U.S. Postmaster General - 1861-64; Brother of Francis P. Blair, Jr.; Mayor of St. Louis – 1842-43; Counsel for Dred Scott before the U.S. Supreme Court

War-Date Signed Envelope, 3 ¼” x 6”, free-franked as U.S. Postmaster General under President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, “M. Blair, P.M.G.” The envelope is also addressed by Blair, to “Col[onel] F.A. Dick, St. Louis, Mo.,” and is postmarked “Washington, D.C., May 8, 1863.”

The envelope is lightly toned, with minor wear and a few superficial tears at the edges, along with several small stains.

U.S. Secretary of War - 1861-62

As a contender for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1860, Cameron threw his support to Lincoln when promised a cabinet seat. His brief tenure as Secretary of War was so marked by corruption that he was forced to resign in 1862.

Signature, “Simon Cameron,” on a 1 ½” x 4” slip of paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a small tear at the upper edge, well away from the signature.

U.S. Treasury Secretary - 1861-64; U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice - 1864-73

As Lincoln’s Treasury Secretary, Chase was instrumental in the efforts to finance the war, and was responsible for the issue and acceptance of paper money as legal tender. Continued rivalry and strife with Lincoln precipitated his appointment to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Roger B. Taney in 1864.

Inscribed Signature, as antebellum Governor of Ohio, “For Geo[rge] M. Fowler, Esq[uire]. I have the honor to be Very respectfully Yours & c., S.P. Chase, Columbus, Ap[ri]l 24, 1857,” on a 5” x 7” sheet of embossed stationery. A period engraved image, cut into an oval shape, has been affixed to the upper right corner.

The sheet has light soiling and wear, along with the expected folds.

U.S. Treasury Secretary - 1861-64; U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice - 1864-73

As Lincoln’s Treasury Secretary, Chase was instrumental in the efforts to finance the war and was responsible for the issue and acceptance of paper money as legal tender. Continued rivalry and strife with Lincoln precipitated his appointment to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Roger B. Taney in 1864.

War-Date Signature, with closing and title in another hand, “S.P. Chase,” on a 1 ½” x 4” slip of paper, removed from a letter as U.S. Treasury Secretary, the position Chase held from March 4, 1861 through December 6, 1864; with the pencil notation, “1862” in the lower margin.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy – 1815-18; U.S. Congressman – Massachusetts – 1823-31

Autograph Letter Signed, 8” x 10”, to “Hon[orab]l[e] Sam[ue]l S. Southard, Sec[retar]y of the Navy, Washington.” Writing from his Massachusetts home, former Navy Secretary Crowninshield recommends the son of General James Miller, hero of the War of 1812 battle of Lundy’s Lane and the first Governor of Arkansas Territory, for a position in the Navy.

“Salem, Sep[tembe]r 22, 1828. Dear Sir, General James Miller, the Coll[ecto]r of this Port, & of whose gallantry & good conduct during the late war you are as well acquainted as I am, w[is]hes his Son Ephraim Flint Miller to be appointed a midshipman in the Navy of the U[nited] States. I am acquainted with young Mr. Miller, he graduated at Cambridge University this year, stands well, & is highly respected in society. I hope you will find it convenient to give this gentleman a warrant. I am, very respectfully, Y[ou]r O[bedient] S[ervant], B.W. Crowninshield.”

The letter is lightly and evenly toned, with the usual folds, and there are a few superficial edge chips and tears.

U.S. Postmaster General – 1864-66; Governor of Ohio – 1860-62

Signed Card, 2” x 3 ¼”, “W. Dennison,” with the notation “Post Master General, Feb. 10^th 1866” in another hand beneath.

Lightly and evenly toned, with mounting traces on the reverse.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice - 1796-1800; Continental Congress Delegate; U.S. Constitutional Congress Member; U.S. Senator – Connecticut - 1789-96

Revolutionary War-Date Document Signed, 3 ¾” x 8”, February 17, 1777, “O. Ellsworth,” directing the payment of “…Two hundred & fifteen pounds sixteen Shillings & two pence…” for the purchase of salt peter, used in making gunpowder.

There is general soiling and wear, a somewhat irregular right edge, and the center horizontal fold has been reinforced on the reverse.

U.S. Secretary of State – 1852-53; Governor of Massachusetts – 1836-40; U.S Senator - Massachusetts

Everett preceded Lincoln at the podium on November 19, 1863, giving the principal address at the Gettysburg cemetery dedication.

Civil War-Date Autograph Quotation Signed, on a 3” x 5” slip of paper. During the third full year of the war – and less than a year after he delivered the opening speech before Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – Everett expresses reverence for the nation’s first President, George Washington.

“Washington was the greatest of good men & the best of great men. Edward Everett. Boston, 3 Sept[embe]r 1864.”

