28 140 résultats
1863réf. WRCAM49250DNew York: Baker & Godwin 1863. 48pp. Publisher's printed wrappers publisher's advertisement on rear wrapper. Spine perished. Very good. In a blue morocco box. The earliest publication of the Gettysburg Address in book form. This edition was preceded only by the exceptionally rare sixteen-page pamphlet THE GETTYSBURG SOLEMNITIES known in only three copies. Lincoln made his speech at the dedication of a cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield some four months after the bloody and pivotal battle that turned the tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union. Lincoln's speech was preceded by an address from Edward Everett the most famous orator of his day. Everett's speech took some ninety minutes to deliver and is largely forgotten. Lincoln's speech delivered in only a few minutes is immortal. It is a supreme distillation of American values and of the sacrifices necessary for the survival of liberty and freedom. "The WASHINGTON CHRONICLE of 18-21 November reported extensively on this ceremony and included a verbatim text of 'Edward Everett's Great Oration.' On the fourth day it noted in passing that the President had also made a speech but gave no details. When it came to the separate publication on 22 November Everett's 'Oration' was reprinted from the standing type but Lincoln's speech had to be set up. It was tucked away as a final paragraph on page 16 of the pamphlet THE GETTYSBURG SOLEMNITIES. It was similarly treated when the meanly produced leaflet was replaced by a 48-page booklet published by Baker and Godwin of New York in the same year" - PMM. Lincoln's address appears on page 40 and parenthetical notes are added indicating "applause" and "long-continued applause." A diagram on page 32 gives the details of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. HOWES E232 "b." MONAGHAN 193. GROLIER AMERICAN 100 72 note. STREETER SALE 1747. SABIN 23263. PRINTING AND THE MIND OF MAN 351 ref. Garry Wills LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG pp.191-204. Baker & Godwin unknown books
1863réf. 376857New York: Baker & Godwin 1863. First edition in book form. 48 pp. 1 vols. 8vo. Original printed wrappers expert restoration to the spine. Housed in a morocco backed box. First edition in book form. 48 pp. 1 vols. 8vo. A lovely copy of the rare first edition of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address delivered at the dedication of a cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield four months after the bloody and pivotal battle that turned the tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union. Lincoln's speech delivered in only a few minutes stands as a supreme distillation of American values and of the sacrifices necessary for the survival of liberty and freedom. Much controversy surrounds the circumstances and content of the address as it was actually delivered at Gettysburg. The words spoken in the speech differ in the versions appearing in newspapers and the text which appeared in Washington several days later published as The Gettysburg Solemnities and known in only four copies which is now taken as the closest version to Lincoln's final intent because of its correspondence to the known manuscript versions. Interestingly and according to Carbonell the text of the first appearance of the speech in book form published a few days later as An Oration Delivered on the Battlefield of Gettysburg i.e. the present printing is taken largely from the New York Tribune printing. Lincoln's address appears on page 40 and parenthetical notes are added indicating "applause" and "long-continued applause." A diagram on page 32 gives the details of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. "Lincoln's speech composed on the train on the way to Gettysburg and written down according to tradition on scratch-paper and the backs of envelopes comprised ten sentences and took only a few minutes to deliver. From the first words - 'Four score and seven years ago' - to the last - 'that government of the people by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth' - it is immortal one of the supreme utterances of the principles of democratic freedom" PMM. PMM 351; Wills 191-204 261-263; Howes E233; Sabin 23263; Streeter sale 1747; Monaghan 193 Baker & Godwin unknown
1862réf. 63833Washington. January 6 1862 i.e. 1863. Abraham Lincoln Writes on Behalf of an Illinois Friend Colleague and Patriot A remarkably moving and poignant autograph letter signed from Abraham Lincoln as president writing to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on behalf of his former Illinois Whig colleague Martin P. Sweet who seeks to have a second son appointed to the Union Army even after his first had fallen in battle. Lincoln and Sweet were political colleagues and friends and the two shared the experience of losing sons at a young age. Not only had Sweet's son Lieutenant John J. Sweet died at the Battle of Gaines Mill on June 27 1862 but Lincoln himself had lost two young sons most recently his son Willie who died of typhoid fever in February 1862. Lincoln's brief letter to Stanton is fewer than one hundred words and contains the terse and eloquent rhythms that would categorize many of his most famous utterances including the Gettysburg Address later in 1863. The text written on Executive Mansion stationery reads in full: "Hon. Sec. of War; Sir Martin P. Sweet an Illinois friend of mine had a son a first Lieut. in the 5th Regular Cavalry who was killed in the battle of Gaines' Mill. He now asks that another son – brother to the deceased – be appointed to the place or a place in the same regiment in which the father says the officers tell him there are vacancies. The young man's name is 'Martin A. Sweet.' I shall be personally gratified if this can be done without difficulty. Yours truly A. Lincoln." The president has dated his letter January 6 1862 although based on the reference to the 5th Cavalry's role at Gaines' Mill in the summer of that year we must attribute this to an early New Year's error and assume that the date would properly be January 6 1863. Gaines' Mill took place on the third of the Seven Days Battles and was a major tactical victory for the Confederacy despite heavy losses on both sides. The "vacancies" alluded to by Lincoln would not be surprising – the 5th United States Cavalry suffered fifty-eight casualties in the fighting including all but one of its officers. It is unclear if Sweet's second son Martin Anthony ever received his appointment despite the heart-wrenching plea of his father and personal request of the President; in whatever case he lived through the war before passing away at a relatively young age in 1889. A "Martin A. Sweet" is recorded in the 6th Michigan Cavalry which was part of the Michigan Brigade and saw heavy action from Gettysburg through Appomattox. Martin Pierce Sweet 1806-64 was a native of New York who moved to Freeport Illinois in 1840 becoming a prominent local figure in law and politics. He and his wife Catherine Van Etten had six children. Sweet's policies mirrored Lincoln's own early views being firmly opposed to slavery through legislation though not a radical abolitionist. Throughout the 1840s and 50s Sweet and Lincoln were alternately comrades and opponents in the Illinois Whig party – in 1849 for example Lincoln backed Cyrus Edwards against Sweet for the appointment as General Land Commissioner and in 1855 he and Lincoln were both considered as alternatives to Lyman Trumbull who nonetheless took the seat in the Senate over both. In 1856 Sweet firmly backed Lincoln for vice president though he was soundly defeated by Dayton. From then on Sweet became an unofficial political adviser to the ascendant Lincoln – perhaps his most enduring legacy in that role was when he met with Joseph Medill and others to strategize on Lincoln's behalf in the Lincoln-Douglas debates one of which took place in Sweet's hometown of Freeport. Among their advice to Lincoln was that he should ask "a few ugly questions" including the famous prompt which resulted in Douglas' so-called Freeport Doctrine. Lincoln's ties to Sweet and the Douglas debates are made clear in a letter of September 16 1858 in which the future president wrote to his Illinois friend to apologize for a potentially disparaging comment fearing "that those villainous reporters Douglas has with him will try to make something out of it.I write this to assure you that nothing can be farther from me than to feel much less intentionally say anything disrespectful to you." A deeply moving autograph letter signed from Abraham Lincoln as president assisting a friend political ally and bereaved father prepared to lose a second son and give a last full measure of devotion for the Union cause. Light tanning vertical crease near right edge just touching signature. Very good. In a cloth chemise and half morocco and cloth box spine gilt. Michael Burlingame Abraham Lincoln: A Life Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press 2008 pp.486-557. hardcover
1863réf. 25464"I esteem Gov. Francis Thomas as an able and very true man. I do not know that he agrees with me in everything—perhaps he does not; but he has given me evidence of sincere friendship & as I think of patriotism." ABRAHAM LINCOLN.Autograph Letter Signed to Robert C. Schenck May 31 1863 Washington D.C. 1 p. Complete Transcript Private Executive Mansion Washington May 31 1863. Major Gen. Schenck Baltimore Md. I have been requested to say what I very truly can that I esteem Gov. Francis Thomas as an able and very true man. I do not know that he agrees with me in everything—perhaps he does not; but he has given me evidence of sincere friendship & as I think of patriotism. Yours truly A. Lincoln. Historical Background Lincoln had served in Congress together with fellow Whig Robert C. Schenck in the 1840s and made Schenck a Major General at the beginning of the war. Severely wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862 Schenck was given command of the Middle Department. He firmly supported the Unconditional Unionists from his headquarters in Baltimore and despite the necessity of tact in the politically sensitive border state of Maryland had little tolerance for middle ground. In July 1861 Secretary of War Simon Cameron with the president's encouragement had authorized Thomas to raise four regiments of loyal citizens from western Maryland for the protection of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. A month later Thomas recommended and Lincoln endorsed three officers for the 1st Maryland Regiment Potomac Home Guard. In early September 1862 Thomas sent Lincoln a lengthy private letter: "Our acquaintance is very limited…and it may be presumptuous in me to write this letter." Nevertheless he continued "In my humble judgment all the evils now threatening seriously the utter ruin of the country are to be traced to the error consumatted in the organization of your Cabinet. There is not so far as my knowledge extends at the head of any one of the Departments a single individual who has come into your Administration under the right influences…" "Now I have watched with the deepest anxiety" Thomas informed Lincoln "all or nearly all of your difficulties have their origin in the fact that you have Presidential aspirants in your cabinet and Presidential aspirants in your own party outside of your cabinet all of whom have their partisans in the Senate and House of Representatives." The "vast interests at stake" demanded that Lincoln reorganize his cabinet and announce his own candidacy for reelection. Two months later Lincoln's cabinet crisis reached a boiling point when Radical Republican senators demanded Secretary of State William H. Seward's resignation. Lincoln called the senators to a meeting with every member of the cabinet except Seward who had offered his resignation. Lincoln asked if the cabinet had freely debated issues and offered input before important decisions were made. The cabinet agreed that they had. Chase who had painted a picture to the senators of Seward and Lincoln running roughshod over the cabinet was cleverly chastened and offered his resignation. Lincoln refused the resignations of Seward and Chase thus maintaining intact his now famous "team of rivals" and keeping the senate at bay. Despite his criticism Thomas was also supportive. On April 23 1863 he was one of the speakers at a mass meeting of Unconditional Union men of Allegany County Maryland. Thomas "accorded to President Lincoln the purest motives and a patriotic determination to crush the rebellion and restore peace and prosperity to the country. He said that power and responsibility must rest somewhere and that he was willing to confide in the President and sustain him to the fullest extent in carrying out the measures adopted by Congress for prosecuting the war. He spoke of the emancipation proclamation of the President