copies of my talks in sufficient numbers to handle requests I get.” Doublematted and framed with an engraved portrait to an overall size of 19.25 x 16.75. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
Signed sculpture display of “Young Bill Clinton” playing the saxophone
26. Bill Clinton Signature and Clay
Sculpture. A glazed clay sculpture of “Young Bill Clinton, (work in progress)” by New Hampshire artist James Munoz, standing 17˝ in height and depicting the future president wearing 1970s attire and playing the saxophone. The sculpture is set atop a wooden 14 x 4 x 9.5 base with a typed title card that is signed in black felt tip, “Thanks! Bill Clinton.” In fine condition.
Accompanied by a framed provenance display containing a newspaper clipping and three photos of Clinton from his 2007 visit to the Rochester Opera House where he was shown this sculpture and signed the included title card—the clipping and two of the photos show Clinton with the sculpture. Starting Bid $200
27. Five Presidents Signed Photograph. Sought-after color satin-finish 9.75 x 7 photo of five American presidents posing together during the opening ceremony of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on November 4, 1991, signed in the lower border in black felt tip, “George Bush,” “Ronald Reagan,” “J. Carter,” and “Richard Nixon,” and in blue ink, “Gerald R. Ford.” Handsomely cloth-matted and framed to an overall size of 17.75 x 15.25. In very fine condition. Starting Bid $500
9 x 6.75 photo of American Presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon walking together at the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, signed by all five in the lower border in black felt tip, with Nixon’s faded signature only visible at an angle via its pen impressions. Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 18.5 x 15.2.5. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