Condition is excellent, with the expected light folds.

U.S. Secretary of State – 1852-53; Governor of Massachusetts – 1836-40; U.S Senator - Massachusetts

Everett preceded Lincoln at the podium on November 19, 1863, giving the principal address at the Gettysburg cemetery dedication.

Signed Card, 2” x 4 ¼”, “Edward Everett.”

The card is lightly and evenly toned, with a few stains, and there is glue staining on the reverse.

U.S. Secretary of State – 1852-53; Governor of Massachusetts – 1836-40; U.S Senator - Massachusetts

Everett preceded Lincoln at the podium on November 19, 1863, giving the principal address at the Gettysburg cemetery dedication.

Autograph Letter Signed, 6 ½” x 8”, to “Mrs. J.L. Payson.” From his home in Boston, Everett amusingly responds to a request for autographs, presumably those of Rufus Choate, Thomas Hart Benton, and Washington Irving – no longer present with this letter.

“Summer Street, 23 Nov[ember] 1854. Dear Mrs. Payson, After my former note was written, it occurred to me to send you the autographs of Mr. Choate, and Col. Benton, in addition to that of Mr. Irving; a group certainly of which the members have nothing in common, but that they are all celebrities. With the greatest Regard, Sincerely Yours, Edward Everett.”

The letter is lightly and evenly toned, with the expected folds. There are two tears, with no loss of paper, in the lower left corner, along with damp-staining along the right margin.

U.S. Treasury Secretary – 1864-65; U.S. Senator – Maine – 1854-69

Signature, as U.S. Senator, “W.P. Fessenden, U[nited] S[tates] S[enate],” on a 1” x 3” slip paper.

Union Rear Admiral

WELLES, GIDEON (1802-78)  U.S. Secretary of the Navy - 1861-69

As commodore in the U.S. Navy, Foote provided naval support in the Federal operations against Forts Henry and Donelson and in the bombardment of Island #10. Promoted to rear admiral for those actions, he died shortly after being transferred to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in 1863.

As the Country Prepares for War - Just a Month Before the Bombardment of Ft. Sumter - a Union Sailor is Detached to Await Orders

Endorsement Signed, “Forwarded by A.H. Foote…March 11/[18]61,” on the reverse of the attached leaf of a Letter Signed, 8” x 10”, by Navy Secretary Gideon Welles. In an action undoubtedly replicated throughout the military, emblematic of the nation’s preparation for the Civil War that would break out just a month later, Welles orders “3^rd Ass[istan]t Engineer Oscar H. Lackey, U.S. Navy, New York,” detached from his prior assignment aboard the Crusader, to await further orders:

“Navy Department, 9 March 1861. Sir, You are hereby detached from the Crusader and you will regard yourself as Waiting Orders. I am, respectfully, Your Obed[ien]t Serv[an]t, Gideon Welles...”

The letter-sheet is lightly and evenly toned, with an old clip hole in the upper margin. The integral leaf signed by Foote bears heavier soiling and wear, and contains an extremely detailed Navy Department watermark.

U.S. Treasury Secretary – 1789-95; Revolutionary War Captain & Aide-de-Camp to General Washington; Killed in a Duel with Aaron Burr on July 11, 1804

Letter Signed, 1 ½ pages, front and reverse of a 7 ¾” x 9” sheet, a manuscript U.S. Treasury Department circular letter. At the authorization and direction of the House of Representatives during the term of the Second U.S. Congress, Treasury Secretary Hamilton seeks information relating to reported shortfalls in the receipt of funds by various customs officers for the year 1790.

“Treasury Department, April 14, 1791. Sir, The House of Representatives having been pleased to direct me to examine and report upon the endorsements of the several Officers of the Customs. I find it necessary to enable me to form a satisfactory judgment upon the subject that I be furnished with an accurate account, as much as possible in detail of all the monies received in the four quarters of the year 1790 by every Officer of the Customs who conceives himself to be insufficiently compensated. You will therefore if you think it proper to have your case taken into consideration transmit me such an account, and you will exhibit in detail likewise in the same paper the expenses of every kind which you have actually paid during the same year. The sooner this information is received, the more early I can enter upon the formation of a report. Should you think proper to make any observations they will be acceptable. For the greater clearness I wish the letter inclosing the above account to be confined to the subject. I am Sir Your Obed[ien]t Servant, A. Hamilton.”