as a retaliatory measure for the confiscation acts of the southern conspirators and said it was a war measure calculated to subdue the rebels who had raised the standard of rebellion without any justifiable cause." Despite the unsolicited advice and criticism Lincoln offered this honest testimonial. It isn't clear if this answered a request of Thomas or a mutual contact or if Lincoln wrote it to send Thomas with his own purpose in mind. In mid-April Schenck who had a reputation for ham-handed harshness ordered at least eight persons charged with "using treasonable language" or "disloyal practices" in Baltimore to be exiled to the South. Less than a week later he had two newspaper editors from smaller towns in Maryland sent South for "having published treasonable articles." On May 28 three days before Lincoln penned this letter Schenck and Maryland Governor Augustus W. Bradford visited Pennsylvania Governor Andrew G. Curtin in Harrisburg to discuss "the more effectual protection of the southern borders of Pennsylvania and Maryland against any further incursions of rebel cavalry." Schenck and the two governors then left for Washington. Within a month the entire Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was in Pennsylvania heading for a conflict at Gettysburg. In mid-July 1863 a few weeks after writing this private letter Lincoln told his secretary John Hay that General Henry W. Halleck "thinks Schenck never had a military idea & never will learn one. however you may doubt or disagree with Halleck he is very apt to be right in the end." Schenck resigned from the army in December 1863 after again winning election to Congress. On the other hand Lincoln maintained his trust of Thomas. On July 5 1864 Confederate General Jubal Early crossed the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry with a corps of the Army of Northern Virginia aiming at Washington. General Lew Wallace's determined resistance near Frederick Maryland delayed the advance by a day providing defenders in Washington critical time to prepare. After the Confederate army withdrew into Virginia on July 14 Major General David Hunter ordered the provost marshal in Frederick to arrest "all male secessionists with their families" and force those who had given "undue sympathy" to the Confederates to sell their furniture for the benefit of Union families who had lost possessions during the incursion and to seize the sympathizers' houses for government use. By August 1 Major John I. Yellott had placed twenty-three southern sympathizers and their families under house arrest. On August 3 Lincoln ordered the Secretary of War to suspend Hunter's order and have Hunter send a report of the charges against each individual. Hunter requested to be relieved of command a wish that was soon granted.On August 13 Thomas protested to fellow Marylander and Postmaster General Montgomery Blair writing that the arrests of "quiet inoffensive citizens who have not publicly given by words or acts encouragement to the enemy cannot but be mischievous." The President asked Thomas to investigate. In September Thomas reported back. With the exception of two already discharged and two others charged with "a grave offence" who "ought to have an opportunity to establish their innocence" Thomas recommended that the President order the release of all the others on the list. Thomas followed up later that year reporting that specific charges had been made against only John W. Baughman an editor of the Republican Citizennewspaper in Frederick who had been sent South and against John Ruck and Isaack Ruck who were like the others on the list still under arrest at their homes in Frederick. On January 21 1865 Lincoln ordered all but Baughman discharged. Lincoln's unmatched ability to take advice from all sides and to work with capable men whose own ambitions sometimes conflicted with Lincoln's views is reflected in our letter. Robert C. Schenck 1809-1890 was born in Ohio and graduated from Miami University in 1827. He received a master's degree in 1830 studied law under Thomas Corwin and gained admission to the bar in 1831. He moved to Dayton Ohio and opened a successful law practice. After serving in the state legislature he represented his district in Congress from 1841 to 1851 when President Millard Fillmore appointed him as U.S. Minister to Brazil. Schenck served there until 1853. In 1859 he gave perhaps the first public endorsement of Lincoln for the Presidency in a speech in Dayton. At the beginning of the Civil War Lincoln commissioned Schenck as a brigadier general and he served in both Battles of Bull Run and in the 1862 Valley Campaign. He was wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run and held an administrative post in Maryland while recovering. He resigned his commission in December 1863 after election to Congress where he served again until 1871. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him as U.S. Minister to Great Britain a position he held until 1876 though his involvement in an American mining scandal left him thoroughly discredited. Francis Thomas 1799-1876 was born in Frederick County Maryland attended college in Annapolis and was admitted to the bar in 1820. He began a practice in Frankville in western Maryland and served in the state legislature in 1822 1827 and 1829. From 1831 to 1833 he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thomas served as governor of Maryland from 1842 to 1845 but his term and political future was marred by his public and contentious divorce from his much younger wife Sally Campbell Preston McDowell the daughter of the governor of Virginia.Thomas was a strong opponent of slavery which was unusual in a border state like Maryland. Defeated for reelection in 1844 he served in the state constitutional convention of 1850. He was again elected to Congress in 1860 serving until 1869 as a Unionist an Unconditional Unionist and then a Republican. From 1870 to 1872 he was collector of internal revenue for Maryland and then U.S. Minister to Peru from 1872 to 1875. He was killed when struck by a locomotive near his estate in Frankville. books
1863réf. 6046021863. "A. Lincoln" in black ink on Executive Mansion Washington letterhead March 18 1863. 5" x 8" 1 page with integral leaf. Very good. Integral blank with an autograph endorsement signed by Holt and clerical endorsement from the Adjutant General's office. To Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt: Lincoln requests his Judge Advocate General to investigate the "Strong Mitigating Circumstances" surrounding the court-martial of a member of the West Point Class of 1861. "It is said Lieut. John Benson Williams of the 3rd regular infantry as been sentenced by a Military Commission to be dismissed the service. I have some reason to believe there are strong mitigating circumstances in his case which the Commission perhaps did not deem competent for them to consider I will thank you to procure the record examine it and report it to me. . ." Holt forwarded Lincoln's letter to the Adjutant General noting that "No record or report in regard to the Williams case has been received at this office." The letter was returned to Holt accompanied by the record of William's court-martial and docketed "Please see papers within." After studying the record Holt made a lengthy report to Secretary of War Stanton March 30 1863 which survives in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Holt dismissed the "mitigating circumstances" referenced by Lincoln - Williams's supposedly "severe sickness" - and concluded that "It is evident that Lieut. Williams left his command on the battlefield and returned to Washington without leave and in known violation of orders and of his duty. . . .He has shown himself disqualified for the profession of arms." On April 8th Stanton in turn forwarded Holt's deposition to the President "as requested by his note on the 18th Ulto" that is the present letter. Lincoln ended the matter with his own terse endorsement on April 11th: "I decline to interfere in Behalf of Lieut. Williams" Basler 4:169. Although referred to in Basler's note regarding Lincoln's endorsement the present letter does not appear in "The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln". Signed by Authors. No Binding. Very Good/No Jacket. unknown books
1864réf. 2373223/04/1864. A search of public sale records going back 40 years fails to turn up even one other example of this document After the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12 1861 enthusiasm for enlisting in military service swept through both the North and South. In remarkable speed two large volunteer armies were created. Except for a tiny number of professional soldiers all expected to be in service for a brief term. Not just soldiers but the public and political leaders had fooled themselves about the war's likely duration. However the patriotic hope on each side that the war would be over in a matter of weeks or months was dashed in the first battle of Bull Run on July 21 1861. By late 1862 no sensible person believed that an early end to the bloody strife was possible and the knowledgeable expected peace to be far off in the future. Facing a protracted war maintaining a sufficiently sizable army became the greatest problem facing both Union leader Abraham Lincoln and Confederate leader Jefferson Davis. In 1862 rather than institute a draft President Lincoln requested 300000 more men and assigned each state a quota. The states could meet their quota in any manner they saw fit. Most states offered cash incentives known as bounties to gain recruits. Depending on where one enlisted the combination of local state and federal bounties could exceed $1000. But the 1862 policy also did not recruit enough troops. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-24611 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204150003/Lincoln-April-23-1864-2-1600x602.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""602"" /> As the war dragged on with no end in sight the inflow of volunteers was drying up and the Union needed to keep the ranks filled. The U.S. Congress resorted to the first draft in the country’s history in March 1863. All able-bodied men between ages 20 and 45 were required to be enrolled and available for military service. Draftees were chosen by lottery. Once conscripted a man could avoid service for that particular round of the draft either by paying a $300 commutation fee or by hiring a substitute to take his place. As in the South this raised accusations that the war had become “a rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight.” Nevertheless in both North and South statistics indicate that wealthy men were represented in the service in at least the same proportion as they were in the general population. A lot of blood was spilled in 1863 with the battles of Chancellorsville Gettysburg Vicksburg Chickamauga and Chattanooga among others. By year’s end President Lincoln and the Union leadership realized that more men were needed for the army and urgently. On February 1 1864 Lincoln called for 500000 men to serve for three years or for the duration of the war. Then on March 15 he supplemented this with a call for 250000 more. There would be another draft call in December 1864 but it was never completed due to the impending end of the war. The March 1864 draft call stated: “Washington March 15 1864. In order to supply the force required to be drafted for the Navy and to provide an adequate reserve force for all contingencies in addition to the 500000 men called for Feb. 1 1864 the call is hereby made and a draft ordered for Two Hundred Thousand men for the military service – Army Navy and Marine corps of the United States. The proportional quotas for the different wards towns townships precincts or election districts or counties will be made known through the Provost Marshall General’s bureau and account will be taken of the credits and deficiencies of former quotas. The 15th day of April 1864 is designated as the time up to which the numbers required from each ward of a city town etc. may be raised by voluntary enlistment; and drafts will be made in each ward of a city town etc. which shall not have filled the quota assigned to it within the time designated for the number required to fill said quota. The draft will be commenced as soon after the 15th of April as practicable…” It took little more than a week for everything to be in place. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-24623 size-full"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204145931/My-Movie-177ygbhbj.gif"" alt="""" width=""1920"" height=""1080"" /> The mechanics of the draft were that each state and district within a state were assigned quotas and the President would order that each state’s draft numbers and districts be implemented. This was the actual order for the draft. Then each individual district would receive from the President details of its requirements in a circular letter. One sees these individual district circular letters on the market every now and then. But what one never sees is the order to implement the draft for a state assigning the districts and number of troops being called forth. In fact a search of public sale records going back 40 years fails to turn up another example nor have we seen one before. Document signed as President Washington April 23 1864 being Lincoln’s implementation order for New York. “I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to the apportionment of the quota of troops to be furnished by the State of New York from its several districts dated and this day signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant.” An extremely rare if not unique document showing Lincoln raising troops on the macro level of a state. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-23729 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204152429/Folder-site-7-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1863réf. 423266New York: Baker & Godwin Printers and Publishers Printing-House Square opposite City Hall 1863. Softcover. Very Good. The earliest publication of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in book form preceded only by the exceptionally scarce 16-page pamphlet The Gettysburg Solemnities. Octavo. Stitched in the original printed wrapper with a publisher's advertisement on the rear wrap. pp. 1-3 4-48. Modest overall toning and rubbing to the wrapper some fraying at the corners part of the paper along the spine back is perished one vertical stain at the front wrap and title page a very good copy with a few scattered contemporary brown ink markings. Very light contemporary ownership name in pencil at the top of the front wrap. Housed in a fine quarter blue morocco slipcase with gilt spine lettering and two raised bands and with an internal cloth chemise. "Collection of Foreman M. Lebold" stamped in gold on the front cover of the slipcase. Foreman M. Lebold was a noted collector of Lincoln material and the eldest brother of Nathan Leopold one of the infamous Leopold and Loeb teenage thrill killers convicted of the murder of Bobby Franks which captured the attention of the nation. Foreman like much of his family eventually changed his last name to Lebold because of the notoriety of the trial. Lincoln delivered his speech at the dedication ceremony of the Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19 1863 about four months after the pivotal battle that turned the tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union. His speech was preceded by an Oration by Edward Everett the most famous orator of the day. Everett's oration printed here in full took about two hours to deliver and is now largely forgotten. Lincoln's address was delivered in only a few minutes and is now celebrated as the supreme distillation of American values and testament to the sacrifices necessary to achieve freedom for all Americans. It is printed on page 40 of this booklet under the title: "The dedicatory remarks were then delivered by the President as follows: / President Lincoln's Speech. / Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation ." A well-preserved copy in the original wrappers. Sabin 23263; Printing and the Mind of Man 351. Baker & Godwin, Printers and Publishers, Printing-House Square, opposite City Hall unknown
1799réf. 12534Paris: Du Pont 1799. Three engraved maps 465 by 420 mm 550 by 340 mm and 530 by 350 mm respectively with fine contemporary hand-colour in full old folds. These maps from the library of the Rochambeau family were published in the first edition of Rochefoucauld-Liancourt's travels in the United States 'Voyage Dans les États-Unis D'Amérique Fait en 1795 1796 et 1797 " Paris 1799 annotated in an early 19th-century hand after Abraham Bradley Junior's 1796 map 'A Map of the United States. Exhibiting Post Roads & Distances'. They are reduced copies of the 1796 first edition of Bradley's map and are therefore the first French edition of these maps. The Comte de Rochambeau 1725-1807 was a battle-hardened French general chosen by King Louis XVI in 1780 to command the expeditionary corps in the United States under the orders of General George Washington. Their combined success at the Siege of Yorktown on the 19th of October 1781 ended the Revolutionary War and secured American independence. 1."Carte générale des États-Unis de l'Amérique Septentrionale divisée en ses 17 provinces" annotated in an early 19th-century hand numbering each of 16 states giving the location of Native American tribes providing a key showing the major post roads from Main to South Carolina all after Abraham Bradley's map of 1796 acknowledged by the inscriber who has replaced the imprint with "par Abraham Bradley Jun.r" This map of the East Coast extends from Quebec south to include part of East and West Florida; the western boundary of Georgia extends to the Mississippi River; a strip of land extending westward between Georgia and Tennessee is designated "United States Territory" having been ceded back to the United States in 1787 from South Carolina; another strip between Georgia and West Florida is "Land claimed by the united states" referring to the ongoing dispute between the United States and Spain; all the land to the west which would become the Louisiana Purchase is "Spanish Territory Louisiana." English captions and French title. Manuscript ink annotations in French indicating the names of the 17 states and the position of the Indian tribes. Ink manuscript inscription to verso "IK 403" shelfmark of Rochambeau family library and as "Etats-Unis en 17 provinces." 2. The "Carte des États-Unis Provinces méridionales" shows Kentucky Virginia Tennessee North and South Carolina Georgia a strip of land between Tennessee and Georgia as "United States Territory" and to the south of Georgia "Land claimed by the united states". 3. The "Carte des États-Unis provinces Septentrionales" shows the states from Main sic to Maryland and Delaware. François Alexandre Frédéric duc de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt 1747-1827 was a French writer and courtier. A social and scientific reformer he was elected to the Estates-General and pushed for changes to the absolute monarchy of France. Rochefoucauld-Liancourt was the first to warn Louis XVI of the fall of the Bastille; when the king called it a revolt Rochefoucauld Liancourt replied "No sire it is a revolution". Despite being sympathetic to the original aims of the Revolution and serving as the first president of the Constituent Assembly he opposed republicanism and secretly tried to arrange for the escape of the king. Following the storming of the royal palace in August 1792 and the beginning of the September Massacres later that same year precipitated his flight from France and he went into self-imposed exile in America. From London in September 1794 Angelica Schuyler Church wrote to her brother-in-law Alexander Hamilton with a glowing introduction. Liancourt made his was to Philadelphia in November and travelled extensively from "le Haute-Canada" above Lake Ontario to Charleston South Carolina taking notes on everything from the economy to slavery to agriculture. After returning to France in 1799 when Napoleon took power he published his analysis as an eight-volume work in which these maps were published. Related Letters and Historic Background Angelica Church to Alexander Hamilton September 19 1794: "My dear Brother I have very particular and very good motives to ask your kindness for the Duke de Liancourt. he loved Liberty with good sence and moderation; and he meant so well towards his country as to introduce into France a better system of Agriculture and to soften the situation of the Lower class of people there: Virtue has not found its reward for in the many scenes of distress that has afflicted his unfortunate country he like many more good men has been obliged to leave his possessions and seek an Asylum in this country. He goes to America and goes there without a friend unless my dear Brother who is always so good will extend to Monsieur de Liancourt his ease. besides many good Qualities this gentleman is the friend of the Marquis de La Fayette. Angelica Church." On April 10 1795 Liancourt wrote to Hamilton in a letter docketed by the recipient and then later by his widow Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. Rough translation from French: "You have allowed me to count on your interest Monsieur and this without complaint a hope for which I am flattered. I am herewith asking you to prove it which I hope will be one for you interest since it seems to me not being a stranger to you. I am at the point of leaving for a voyage that will take me as far as Canada. I will enter the United States through the province of Maine from there for another voyage in the east There are introduction letters to principle places that I am due to visit that I would be more pleased to get from you rather than anyone else. If you agree as I think you will to give them to me would you please send them to General Knox in the province of Maine where I will be until the end of July. I flatter myself that you will excuse my importunity!." Although France and the United States had been allies since 1778 political developments in both countries damaged the relationship. The French Revolution was viewed by Federalists like Alexander Hamilton as a dangerous precedent; and the ensuing wars between Britain and France placed the neutral United States in a precarious position. Relations deteriorated further on the signing of Jay's Treaty 1794 with Great Britain. France ordered the seizure of American ships carrying British goods and in 1796 the French refused to admit American diplomats. This impasse led to the XYZ Affair which provoked Congress in turn to suspend commercial relations with France and to authorize American warships to seize armed French vessels. This undeclared naval war lasted for three years with the United States capturing about eighty-five French vessels Du Pont, unknown
1863réf. 31428New York: Baker & Godwin 1863. 8vo. 9 x 5 5/8 inches. 48pp. Publisher's lettered wrappers publisher's ad on rear wrapper. Repair to paper spine. Within a modern box. "Four score and seven years ago.": the earliest publication of the Gettysburg Address in book form preceded only by the exceptionally rare sixteen-page pamphlet The Gettysburg Solemnities known in only three copies. Lincoln made his speech at the dedication of a cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield some four months after the bloody and pivotal battle that turned the tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union. Lincoln's speech was preceded by an address from Edward Everett the most famous orator of his day. Everett's speech took some ninety minutes to deliver and is largely forgotten. Lincoln's speech delivered in only a few minutes is immortal. It is a supreme distillation of American values and of the sacrifices necessary for the survival of liberty and freedom. "The Washington Chronicle of 18-21 November reported extensively on this ceremony and included a verbatim text of 'Edward Everett's Great Oration.' On the fourth day it noted in passing that the President had also made a speech but gave no details. When it came to the separate publication on 22 November Everett's 'Oration' was reprinted from the standing type but Lincoln's speech had to be set up. It was tucked away as a final paragraph on page 16 of the pamphlet The Gettysburg Solemnities. It was similarly treated when the meanly produced leaflet was replaced by a 48-page booklet published by Baker and Godwin of New York in the same year" PMM. Lincoln's address appears on page 40 and parenthetical notes are added indicating "applause" and "long-continued applause." A diagram on page 32 gives the details of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. Howes E232 "b"; Monaghan 193; Grolier American 100 72 note; Streeter Sale 1747; Sabin 23263; cf. Printing and the Mind of Man 351; Garry Wills Lincoln at Gettysburg pp.191-204. Baker & Godwin unknown books
