American Historical Autographs
From Joseph Rubinfine
American Historical Autoraphs from Joseph Rubinfine.
By Michael Stillman
Joseph Rubinfine recently issued his "List 151" of American historical autographs. This is a wonderful collection of autographs, primarily as parts of manuscripts, some of which touch on particular historical events.
Americans enjoy greater freedoms than most peoples because the father of this nation was a most remarkable man. If power corrupts, then how do you explain George Washington? Here was a man with all the power anyone could dream of in his grasp, who instead chose to be true to his democratic principles. He subjected himself to elections, agreed to checks and balances over his authority, and when he felt it was time to move on, he let that power be transferred to others. If his signatures are a bit pricey today, it is because they deserve to be.
Of course most people think of Washington in his General-President-Father-of-his-nation role, but he was also a surveyor. That goes back a ways, but in 1750, the 18-year-old Washington was signing his documents not as "Gen." or "Pres.," but as
"S.C.C." (Surveyor Culpeper County). Item 1 of the Rubinfine catalogue is a survey Washington conducted for David Edwards of 412 acres of "waste and ungranted Land" in Frederick County, Virginia. Priced at $37,500.
Item 2 is another very interesting Washington document. Written from Middlebrook, New Jersey, in 1779, with two Washington signatures (the second his frank on the address leaf), it informs General Alexander McDougall that an assistant paymaster has been sent with $400,000. It includes Washington's instructions on how the funds are to be applied. Part of it was to be used for encouraging re-enlistments. Naturally, money was less than plentiful at the time, so Washington tells McDougall, "You are so well convinced of the necessity of care and economy that I need say nothing on that head." Of course, he just did. Another great American figure also writes in this document, though his signature does not appear. Young Alexander Hamilton was an aide to Washington at the time, and the letter is actually in his handwriting. $35,000.
Here is one more Washington letter, but unlike the survey, it comes at the other end of his life, nearly 50 years later. It is a letter to Alexandria, Virginia, merchants Thompson and Veitch that came with a check for $500. He inquires about the availability of a vessel bound for England on which he can send some cured hams to a friend. The letter is dated August 30, 1799, just 3 1/2 months before Washington died. Item 4. $11,500.
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American Historical Autographs
From Joseph Rubinfine
Gutzon Borglum signed photo of Mount Rushmore.
Item 14 is a letter from Lincoln to one of the officers who helped put down the largest rebellion the nation had known. No, it's not what you think. The writer is General Benjamin Lincoln, and the rebellion, which in 1787 was the largest the nation had ever seen, was Shays' Rebellion. Daniel Shays led a group of farmers in western Massachusetts who were experiencing foreclosures on their land in the depression which followed the Revolution. General Benjamin Lincoln, who had fought in the Revolutionary War, was put in charge of state troops who quickly put down the rebellion. In this letter, General Lincoln praises Joseph Bradley Varnum for his services and releases him from duty. Varnum would go on to be Speaker of the House of Representatives and a senator from Massachusetts. $4,500.
Here is another very interesting American historical document. It was written by then Secretary of State James Madison in 1801. One of the major concerns for the young nation was the impressment of its seamen into the service of other nations, particularly England. Some were forced into such service at ports, others on the high seas. An act was passed in 1796 appointing officials at various ports to keep track of such impressments and issue reports to the Secretary of State. Item 23 is a letter from Madison to one such agent (Rubinfine believes it to be David Lenox) requesting a report on such impressed seamen "as soon as possible." This letter is particularly notable as it would be during Madison's administration a decade later that this issue would come to a boil. It was one of the major factors that would lead now President Madison to war with Great Britain, the War of 1812. $3,500.
Item 27 is a surprising request from William Henry Harrison, he of the shortest presidency in U.S. history. Ten years before his brief presidency, Harrison wrote to recently appointed Secretary of War Lewis Cass recommending a government appointment for Morgan Neville. Neville is the man who wrote about the adventures of Mike Fink. Neville's father, as Harrison points out in his letter, served in the Revolution as aide-de-camp to Lafayette. It is somewhat surprising to see Harrison writing to Cass, as Harrison and Cass' boss, Andrew Jackson, were political opponents. Harrison would go on to defeat Jackson's hand-picked successor, Martin Van Buren, a decade later, and Cass would lose his presidential bid in 1848 to Zachary Taylor, the only Whig besides Harrison to be elected president. $3,000.
Jackson was not above making political recommendations himself when his years as president were over. On April 10, 1840, he wrote his successor, Martin Van Buren, on behalf of one Mr. A. Harris. Jackson had heard that there would soon be an opening in the "pay department," for which he claimed Harris had "as high credentials as any man." Hopefully, the vacancy arose fairly soon, as later that year Van Buren would be unseated by the aforementioned William Henry Harrison. Item 26. $3,500.
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American Historical Autographs
From Joseph Rubinfine
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For those who think presidential sex scandals are something new, you might want to read up on Warren Harding. Harding had two notable extramarital affairs, one with Carrie Phillips, the wife of a good friend, and another with Nan Britton, thirty years his junior. It's possible that Harding had others. Item 52 is a letter to his friend Jim Phillips, Carrie's husband, encouraging him to convince her to tone down certain public comments. Harding had written the same to Carrie herself, apparently with little success. Carrie was pro-German, and had even threatened to reveal her affair with then Senator Harding to get him to vote against going to war. She was not successful. Voting against entering World War I at that time would probably have been even more damaging to Harding's political career. In this letter Harding states, "She is under the eye of government agents, and it is highly urgent that she exercise great prudence and caution." The nation was by then at war, and any signs of sympathy to Germany would cause great suspicion. Harding goes on to say "I feel you must cooperate and save her from herself..."
In time Carrie Phillips would use their affair to squeeze money out of Harding. When Harding ran for president in 1920, the Republican Party would provide Mrs. Phillips with $20,000 in hush money and send her off on a trip to Europe. Supposedly, she ended up having an affair with the Kaiser. With Mrs. Phillips gone, Harding could take up with Ms. Britton in the White House, sort of a "return to normalcy" for him. Harding would go on to run one of the most corrupt administrations in history (although it appears that it was only his "friends" who benefited, not the inept and apparently clueless Harding) and die in office three years later. Mrs. Phillips would live for another three-plus decades, though she would never appear on Larry King Live nor receive high fees to discuss her private affairs in public. $7,500.
You may reach Joseph Rubinfine by telephone at 561-659-7077 or by email at Joerubinfine@mindspring.com
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