The letter bears light, even toning and general wear, and there are a few edge chips and tears, all well away from the text. One of several paper breaks along the usual folds has been repaired with a small strip of paper on the reverse.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy – 1809-13; Governor of South Carolina – 1804-06

Repairs for the USS Enterprise - After Service Against Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean

Letter Signed, 8” x 10”, to “John Trippe, esquire, L[ieutenan]t Comm[ande]r, the Sch[ooner] Enterprise, N[ew] York.” As U.S. Navy Secretary, Hamilton conveys information relating to the repair of the Enterprise, and of her conversion to a brig. The ship was commissioned into the Navy fleet in 1799, quickly deployed in the Quasi-War with France, and soon was put into active service against pirates on the Barbary Coast. The vessel continued to patrol the Mediterranean for the next several years, returning to the United States for repair in late 1809, the preliminary details of her refurbishing being discussed in this letter.

Born in Maryland in 1785, Lieutenant Commander John Trippe had become a midshipman in 1799, serving during the Quasi-War and in the Mediterranean, although on other vessels. He commanded the Enterprise during the year before her return to New York, but was assigned to other ships during her time in port. Lieutenant Commander Trippe died during the summer of 1810, although records differ as to whether he was aboard the Enterprise or the Vixen at the time of his death.

The letter is lightly toned, with the expected folds and light creases; several edge tears along the right edge, none affecting the text of the letter, have been repaired on the reverse, and there is a one-half inch strip of heavier paper affixed to the reverse along the left edge, presumably from past binding.

U.S. Vice President - 1861-65; Governor & U.S. Senator - Maine

Signature, “H. Hamlin, Maine,” on a 2 ¾” x 4 ¾” portion of a lightly toned album page.

U.S. Vice President - 1861-65; Governor & U.S. Senator - Maine

Signed Card, 2 ¼” x 3 ¼”, with a full signature, “Hannibal Hamlin, Bangor, Ap[ri]l 18, 1891,” from Hamlin’s home in Maine, less than three months before his death.

Personal Secretary of Abraham Lincoln; U.S. Secretary of State - 1898-1905 – McKinley & Roosevelt Administrations

Hay became a friend of Lincoln while studying law in Springfield, Illinois and accompanied him to Washington to become one of his personal secretaries. After the war, Hay and Nicolay wrote their biography of Lincoln, and Hay served as Secretary of State under McKinley and Roosevelt from 1898 through 1905.

Signed Card, 2 ½” x 4 ¼”, “John Hay.”

Personal Secretary of Abraham Lincoln; U.S. Secretary of State - 1898-1905 – McKinley & Roosevelt Administrations

Hay became a friend of Lincoln while studying law in Springfield, Illinois, and accompanied him to Washington to become one of his personal secretaries. After the war, Hay and Nicolay wrote their biography of Lincoln, and Hay served as Secretary of State under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt from 1898 through 1905.

Signed Card, 2 ½” x 4”, “John Hay.”

Pristine, both front and reverse.

Personal Secretary of Abraham Lincoln; U.S. Secretary of State - 1898-1905 – McKinley & Roosevelt Administrations

Hay became a friend of Lincoln while studying law in Springfield, Illinois and accompanied him to Washington to become one of his personal secretaries. After the war, Hay and Nicolay wrote their biography of Lincoln, and Hay served as Secretary of State under McKinley and Roosevelt from 1898 through 1905.

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, on the first and third leaves of a 5 ¼” x 8” letter-sheet. Addressing former Union General Frederick Tracy Dent, brother-in-law and secretary of President Ulysses S. Grant, Hay seeks the help of the President in securing his brother’s advancement in the military.

“New York, August 31 [no year]. My Dear General Dent, Enclosed you will find the note to the President which you suggested I should write. My brother Lieutenant Leonard Hay is Adjutant of the 9^th Infantry. He likes the service and desires to remain in it. I know him to be a very efficient and valuable officer and if you can do anything to promote his wishes, I am sure it will be to the advantage of the service, and will lay me under great personal obligations. I am very faithfully yours, John Hay. P.S. My address will be for the present ‘Republican Office, Chicago’ where I am always at your disposition.”

Beneath Hay’s closing and signature, General Dent has written and initialed a biographical notation of Hay, in pencil, “Private Sec[retary] of President Lincoln and author of Jim Beldsoe & little breeches. F.T.D.”

The letter-sheet bears the usual light toning, and there is weakness and clean separation, with no loss of paper, at the edges of two horizontal folds. The text of the letter is unaffected by a three-quarter inch area of paper loss in the upper margin of the second page.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice– 1902-32; Civil War Union Captain – 20^th Massachusetts Infantry

Autograph Letter Signed, 5” x 6 ½”, to “Mrs. Carl C. Wheaton.” As U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice, Holmes cordially complies with an autograph request, signing in full at the conclusion.

“Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, September 5, 1930. My dear Mrs. Wheaton, Presence here will prevent my accepting your kind offer to show me your autograph book, but it gives me pleasure to comply with your slight request that I add to it and join so distinguished a company. Very Truly Yours, Oliver Wendell Holmes.”

The letter is lightly and evenly toned, with a few unobtrusive stains and a horizontal fold at the center.