1846réf. 3117130/03/1846. At the time Lincoln wrote this he was running for Congress It shows the relationship between perhaps the most famous senior and junior law partners https://vimeo.com/943731365share=copy In his nearly 25 years as a lawyer in Springfield Illinois Abraham Lincoln had three partners. He joined John Todd Stuart as a junior partner then started a new practice as a junior partner with Stephen T. Logan. In 1844 Lincoln and Logan took on William H. Herndon. In the fall of 1844 Lincoln was tired of being a junior partner. He had worked for senior partners with political ambitions and Lincoln wanted a younger partner to whom he could relate. Logan and Lincoln dissolved their partnership in December 1844. Logan wanted to practice law with his son David and Lincoln wanted to start his own law firm. In October Lincoln invited his friend William Herndon to form a partnership with Herndon as junior partner. Thus was born Lincoln and Herndon. The firm would become a legend. In all three firms Lincoln functioned as a general practitioner taking a wide variety of civil and criminal cases. Herndon did not disappoint his friend. He contributed to the practice by performing research for his older and more experienced partner building the firm's law library and overseeing young men who came to study law read the law at their office. Business began slowly for the new firm. Not until March 1845 was their first case heard in the Sangamon County Circuit Court. That first case was Hope v. Beebe et al and was action in debt with Lincoln and Herndon appearing for plaintiff and Logan for defendant. Here is a description of that case: A plaintiff Norwood had won a replevin suit against the Beebee also spelled Beebe Brothers in the U. S. Circuit Court Beebee Brothers v. Whitney & Norwood. Hope the marshal of the U. S. Circuit Court District of Illinois to help Norwood collect what he was owed retained Lincoln and Herndon and sued Beebee and others in an action of debt the intent being to collect money ordered paid by the court. Beebee and others named on the replevin bond in the federal suit failed to perform the obligation of bond - they did not or would not pay. Beebee claimed that he was unable to pay because of another suit that Norwood instituted against Beebee. On March 18 1845 the case was continued and heard again in July when Lincoln filed documents allowing for concessions on both sides. It was again continued until March of 1846. Lincoln with the help of Herndon then drafted another document seemingly pointing to the another aspect of the suit and explaining why the plaintiff should not have to drop the suit. In 1846 Lincoln was running for what would be his first elected position Congressman. In August he won that election and served one term. In March he was campaigning and seeking to gain support. Autograph document signed ""Lincoln & Herndon"" Springfield late March 1846 in the hand of both partners showing their collaboration. It begins in Lincoln's hand: “And for further replication"" before switching to Herndons for the lines"" to the said plea of the said defendants by them above pleaded said plaintiff says that to be further precluded from maintaining his said action against said defendants because of the matters in said plea alleged he ought not because he says that since the pleading of the last plea by said defendants to wit on — day of February AD 1846 the said replevin suit by the said Norwood and Turner against the said Beebees in the Said plea mentioned was by the same court at which it was pending determined in favor of the said Beebees and against the said Norwood and Turner and by the judgment of said court a return of the bacon in the plea mentioned.” Lincoln hand wrote the balance: “…Mentioned was awarded to the said Beebees and also adjudged that the said Beebees should recover of and from the said Norwood and Turner the sum of $650 damages and costs of suit and this he is ready to verify. Wherefore he prays judgment.” At that time Lincoln was preparing for his run for Congress his only national election until 1860. The parties would later reach an agreement in March 1847 and the court dismissed the case. Lincoln and Herndon received fees of $25 for their legal services. A final version of this filed document is published by the Papers of Abraham Lincoln as is the judge's further March 1846 continuance. The present document is three pieces affixed either by Lincoln or at a later date. This is the only paperwork from Lincoln and Herndon’s first case we have ever seen on the market. <img class=""alignnone size-post-window wp-image-25018"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1863réf. 32820640Mammoth albumen print 17 ½ x 22 in mounted oval gilt-rule mat. Retouched vignetted enlargement. A few spots some toning. Very good condition. This famous "Gettysburg portrait" with Lincoln looking directly into the camera was made just days before he delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19 1863. A giant of American photography Alexander Gardner is credited with introducing the large-format Imperial portrait to the United States while working as a staff photographer for Mathew Brady. Gardner left Brady's employ in early 1863 and his studio quickly rivaled Brady's for the quality and extent of its war and portrait photography. Gardner first photographed Lincoln as president-elect while working for Brady and he went on to take Lincoln's portrait more than any other photographer. Lincoln sat for Gardner on several occasions usually visiting his studio on Sunday to avoid crowds. Lincoln sat for this splendid portrait on Sunday November 8 1863. His private secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay joined him. Hay noted in his diary that "We had a great many pictures taken … some of the Prest. the best I have seen." This print emphasizes Lincoln's head and shoulders enlarging them to a size rarely seen. The gilt-ruled paper mat is characteristic of the 1860s and 1870s with this style of mat being popular during this period. Moses Rice subsequently had access to Gardner's negatives and routinely signed his prints with his name suggesting that Gardner himself made this enlargement. He died in 1882. The photography session of November 8 1863 also produced the mammoth portrait we offer for $95000. That photograph and the present are among the only early mammoth Lincoln portraits we have ever encountered. This is the only mammoth example of the famous Gettysburg portrait that we have seen. Ostendorf O-77
1851réf. 3655813/09/1851. This is our first such document <img class=""alignnone wp-image-36570 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260526171629/Lincoln-Sept-13-1851-1-1600x604.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""604"" /> John H. Harris was a hatter in New York and then in South Carolina. In 1833 he came to Illinois to scout the land and in 1835 he returned with a group of prospective settlers from New York who established themselves in what became the town of Tremont. Harris laid out the village built a schoolhouse and built a church. He was clearly a major local booster and land developer. When there was a possibility for Tremont to become the county seat of Tazewell County in 1836 John Harris donated 20 acres of land and the citizens raised $2000 to bring the county seat to the town. Harris married Catharine Montross in 1815 with whom he had four children before her death. In 1843 he married Sarah Holder with whom he had one child. In 1860 Harris was a farmer living in Tremont with his second wife and their son and he owned $5000 in real estate and $400 in personal property. Abraham Lincoln represented Harris in three cases in the Tazewell County Circuit Court two of which he won and one of which Lincoln lost and appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. This is the famous case of Harris v. Shaw. In 1850 Harris brought suit in the Tazewell County Circuit Court to obtain compensation by reason of the removal of the county seat of Tazewell County from Tremont to Pekin. This was because of his gift of the piece of ground in the public square of Tremont to the county on the condition that the county seat be located there. The judgment of the Court was against Harris and he carried the case to the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois. He employed Lincoln as his attorney. The Supreme Court case was heard on Jan. 24th and 25th 1851 in the city of Springfield. It was taken under advisement by the Court. Almost a year later February 4 1852 the Supreme Court finally affirmed the judgment of the lower court on the premise that in no part of the contract between Harris and the County was it stated that the county seat should remain forever as located. So Lincoln lost this case. As for Lincoln’s fee for the case and appeal he received $50 in cash upfront and a promissory note for another $100 due a year later — a total fee of $150 for the case. It is interesting to note that Lincoln had argued a similar case shortly before Harris v Shaw. This one was Adams et al. v the County of Logan and he had represented the County - and won. This is a very rare receipt for Lincoln’s legal services. It is our first. Autograph document signed Pekin Ill. September 13 1851. “Received Pekin Sept. 13th 1851 of John H. Harris fifty dollars in cash and his note for one hundred dollars due one year hence in full for my services done and to be done about his suit for the old court house property at Tremont. A. Lincoln.” In another earlier case in which Harris used Lincoln’s legal services Harris sued a Mr. Dean in an action of debt. The ruled against Harris and Harris retained Lincoln and appealed to the Tazewell County Circuit Court. A jury found for Harris and awarded him $19.95. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1863réf. 192290Springfield Illinois: 22 January 1863. Lincoln intercedes for two runaway boys On the verso of a letter to Stanton from Illinois Governor Richard Yates 1815-1873 the president writes "The families to which these boys belong are among my old acquaintances. A. Lincoln. Jan. 22 1863". Yates 1815-1873 was a longtime friend of Lincoln's. His letter dated 12 January 1863 states that "Thomas E. Clark and Jonathan C. Bergen of Petersburg in this state respectively 17 and 16 years of age left home some time during the last month without the consent of their parents and joined the 2nd Reg't U.S Cavalry stationed at Carlyle Barrack Pa". Yates requests to Stanton that "Messrs Clark & Bergen are both respectable & loyal citizens and you will oblige me by discharging these boys from the service of the United States". Petersburg Illinois is near New Salem where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. Lincoln also received letters from the fathers George S. Bergen and David Clark which he referred to the Adjutant General of the Army Lorenzo Thomas on 21 January Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Vol. 8 1953 p. 509. Although no one under 18 could legally enlist without the written consent of a parent or guardian many did so. By one recent estimate underage enlistees accounted for roughly a tenth of the Union forces Clarke & Plant. Parents filed thousands of petitions with Union authorities and state courts to secure their children's discharge. Here the families were sufficiently well-connected to appeal at the highest level; Lincoln's endorsement implies that the request was granted. Provenance: Elsie O. and Philip D. Sang their sale at Sotheby Parke Bernet 1978 lot 484; Louise Taper Beverly Hills California; acquired by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation as part of the Taper Collection 2007; sold by the Foundation at Freeman's Hindman in their Lincoln's Legacy sale 2025 lot 78. Single sheet on State of Illinois Executive Department letterhead 253 x 197 mm handwritten by Yates on recto endorsed by Lincoln on verso. Central folds repaired still in very good condition. The endorsement is published in Roy P. Basler The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln First Supplement 1974 page 175. Frances M. Clarke & Rebecca Jo Plant Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era 2022. unknown
