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[New York State Assembly] Smith M WeedBiblio.com

The Photographic Album Album of 198 CDVs Primarily of Members of the New York State Assembly

1871rif. 49789Philadelphia: Altemus & Co 1871. Very Good-. Philadelphia: Altemus & Co. ca. 1871. Thick quarto photo album 25cm; full custom embossed brown goat with steel and faux pearl decorative elements owner's name Smith M. Weed to upper cover in gilt steel clasps one missing all edges gilt; title page printed in gilt followed by 25ll. stiff card stock to which are mounted a hundred and ninety-eight 198 cartes de visite some captioned in ink many signed by the subject and others still identified as "dead" in pencil. Leather rubbed and worn at corners with loss at spine head all but two of the photographic windows filled; overall About Very Good images all in bright and near fine condition. Photo album of the New York lawyer and politician Smith M. Weed 1833-1920 who served on the New York State Assembly from 1865 to 1867 in 1871 and from 1873 to 1874. This album probably dates from 1871 one of the years Smith served on the Assembly that coincided with John T. Hoffman the first man pictured here serving as governor of New York. It is perhaps significant that Weed does not identify Hoffman by name but simply lists him as the Governor of New York--Hoffman was implicated as being part of the Tammany Hall Tweed Ring against which Weed was an outspoken critic. His report in favor of repealing the Erie Classification Act came within a vote of breaking up the Tweed and Erie Rings for which he was "regarded as an enemy of the then party-controlling influence. He was brutally assaulted by the notorious James Irving then a power with the 'Ring'" Life Sketches of Government Officers of Members of the Legislature of the State of New York 1873. Perhaps needless to say but still disappointing that Irving's signed CDV is not among those present here. As well as members of the Legislature there are also CDVs of men in its orbit including the Canal Commissioner two prison inspectors the governor's private secretary the head doorkeeper and the assistant doorkeeper and three reporters for the New York Sun the Associate Press and the Argus. An interesting photographic record of New York state politics in the era of the Tweed Ring. Altemus & Co unknown