1861réf. 377541861. It also includes the rules issued to the incoming prisoners taken in during the suspension of Habeas Corpus at the infamous Fort Lafayette by its Commander Charles Wood A remarkable group without precedent in its scope in our experience <img class=""alignnone wp-image-37759 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260902194337/Lincoln-Oct-29-1861-1-1600x948.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""948"" /> In the opening months of 1861 with South Carolina out of the Union and other Southern states having called conventions to declare secession feeling was divided in Maryland. The tobacco counties of southern Maryland and the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay were secessionist. The grain-growing counties of northern and western Maryland containing few slaves were safe for the Union. But the loyalty of Baltimore with a third of the state’s population was suspect. President-elect Lincoln had to pass through Baltimore on his way to Washington for his inauguration. Allan Pinkerton's detectives uncovered a plot to murder him as he moved through Baltimore so he famously had to pass through in stealth and disguise. After the war broke out on April 12 1861 Confederate flags appeared on many Baltimore homes and buildings. On April 19 as the 6th Massachusetts Infantry marched through Baltimore headed to protect the capital there was a riot and a number of soldiers were killed by the mob. Pro-Confederate Baltimore activists cut the telegraph lines north pulled marking buoys from the harbor to prevent ship entry and destroyed bridges to make train access almost impossible while groups of citizens went to the White House to demand that no Northern troops be sent through Baltimore. In these early days of the war chaos reigned and suspicions of Southern sympathies were readily flung. John Williams a Baltimore-born steamship agent who had spent several years living and working in Norfolk Virginia was one of them. In early August 1861 Williams traveled to Boston where he checked into the Parker House under a false name and had shaved his mustache. The city's U.S. Marshal alerted that a man of some prominence from ""Secessia"" was in town traced him through the office of a steamship company after a two-day search. Once apprehended Williams acknowledged his true identity and according to a contemporary newspaper account of the arrest admitted to holding a commission — that of Major — in the Confederate army though the report qualified this as secondhand information and it may not have been so. The New York Times reprinted a story from the Boston Herald that covered his arrest under the headline ""Rebel Spy Arrested in Boston."" He said he had been in Richmond on the day of the Battle of Bull Run and that his purpose in Boston was to arrange payment for cotton belonging to Massachusetts owners that had been left in his charge as steamship agent and subsequently seized by Confederate authorities in Virginia. He was arrested and confined at Fort Lafayette the infamous military prison in New York Harbor then holding dozens of similarly detained civilians including several of Baltimore's arrested police commissioners and the sitting mayor of Washington D.C. In immediate command over the Fort Lafayette prisoners was Lieutenant Charles 0. Wood who was described as “brutal” by many of the prisoners. He had been a baggage handler on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad before the war and had received his commission it was said from President Lincoln as a reward for successfully smuggling Lincoln’s baggage through Baltimore prior to his inaugurations When originally converted to a prison the fort was believed capable of holding up to fifty POWs. From the very beginning however twenty were held in each battery while nine to ten were held in each casemate. Before long there were often thirty-five to a battery and up to thirty in a casemate. . . . When the prisoners arrived at Fort Lafayette they were escorted to the office of Lieutenant Wood where again they were searched and had their names recorded. All their money was confiscated; they were given a receipt and then shown to their quarters. Williams's family and friends mounted a sustained campaign on his behalf almost immediately. Character references arrived from Norfolk and Baltimore attesting to his loyalty and denying he held any real military rank or authority — an odd claim given his own admission. His wife unable to reach Union territory easily from Confederate-held Norfolk required a military flag of truce simply to travel north. In the end her plight would make it from John Dix to Winfield Scott to William Seward to Abraham Lincoln. By late September Williams had declined to take the oath of allegiance required for release; by early October the War Department set firm terms — the oath plus a personal bond of $10000 guaranteeing his future loyalty to be approved by the United States District Attorney. A bond in that amount was drawn up in New York in late October executed jointly by Williams's son as principal and four sureties including Williams's own father and three other men. A joint bond however exposed each surety to the entire $10000 obligation should any of the others prove unable to pay — a meaningful risk for men who in some cases were only business or personal connections rather than family. Baltimore's Provost Marshal George R. Dodge functioned as the intermediary between the family and the military/War Department chain — writing on Williams's behalf to Butler and Dix forwarding Seward's letters relaying Dix's instructions. Williams's wife Cecilia decided to travel directly to Washington meet the President and press for her son's release and for the bond to be restructured so that each surety's liability would be several or individually fixed rather than joint. After a full day of frustration — hours waiting at the White House hours more waiting for Secretary of State Seward who never appeared — she and a companion finally intercepted President Lincoln in person. He heard her out and in a tone characteristically restrained even in victory said that while he never interfered with his Secretary of State's decisions he thought the bond might indeed be made several rather than joint. He gave her a note to that effect. Within days the change was formally authorized: each of the four sureties would be liable for $2500 rather than the whole $10000. Williams was released from Fort Lafayette sometime in the following weeks and was corresponding freely from his father's Baltimore address by mid-December 1861. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-37760 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260902194446/Lincoln-Oct-29-1861-B-1-1600x869.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""869"" /> The 19-piece archive: There is a nineteen-piece archive documenting running from prison regulations issued days before Williams's arrival at Fort Lafayette through correspondence addressed to him as a free man in Baltimore that December. Selected items are transcribed here in full; the remainder are described and available for inspection. - The note Lincoln handed Williams' mother after encountering her walking by the White House fence Autograph document signed Washington October 29 1861 directing Seward to see Mrs. Williams given to Mrs. Williams by a fence post in the garden of the White House. ""Sec. of State please see this lady – She wishes the bond may be several & not joint. I think it might be so. A. Lincoln."" - An original set of rules for Fort Lafayette prisoners signed by the head of prisoners Charles Wood. Document signed Fort Lafayette August 3 1861. ""Instructions for the Guidance of Citizen Prisoners confined at this Post"" Fort Lafayette N.Y.H. August 3 1861. Standing prison regulations issued before Williams's own arrival transcribed here in full: Regulations for the guidance of Citizen Prisoners confined at this Post. §1. The rooms of the prisoners will be ready for inspection at 9 o'clock A.M. all cleaning etc. will be done by the Prisoners themselves unless otherwise directed all washing will be done in the yard. §2. No conversation will be allowed with any member of this garrison and all necessary communications in regard to their wants will be made to the Sergeant of the Guard. §3. No Prisoner will leave his room without the permission of the Sergt. of the Guard who will allow them to go to the privy every other hour during day time and twice after midnight at night. §4. Prisoners will avoid all conversations on the political affairs of this Country within hearing of any member of this garrison. §5. Light will be allowed in the prisoners' rooms until 9.15 P.M. after this hour all talking or noise of any kind will cease. §6. The Prisoners will obey implicitly the directions of any member of the Guard. §7. Cases of sickness should be reported at 7 A.M. §8. Any transgressions of the foregoing rules will be corrected by solitary confinement or such other restrictions as may be required to the strict enforcement thereof."" - Winfield Scott intervenes permitting Cecilia Williams to visit her husband. Letter signed Winfield Scott Head Quarters of the Army Washington October 25 1861. ""Mrs. Cecilia A. Williams will be permitted to visit her husband John Williams a prisoner confined at Fort Lafayette. Winfield Scott."" - Cecilia Williams describes her meeting with Lincoln and her receipt of this note. Autograph letter signed Cecilia A. Williams to her father Baltimore October 31 1861. ""My dear Father After a hard days work I take my pen to endeavor to explain matters to you. I wrote you we were going to Washington. Accordingly on Tuesday night I went to Mr. Mentyell's house that we might be able to start in the early train. We arrived in Washington soon after daylight Wednesday and went to the President's house and sent up our letter but there were already 20 persons waiting for him and we were told to call at 1 o'clock as that was the best time for ladies. We then went to the State Department but Mr. Seward was not to be seen. His son read our letter from Gen. Dix and when we explained what we wanted he thought it could be done. We waited 3 hours for Secretary Seward but he did not come and we went back to the President caught him finally in a fence corner and told him what we wanted. He understood the matter directly and said though he never interfered with the Secretary yet he thought the bond might be made severally instead of jointly and gave us a note to Mr. Seward to that effect. We then returned to the State Department and saw his son again. He said it was no use to wait for his father that the proper documents would be sent to the District attorney in Balt. this Thursday morning. We returned to Balt. in the afternoon train and bright and early this morning Mr. Mentyell and myself went to Mr. Addison's office saying if Mr. Seward's letter came to hand saying that the other parties were reliable men the bond might be severally instead of jointly. Mr. Addison said we could have another bond drawn up and get it signed and sealed and get a letter from Mr. Deford saying the securities were reliable and he would fix it with the District Attorney in New York. We then went by Mr. Addison's instructions to Mr. Hanan U.S. Commissioner and he drew up the bond and we brought the signers except yourself to his office and had everything fixed and sealed with the U. States Seal and took it with Mr. Deford's letter saying the securities were reliable to Mr. Addison. He first said we could send it on by our friend Mr. Lawton but on reading Mr. Seward's letter a second time he said there was a mistake and the bond would have to go to Washington and be forwarded to the district attorney in New York. He promised me faithfully he would write to Mr. Seward this afternoon and send it and the bond on and also mention for fear of another delay that Fort Lafayette struck through should be changed to Fort Warren. ""Now my dear father do not be discouraged I am very hopeful that it is nearer right than it has ever been because we have both Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward in our favor and the most you can do is to see the district attorney constantly because it is to be sent to him and you must put your signature to make the bond complete. It is best therefore for you to be in New York because as soon as it comes to the attorney you can sign and I would not hesitate to press my suit keep at him till it is finished night and day but I need not urge you I know your perseverance. ""I wish you would telegraph as soon as it comes we will be so much relieved but Mr. Mentyell and I are going again to Washington on Saturday to see if the papers have been sent on and that I hope will be the last of your travelling and mine on this errand and soon we hope to have you both with us. My trust and confidence is in my Heavenly Father that he will give us the desire of our heart. P.S. I suppose there is no doubt about his taking the oath now do you think there is after all this extra trouble Perhaps you had better write and tell him and comfort him all you can. I think all now will depend on himself in haste. Does he know that he has to take the oath and give bond also"" <img class=""alignnone wp-image-37761 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260902194603/Lincoln-Oct-29-1861-C-1-1600x951.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""951"" /> There are other documents in the group including: - Fort Lafayette receipt August 11 1861 for $59.89 in cash taken from Williams on intake itemized as good paper bank notes gold and silver. - A three-part exchange August 13–15 1861 concerning a visit by Williams's father signed by General J. Dix George Dodge and Col. Martin Burke attempting successfully to enlist the help of Winfield Scott. - Letter from a Lt. Wm. H. Wiegel to Cecilia Williams Norfolk Va. Fortress Monroe August 21 1861 forwarding a letter from her brother via flag of truce and offering to arrange her safe passage to Baltimore through Confederate lines. - Letter of introduction Naval Office Custom House Baltimore August 31 1861 to Simon Cameron Secretary of War vouching for Williams as ""a firm supporter of the government."" - Letter from Marshall George R. Dodge to Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler Baltimore September 12 1861 stating that Williams ""arrested in Boston as a rebel and charged with having been commissioned by the Confederate authorities has not at any time been under our surveillance"" and that Baltimore authorities had no charge against him. - A long Norfolk citizens' affidavit undated attesting to the fact that Williams was a simple commercial agent and had no military commission signed by several prominent businessmen. - Retained copies of letters of Secretary Seward and a letter of Dodge forwarding at least one. - Letter sending a pass from Lt. H. Van Rensselaer to Mrs. C. A. Williams October 25 1861 stating that: ""I enclose pass to visit your husband no passes are given to males."" - The original $10000 indemnity bond dated October 26/27 1861. A printed instrument docket: ""Dated October 26th 1861""; body: ""twenty-seventh day of October"" binding John Williams Jr. as principal and John Williams Sr. Thomas Jenkins James Flack and George McComas as sureties jointly in the sum of $10000 conditioned on Williams's observance of his oath of allegiance. Witnessed by E. Delafield Smith and Stewart L. Woodford notary public; affidavits of the sureties' worth sworn before John Hanan U.S. Commissioner October 27 1861. - Undated pass ""Pass the bearer to and from Fort Warren"" to Capt. Davidson Steamer Asst. signed Wm. H. McKim Capt. A.Q.M. - Letter from the same Chas. F. Wood now 1st Lieut. 9th Infty to John Williams Esq. Baltimore December 16 1861. Returning his pistol and noting four others belonging to fellow prisoners were sent to Col. Dimmick commanding Fort Warren. A remarkably complete archive showing not only Lincoln's clemency but the chaos and accusations of the early months of the war and containing a first hand account of meeting Lincoln himself. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1720réf. 37027A AMSTERDAM: TOMO 1º 4ª et Dernière Edition corrigée et augmentée Chez Zacharie Chatelain 1739 Avec Privilege; TOMO 2º primera parte Nouvelle Edition Chez L'Honore & Chatelain Libraires 1720; TOMO 3º o segunda parte del tomo segundo Nouvelle Edition Chez L'Honore & Châtelain Libraires 1720; TOMO 4º Nouvelle Edition revue corrigée et considerablement augmentée Chez Zacharie Chatelain 1725; TOMO 5º Seconde Edition corrigée et augmentée Chez Zacharie Châtelain 1732 Avec Privilege; TOMO 6º Seconde Edition corrigée et augmentée Chez Zacharie Chatelain 1732 Avec Privilege; TOMO 7º & dernier Chez Zacharie Chatelain Libraire 1732 Avec Privilege.- CONTIENE CADA VOLUMEN: TOMO 1º 8 h. 8p. 2 h. 2 h. 8 p. 2 h. 9-24 p. 14 h. 25-38 p. 5 h. 39-50 p. 3 h. 51-66 p. 10 h. 67-74 p. 12 h. 75-82 p. 8 h.: Con 46 grabados al cobre a saber 1 in-frontis grabado por B. Picort 26 mapas plegados 19 cuadros genealógicos heráldicos y cuadros sinópticos de historia muchos plegados. TOMO 2º primera parte 8 h. 12 p. 6 h. 13-18 p. 5 h. 19-30 p. 4 h. 31-44 p. 4 h. 45-58 p. 12 h. 59-66 p. 17 h. 67-90 p. 6 h.: Con 37 grabados al cobre a saber 1 in-frontis grabado por Sluyter 12 mapas plegados 25 cuadros genealógicos heráldicos y síntesis históricas muchos plegados hasta en tres partes / además 7 textos impresos que van numerados correlativamente con los grabados. TOMO 3º o segunda parte del tomo segundo 6 h. 91-120 p. 20 h. 121-130 p. 6 h. 131-136 p. 17 h. 137-144 p. 10 h. 145-154 p. 4 h. 155-162 p. 8 h. 2 h.: Con 30 grabados al cobre a saber 18 mapas muchos plegados 12 cuadros genealógicos históricos administrativos etc. bellamente ilustrados / además 6 textos impresos con aclaraciones históricas que van numerados correlativamente con los grabados. TOMO 4º 6 h. 14 p. 5 h. 15-62 p. 31 h. 63-70 p. 19 h. 71-86 p. 6 h. 87-98 p. 13 h.: Con 30 grabados al cobre a saber 1 in-frontis por P. Siurter 15 mapas plegados 18 cuadros genealógicos láminas de costumbres y enumeración de muchas casas reales con sus reyes escudos de armas y blasones. TOMO 5º 4 h. IV p. 2 h. 196 p. pero son 198 p. ya que se repite por error el nº 127-128 : Con 58 grabados al cobre a saber 1 in-frontis 13 mapas plegados 44 cuadros genealógicos sinopsis históricas cuadros de costumbres con ilustraciones. TOMO 6º 1 h. IV p. 2 h. 166 p. por error de impresión la página nº 48 figura con el nº 41 pero continúa correctamente la numeración: Con 38 grabados al cobre a saber 16 mapas plegados 22 láminas con sinopsis históricas cuadros de costumbres plantas y animales descripción y planos de ciudades reyes etc. NO TIENE LA LAMINA Nº 30 "CARTE TRES CURIEUSE DE LA MER DU SUD" PERO HA SIDO FIELMENTE REPRODUCIDA EN FACSIMIL Y ESTA BELLAMENTE ILUMINADA. TOMO 7º 2 h. IV p. 2 h. 112 p.: Con 40 grabados al cobre a saber 1 grabado in-frontis por B. Picaut 9 mapas plegados 32 grabados plegados con cuadros genealógicos de las casas reales escudos y blasones órdenes de caballería y sus escudos y cuadros históricos ilustrados / también lleva impresas 4 síntesis de Historia Sagrada que van correlativamente numeradas con los grabados; En gran folio 465 x 304 cm.; Excelente impresión a 2 columnas sobre magnífico y grueso papel de hilo verjurado; Portada a dos tintas; Texto en francés; Enc. de la época en Plena Piel pasta antigua lomo con 7 nervios y cuajado en oro. La encuadernación tiene las esquinas rozadas y con pequeñas faltas de piel la cabeza y pie de los lomos también con pequeñas faltas. Particularmente al Tomo 3º le falta un trozo de piel al pie del lomo de 35 cm. al Tomo 5º le falta un trozo de piel en la cabeza del lomo de 13 cm. en disminución y una grieta de 10 cm. mas abajo. Todo esto ha sido reparado en lo posible quedando los libros con buen aspecto. El interior en muy buen estado salvo varias hojas en general muy pocas que tienen algunas motas de óxido y la lámina Nº 9 del Tomo 1º que tiene la parte superior del título cortada por error del encuadernador. Como ya hemos indicado anteriormente al Tomo 6º le falta la lámina Nº 30 que es un precioso gran mapa plegado y dividido en 2 partes hemisferio norte y hemisferio sur titulado "Carte tres curieuse de la Mer du Sud" pero va incluída en su lugar una reproducción facsímil a tamaño real del original bellamente iluminada e impresa sobre papel especial. H. A. Chatelain fue un pastor hugonote de origen parisino que vivió en París St. Martins Londres ca. 1710 La Haya ca. 1721 y Amsterdam ca 1728. Es reconocido como un gran cartógrafo alemán en especial por su gran obra el "Atlas Historique" que fue publicado en Amsterdam entre 1705 y 1720. Innovador para su tiempo por la gran calidad y exactitud cartográfica de sus mapas bellamente grabados al cobre que iban acompañados con gran cantidad de planchas igualmente grabadas al cobre conteniendo multitud de datos históricos genealógicos heráldicos nobiliarios etnográficos cosmográficos todos ellos bellamente ornamentados artísticamente con muchas ilustraciones. Cada lámina va numerada individualmente e indicando el número de tomo correspondiente. Los grabados y tablas de esta obra están realizados por los mejores autores del momento como: Dapper Chardin de Bruyn Le Hay y otros. Muchos mapas están basados en los trabajos del gran geógrafo Guillaume de L'Isle. Esta formidable obra fue presentada por la Familia Chatelain en forma de enciclopedia. Los textos van impresos a dos columnas por lo general. Al parecer algunos eruditos dudan de que Henri Abraham Chatelain fuese el único autor de esta magna obra - ya que en el libro solo figuran escritas como autor las iniciales "Mr. C."- y suponen que en su realización colaboró toda la familia en especial su hermano Zacarías Chatelain y su padre tambien Zacarías. GEOGRAFÃA GUÃAS Y ATLAS DEL EXTRANJERO Livre en français Chez Zacharie Chatelain, Chez L'Honore & Chatelain Libraires hardcover
1864réf. 3503129/10/1864. Journalist George D. Prentice's son was a Confederate officer captured by Union forces who would later be charged with murder George D. Prentice was born in Connecticut on December 18 1802 and graduated from Brown University in 1823. He came to Kentucky in 1830 to write a campaign biography entitled The Biography of Henry Clay and remained in this state until his death on January 22 1870 in Louisville. Prentice became the editor of the Louisville Journal the newspaper of the Whig Party. The main focus of this paper was the promotion of Henry Clay’s agenda and his multiple presidential campaigns. Prentice brought the Journal from upstart newspaper to the most widely read newspaper in the western United States because of his wit and command of the English language. Upon the failure of the Whig Party Prentice supported the Know-Nothing Party. Prentice then supported John Bell and his Unionist platform in the 1860 election calling for the Southern states to stay in the Union. Following the repeal of neutrality in Kentucky the pro-Union Prentice wrote in the Louisville Journal on September 19 1861: “Well thank God we at last have weighed anchor and set out for the haven of safety and of honor. Now let all possible sail be spread and the noble ship of state be driven into the lines of her insolent foe with the whole might of the valor and devotion of her true men.” Prentice became part of Lincoln’s core group of advisors for Kentucky affairs during the war. But despite Prentice’s Unionist satisfaction that Kentucky was no longer neutral his two sons fought in the Confederate army one dying in 1862 and the other being captured in 1863. The son of Prentice Clarence J. Prentice was one of the most colorful Kentuckians in the Confederate Army. From 1863 to 1865 he commanded the 7th Confederate Cavalry Battalion. Based in southwestern Virginia the 7th was composed of mountaineers who resided along the Kentucky-Virginia border. The unit was difficult to discipline and was regarded as a ""black sheep"" battalion by other units in the department. While some members of the battalion accompanied Gen. John Hunt Morgan on his last Kentucky raid they were part of the dismounted brigade. Prentice and the balance of the 7th was left behind to guard Pound Gap. In his ""Kentucky Cavaliers in Dixie"" George Dallas Mosgrove left a lively pen portrait of the young officer. He described the 7th as wild and difficult to discipline but added that the men were afraid of Prentice who was a crack shot. Major Prentice was captured on March 31 1863. George Prentice wrote to Lincoln to enlist his help in securing a parole for his son. In his letter to Lincoln dated Journal Office Louisville Ky. May 6 1863 Prentice stated: “I wrote to you last week in regard to my son Major Clarence Prentice now a rebel prisoner at Camp Chase. He would ere this have been forwarded for exchange but Gen. Burnside at my solicitation consented to have him detained until I could have time to hear from you. I think there has been time but I have received nothing from you either by mail or telegraph. I know that the pressure of the affairs of state upon you is very great. Perhaps you did not read my letter at all. Major Prentice is the only child left to me. My household is very desolate. My son is tired of the war but unfortunately he thinks the south right. I ask you to direct his release upon his taking the non combatants oath and giving bond and security for its scrupulous observance. If you cannot do this as I painfully fear you cannot I earnestly appeal to you to parole him to stay outside of both the United States and the Southern Confederacy until after the rebellion. I should scarcely venture Mr. President to make this appeal to you but that I think I have served the Union cause faithfully devotedly and successfully. I have suffered very much and sacrificed very much in its behalf—more I am sure than any other man in Kentucky; and I am likely even at the best to suffer and sacrifice much hereafter. I think there is not a candid and intelligent Union man in this state who would hesitate to say to you that I have saved it to the Union politically. “And now dear sir pray grant me what I ask in behalf of my only son. His mother is half delirious and so am I. I am scarcely capable of performing my daily duties to the country but if my request were granted I feel I should be buoyant with new life. Please let me know your decision soon for if my son cannot be paroled upon either of the conditions I have mentioned I want him sent forward as soon as possible to City Point as he is extremely uncomfortable in his present situation.” Ten days later Lincoln issued an order written on the back of Prentice's letter instructing General Burnside to parole young Prentice ""to remain outside the limits of both the loyal and disloyal States or so-called 'Confederate States’…during the present rebellion and to abstain from in any wise aiding or abetting said rebellion."" He was released in May 1863. However Clarence Prentice immediately upon his release from Camp Chase violated his oath and re-entered the Confederate Army. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Only a few months after his parole he was back to robbing banks burning courthouses and spreading terror and destruction generally along the Kentucky-Virginia border. In the fall of 1863 after being released from Union custody Prentice shot and killed a hotel proprietor named White in Abingdon Va. during a ""personal difficulty."" His trial was set for November 8 1864 in Abingdon and his father wanted to attend and assist him at his trial. George Prentice again wrote Lincoln asking for his assistance. Lincoln complied with Prentice’s request. Autograph note signed Washington October 29 1864. “Allow George D. Prentice of the Louisville Journal to pass our lines go to Abingdon Va. and return.” Prentice also wrote to Secretary of State William Seward on October 25 1864. A letter of Captain R. H. Baptist exists October 22 1864 to Prentice offering to give evidence in the forthcoming trial of his son saying “a conversation occurred between White & myself that ought to be made known in the trial of your son by all means.” Prentice sought Seward’s help in lining up Baptist up as a witness for his son: “Capt Baptist who formerly served under my son…and is now a prisoner…at Johnson's Island writes to me some facts which would be of vast importance to my erring child in his approaching trial…and which Capt. B. says he would state on oath…if he could be paroled to the Southern Confederacy or exchanged…I think that the exchange of Capt Baptist would subserve the cause of truth humanity and justice.’’ After being shown Baptist's letter Lincoln arranged for his parole so that he could testify on behalf of Clarence Prentice. Thus did Lincoln intervene twice to aid his Kentucky advisor. Clarence Prentice was acquitted of the murder charge. He continued to serve in the Confederate Army until the war ended. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1861réf. 3521508/08/1861. ""It is said that the young man named within was in the Great Bethel affair. His mother calls on me to ask a Lieutenancy for him"" We have never before a document on the market referencing Bethel by name or referring to the battle as great Part of a private collection assembled at Sesslers more than a half century ago The Civil War formally began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12–13 1861 but the first sustained clash between organized armies on land was the Battle of Big Bethel also called the Battle of Bethel Church fought on June 10 1861 near Hampton Virginia. Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vote on May 23 and Confederate colonel later major general John B. Magruder was sent down to the peninsula to deter any advance on the state capital Richmond by Union troops based at the well-defended post of Fort Monroe. Confederate forces under Magruder defeated a probing Union attack led by John Adams Dix and field commander Theodore Winthrop who was killed in the assault. The Union objective was to push back Confederate outposts guarding the Yorktown Road but poor coordination and a nighttime friendly-fire incident ruined surprise. When Union troops advanced at dawn they were repulsed by well-positioned Southern artillery and infantry around Big Bethel Church. The battle ended in a Confederate victory providing an early morale boost to the South while exposing the inexperience and disorganization of Union forces in the war’s opening weeks. It confirmed that the conflict would not be short or bloodless. Abraham Lincoln was distressed by the Union defeat at Big Bethel. The battle underscored for him the Union's lack of military preparedness and the challenges in finding capable commanders reinforcing his determination to avoid future losses. During his presidency Lincoln would regularly meet with members of the public who would wait to see him in the foyer of his office in the White House. This included soldiers and their family members. Autograph letter signed Frank J. White as Captain of Company A 10th Regiment Fortress Monroe July 27 1861 seemingly given to the soldier himself or his sent to his family. ""Mr. Charles. J. Seymour has been a member of my company for three months and has gained my highest esteem for the excellent manner in which he has discharged his duties. He is well qualified to hold a much higher position than his present one."" Autograph document signed August 8 1861 on a detached leaf no recipient but likely Secretary of War Simon Cameron. ""It is said that the young man named within was in the Great Bethel affair. His mother calls on me to ask a Lieutenancy for him; and I ask a respectful consideration of his case."" Seymour received the promotion Lincoln requested becoming a lieutenant just weeks later on August 27 1861. He served as Aide-de-Camp on the staff of Gen. Daniel E. Sickles and was later promoted to major. He also assisted in recruiting efforts in New York City. This was acquired from Mabel Zahn at Sesslers in the 1970s. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1860réf. 149362Columbus: Follett Foster and Company 1860. First edition early issue of the most famous debates in American history which cemented Lincoln as a national presidential candidate. Octavo original cloth stamped in blind. Ownership bookplate of President Gerald R. Ford to the front pastedown. President Gerald R. Ford and Abraham Lincoln occupy distinct yet symbolically linked places in American presidential history united by their encounters with political violence and national division. Abraham Lincoln the 16th president led the United States through the Civil War and became the first American president to be assassinated when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in 1865—a moment that transformed him into a martyr for the Union and a symbol of democratic perseverance. Over a century later Gerald R. Ford the 38th president survived two assassination attempts within seventeen days in 1975 both carried out by women—Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and Sara Jane Moore—amid the turbulence of the post-Watergate era. While Ford’s brush with assassination did not result in tragedy it echoed the lingering volatility of American political life that had claimed Lincoln’s. In near fine condition. An exceptional example with even better provenance. Running as a little-known candidate for the Illinois senatorship in 1858 Lincoln challenged incumbent and Democratic leader Stephen Douglas to a series of debates. The result was a memorable chain of lively arguments in front of cheering crowds. Though Lincoln lost the senatorial race “he began collecting a scrapbook of his best speeches particularly those from the just-concluded campaign against Douglas for possible inclusion in a book. Assiduously pasting newspaper accounts of the debates into the scrapbook Lincoln cast about for a publisher. Initial efforts failed mainly because Lincoln wanted the book printed in Springfield which had no local publishing or printing facilities. Eventually however the Columbus Ohio firm of Follett Foster & Company showed interest and he began preparing the first edition… Somewhat surprisingly for an attorney Lincoln did not seek Douglas’ permission to publish a book of their combined speeches although Douglas was later given the last-minute opportunity—he declined—to make corrections to his own remarks” Morris 121. Follett, Foster and Company hardcover
réf. LCS-18442Premier tirage de l’une des plus admirables suites d’estampes. Paris, 1635. Suite complète de cinq eaux-fortes. (G. Duplessis 1071 à 1075 – A. Blum 1028 à 1032). 325 x 255 mm.
1862réf. WRCAM55729Boston: J.M. Forbes 1862. 7pp. Miniature 3 1/4 x 2 1/8 inches. Original printed salmon wrappers. Slight soiling to wrappers light tanning. Very good. In a cloth chemise and half morocco and cloth slipcase spine gilt. The first and only contemporary printing of Lincoln's historic act in separate pamphlet form the seventh edition overall. The preliminary proclamation of the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on September 22 1862 shortly following the Battle of Antietam and declared the freedom of all slaves in any Confederate state that did not return to Union control by January 1 1863. A quotation by Alexander Stephens "Vice President of the so-called Confederate States" entitled "Slavery the Chief Corner- Stone" is printed on the rear wrapper. This small pamphlet was printed by John Murray Forbes in Boston for distribution by Union soldiers to blacks at the front lines and legend has it that he printed a million copies. Its scarcity in institutions and in the market however would seem to belie that notion; it is among the rarest of editions of the Proclamation no doubt because of its small size. EBERSTADT LINCOLN'S EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 7. MONAGHAN 147. J.M. Forbes hardcover books
1509réf. 3547615/09/1863. The letter itself was from Lamb a pallbearer after Lincoln's assassination Joseph Gillespie was a Whig member of the Illinois Assembly in 1840-41 and then served in the State Senate from 1847 to 1859. He joined the Republicans in 1856. Gillespie chaired the Illinois Republican State Convention in 1860 where presidential electors were selected who would vote for Abraham Lincoln and served as circuit court judge in Southern Illinois from 1861 to 1873. From when they met in 1840 Gillespie was a key political ally lawyer and trusted and intimate friend to Abraham Lincoln. They consulted on legal cases and in political matters where they kept each other informed of political developments. Gillespie visited President-elect Lincoln at Springfield before he left for Washington. When Lincoln was president Gillespie occasionally went to Washington to see him and kept him informed about the political situation in the western states. Their correspondence shows a close personal bond. James L. Lamb was a meatpacker industrialist and friend of Lincoln from Illinois known for his business dealings with the future President and his role as one of the pallbearers at Lincoln's funeral. In a letter addressed to President Lincoln Lamb wrote him from Springfield Ill. September 10 1863 to secure a position for a relative. “My friend and relative Mr. James H. Lea is an applicant for the position of paymaster in the army. His appointment I am sure would meet the approbation of all true friends of the Government who are acquainted with him. I have long known him as a reliable competent businessman and one whose integrity could be fully relied upon. His moral character is without blemish and the most satisfactory assurances can be given of his integrity and fitness for the position.” The docket states “Springfield Sep. 10/63 James L. Lamb to the President. Application for appointment of James H. Lea as a Paymaster.” This letter was not mailed by Lamb to Lincoln. Instead Lamb gave the letter to Gillespie to enlist his support and use his influence with Lincoln. Gillespie presented Lamb’s letter to Lincoln with his request that it be honored. Autograph endorsement signed Washington September 15 1863. “My old friend Gillespie presents this; and I would like for him to be obliged.” This is unpublished and not in Basler’s Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. The wording of Lincoln’s endorsement saying that Gillespie presented this to Lincoln and the implication that Gillespie will need to be presenting this to the Secretary of War raises the possibility that Gillespie handed this to Lincoln in person and then took the endorsement to Stanton. On October 10 Gillespie wrote Lincoln that the appointment had not yet been made and relating a communication with Stanton saying “I would beg to call your attention to the subject of the appointment of my friend James H. Lea of Alton to the office of paymaster in the regular army. Secy. Stanton told me that he would retire one now on the list to make place for Mr Lea in a short time. I have heard nothing from him since. I would take it as a great favor if this thing could be done soon. I am aware how much you must be pressed with business of an engrossing character at this juncture but hope you may find leisure to jog the secretary’s memory.” According to papers in the Library of Congress James H. Lea was appointed an additional paymaster of volunteers to rank from February 23 1864. He signed his oath of office in April. This is a fascinating endorsement showing how Lincoln sought to assist his old friends to the extent he appropriately could. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1730réf. D8IBHTPY7SFPAmsterdam 1730. Folio. Reinier & Joachim II Ottens Half mottled sheepskin ca. 1840 sewn on 4 cords the spine has 5 gold-tooled raised bands but the middle one may be merely decorative papier coulé sides red spine-label red sprinkled edges. With a letterpress title page printed in red and black an engraved frontispiece self-portrait of Bloemaert engraved by Joachim Ottens here serving as no. 1 of 140 otherwise numbered engraved plates including illustrated part-titles for parts 2-6 with drawn models of parts of the human body and human figures and characters in various postures movements and scenes. 1 leaf plus plates. Famous drawing book of Abraham Bloemaert 1564-1651 a very influential Dutch painter and art teacher. It contains 140 numbered engraved plates with no text providing models for drawing parts of the human body including eyes ears noses faces hands feet arms legs busts heads hair styles and beards some for men women and children as well as human figures and character types in various postures kinds of movement also including men women and children. Four plates give models for drawing animals and animal's heads including horses cats a dog a fish a lion and cattle. In good condition and with generous margins with a small tear and minor smudges in the title-page the first and last leaves slightly browned and a few unobtrusive restorations. A classic Dutch drawing book providing a storehouse of human forms that influenced many artists for more than a century.l WorldCat 1 or 2 copies; cf. Bolten Method & Practice. Dutch & Flemish drawing books pp. 51-67; Hollstein II p. 86 nos. 36-155 ca. 1650-ca. 1657 F. Bloemaert ed. of parts 1-6. ABE CAT Art History ART ARCHITECTURE & PHOTOGRAPHY DRAWINGS PRINTS & WATERCOLOURS EDUCATION & LEARNING Art & Art History School & Textbooks hardcover
1861réf. 3767609/09/1861. He also served at Bull Run and Gettysburg It is early in the war and bears the signature of Simon Cameron one of the original members of the Team of Rivals It has never before been offered for sale In May 1861 just after the outbreak of the Civil War Eugene B. Beaumont son of noted politician of the Jacksonian Age Andrew Beaumont graduated from the Military Academy at West Point. He initially trained soldiers in Washington D.C until June 1861 when he became aide-de-camp to General Ambrose Burnside. With Burnside he participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. In September he became aide-de-camp to General John Sedgwick and served with him in the Peninsula Campaign of early 1862. In August 1862 he worked as an aide-de-camp this time to General-in-Chief of the Union Army Henry Halleck. Beaumont requested to be sent back to the field and in May 1863 he rejoined General Sedgwick as a captain. He served with Sedgwick for just over a year and took part in a series of battles including Gettysburg Mine Run the Wilderness Spotsylvania Court-House and Cold Harbor. He later participated in the battle of Nashville in the pursuit of Hood. On December 17 1864 he was a major serving as the Assistant Adjutant General of the Army of the Mississippi’s Cavalry Corps. On that day at the Harpeth River in Tennessee he took command of the 4th Cavalry and led the regiment in an assault on Confederate fortifications. He was with his corps in its march through Alabama and Georgia taking part in the battles of Montevallo Ebenezer Church storming of Selma and capture of Montgomery Columbus and Macon Georgia. This march was one of the most brilliant and successful of the war. For his actions during this period he was promoted to Bvt. Colonel; after the war Beaumont served in the Indian Wars in the West. Then on March 30 1898 in recognition of his Civil War service he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Beaumont's official Medal of Honor citation reads: “Obtained permission from the corps commander to advance upon the enemy's position with the 4th U.S. Cavalry of which he was a lieutenant; led an attack upon a battery dispersed the enemy and captured the guns. At Selma Ala. charged at the head of his regiment into the second and last line of the enemy's works."" Document signed WashingtonSeptember 9 1861 appointing Eugene B. Beaumont “Second Lieutenant in the First Regiment of Cavalry” effective on the 6th day of June 1861. The document is countersigned by Secretary of War Simon Cameron. A great rarity this being our first Lincoln appointment of a Medal of Honor winner. It has never before been offered for sale. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1507réf. 3254115/07/1864. A real rarity the first Lincoln appointment to the Signal Corps for an officer active in Sherman’s Georgia Campaign we have seen On March 29 1860 the United States House of Representatives approved the Army appropriations bill for fiscal year 1861 which included the following amendment: ""For the manufacture or purchase of apparatus and equipment for field signals $2000; and that there be added to the staff of the Army one signal officer with the rank pay and allowance of a major of cavalry who shall have charge under the direction of the Secretary of War of all signal duty and all books papers and apparatus connected therewith."" The United States Senate eventually approved the appropriations bill over the objections of Jefferson Davis now Senator from Mississippi and President James Buchanan signed it into law on June 21 1860 the date now celebrated as the birthday of the modern U.S. Army Signal Corps. Now armies on the go could report back to their civilian leadership in real time and those leaders could make decisions without waiting for a messenger on horse. This changed the face of warfare. President Lincoln himself spent significant time in the telegraph office sending and receiving war correspondence. He often walked alone from the White House to the office and chatted with the operators. As Bates later wrote “During the Civil War the President spent more of his waking hours in the War Department telegraph office than in any other place except the White House. While in the Telegraph Office he was comparatively free from official cares and therefore more apt to disclose his natural traits and disposition than elsewhere under other conditions.” John Quincy Adams first enlisted in 1862 with the 38th Ohio Volunteers. On October 15 of that year he was a quartermaster sergeant with the 10th Ohio Cavalry. After a stint as acting lieutenant on July 15 1864 he was appointed by the President Second Lieutenant to date from March 3 1863. Adams was actively involved in the Georgia campaign conducted by Gen. William T. Sherman. He was with left wing of the 16th Army Corps on the march to Chattanooga Tenn. In the Atlanta Campaign he participated in the battles of Resaca Dallas Kenesaw Mountain. and Jonesboro. He manned signal corps stations at Kenesaw Mt. and Allatoona. Adams was in the engagements at Port McAllister and Rice Mill station in the campaign from Savannah through the Carolinas including battles at Columbia Bentonville and Raleigh; and at the surrender of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to Sherman on April 26 1865. Adams was breveted 1st lieutenant for gallant and meritorious service in the Signal Corps at the battle of Allatoona; he was breveted captain for gallant and meritorious services in the Signal Corps at the capture of Fort McAllister and Savannah and throughout the war. Adams was mustered out August 22 1865. After the war he was in the 1st U. S. Cavalry and was in the Indian wars and finished his career as captain and aide to Gen. O.O. Howard in October 1884. He is listed on the roster of the U.S. Signal Corps in the Civil War. Adams is also a protagonist in one of the most famous telegraph exchanges of the war during the battle near Allatoona. During this battle legend goes that Sherman signaled to General Corse and his men to ""hold the fort"" a phrase that inspired the later popular religious hymn entitled Hold the Fort by Chicago evangelist Philip P. Bliss which featured the chorus 'Hold the fort for I am coming’ which then became a common expression. We still use ""hold down the fort"" today. Adams was the signal officer who received that message or rather a variant as Sherman did not use that exact phrase though captured the sentiment. This is President Lincoln’s appointment of Adams as Second Lieutenant. Document signed Washington July 15 1864 naming Adams ""Second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps"" dating from the third of March 1863. This document is a real rarity as we have never before seen a Lincoln appointment to the Signal Corps for an officer active in Sherman’s March to the Sea. Moreover Lincoln Signal Corps appointments are themselves uncommon this being our first. It was acquired from the Adams descendants and has never been offered for sale before. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
1862réf. 3341204/03/1862. As 1862 opened the war was not going well for the Union. In the east Bull Run had been a disaster and led to the shake-up of command with no results yet to show for it. In the west the loss at Wilson’s Creek gave the Confederates the upper hand. The Federal armies in the west then turned their attention to implementation of the Anaconda Plan – to cut the Confederacy in half by securing the Mississippi River from St. Louis all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and clearing a maritime invasion route into the heart of the Confederacy by taking the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers which lay just to the east of the Mississippi. If successful these maneuvers would cut Texas Arkansas and Louisiana off from the main body of the South hold Kentucky and Missouri firmly in the Union and make it difficult for Tennessee to cooperate with her sister Confederate states. The first moves would be to take and hold commanding locations north on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers and command of the operation was given to Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant an obscure and largely unproven officer. On February 6 1862 Fort Henry commanding the Tennessee River was captured by Grant’s forces. It had a poor defensive position and was reduced mainly by the bombardment of gunboats on the river. Nonetheless its fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping past the Alabama border and provided a real victory for Union arms. Grant next focused his attention on Fort Donelson eleven miles away on the more strategically important Cumberland River. This fort had a much stronger physical position and the Confederates had placed some 20000 men and a number of senior commanders on site to engage in its defense. They were not about to concede the fort and they were ready and waiting for Grant. Grant arrived at Fort Donelson late on February 12 and on the 13th established his headquarters near the left side of the front of the line. That day was spent in battle preparation with a few small probing attacks being carried out against the Confederate defenses. Grant's headquarters was at Cairo Ill where the head of Ordnance was Stephen Lyford. Grant arrived at Fort Donelson late on February 12 and on the 13th established his headquarters near the left side of the front of the line. That day was spent in battle preparation with a few small probing attacks being carried out against the Confederate defenses. The battle was severe with nearly 1000 soldiers on both sides killed and about 3000 wounded. When Simon Buckner the Confederate commander asked for surrender terms Grant famously replied “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted“ adding “I propose to move immediately upon your works.” Buckner surrendered his command of about 15000 men; this was the first of three Confederate armies that Grant captured during the war. The capture of Fort Donelson gave the North control of the Cumberland River which provided the road that opened the Deep South to Union invasion. It boosted morale in the North which now saw that the war could result in great victories and not just defeats. It gave President Lincoln the fighting general he was looking for and it made Grant’s career in the process; he was soon promoted to major general of volunteers. Stephen C. Lyford had a long and distinguished career. He served from May to August 1861 in the defenses of Washington D. C. and in the Manassas Campaign participating in the Battle of Bull Run July 21 1861. He was Aide-de_Camp to Brig. General McDowell in the defenses of Washington D. C. August to October 1861 and Asst. Ordnance Officer at St. Louis Arsenal Mo. November 2 1861 to February 1 1862; in command of the Cairo Ordnance Depot Ill. February to May 1862 being detached to the Cumberland River and was present at the Surrender of Ft. Donelson. He was part of Gen. Halleck's Mississippi Campaign May to July 1862 being engaged in the Siege of Corinth May 1862 and was Chief of Ordnance for Department of the Tennessee July 11 1862 to September 6 1863 and fought in the Battle of Corinth. He would go on to teach at West Point and also serve as aide-de-camp for Gen. Halleck and as representative of the US to Japan to bring back information and technology relevant for American ordnance. Document signed with engravings of flags and weapons Washington March 4 1862 Naming Lyford a “Second Lieutenant in the Ordnance Department."" <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown
