Autographs, Manuscripts and More of Famous People from The Raab Collection
Raab Catalog 49 with T. Roosevelt letter comparing Washington and Lincoln on the cover.
By Michael Stillman
The Raab Collection has issued its Catalogue 49 of one-of-a-kind material - manuscripts, personal letters, and other signed documents, photographs, and simple autographs. Raab specializes in the very best material. There will be few if any signers whose names you won't recognize. They are important figures in history, and many of these documents touch on the momentous issues of the day. They often provide insights to the personalities and values of the people who created them. Here are a few of the documents now available in the latest Raab catalogue.
One of the major causes of the American Revolution was "taxation without representation." However, once the Revolution was won, and the first Congress seated, the new government had to face the same issue the British had years earlier - raising funds. So, just as the British had, the new government imposed customs duties. However, this time they were imposed by the people's representatives, first Congress, and then signed into law by President Washington. In the very early days of the republic, it was the President's responsibility to inform the states of newly adopted legislation, so Washington penned letters to the governors of the states informing them of the new duties. Item 6 is Washington's letter to Maryland Governor John Howard, dated August 4, 1789, complete with Washington's signature. Priced at $38,500.
Item 16 is a most quaint letter from the "Great Compromiser," Henry Clay. Clay was one of the towering figures of the Senate in the period from the War of 1812 to the 1850s, and ran for president three times, but was never elected. His first run was in 1824 and the second in 1832, but his best opportunity was the election of 1844. His party, the Whigs, had carried the election of 1840, and they would win again in 1848. Clay would not be so lucky. In this letter to the publishers of the National Intelligencer, a pro-Whig Washington newspaper, Clay explains that he won't be giving any public speeches now that he has been nominated. In those days, it was considered unseemly for a candidate to actually campaign for election. Clay states that it is not only inappropriate to campaign for office, but to even allow himself to be placed in a position where he might influence the electorate in its decision. "Hereafter, and until the Presidential election is decided, I cannot accept nor attend any public meeting of my fellow Citizens, assembled in reference to that object..." Instead, he says he will return home "as quietly and quickly as possible," attend to his personal affairs, and await the people's decision. Of course while the candidates didn't speak, their surrogates did, and the elections of this era were among the dirtiest ever, at least until the last few years. $8,500.
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Autographs, Manuscripts and More of Famous People from The Raab Collection
Queen Victoria decked out in regal splendour.
Zachary Taylor is one of those forgotten presidents between Jackson and Lincoln, but perhaps the most interesting of them. He was elected in 1848, the first election in which the issue of slavery and North-South differences would become the major concern of the electorate. Taylor won with a message of strong principles while finessing the details of his positions. He was a man with a reputation for honor and integrity, and he was a hero of the Mexican War, but he offered few specifics on the issues of the day. It was essentially a "trust me or don't vote for me" message. As a slaveholder, supporter of preservation of that institution in the states where it existed, and one not clearly opposed to its extension into new states, he could gather votes in the South. As a strong defender of the Union and one who encouraged rapid addition of new states at a time when they likely would choose to be free, he could carry votes in the North. It was enough to get him elected. However, Taylor would die only a little more than a year into his term, to be succeeded by a series of nonentities, Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan, who would try to compromise the nation's way out of the coming conflagration, all to no avail. But, one can't help but wonder what would have happened if Taylor had survived, as unlike the presidents (and the congress) which followed him, Taylor was no compromiser. He opposed what became the Compromise of 1850 after his death, which allowed for the slow admission of new states after a territorial stage. He foresaw this as generating enormous battles between pro-free and pro-slavery forces, something which most notably came to pass in "Bleeding Kansas." Instead, he called for immediate drawing of state constitutions and admission of the new territories to the Union, before confrontations could develop, a process which would likely have led to more free states. And, Taylor was an unwavering supporter of the Union, prepared to defend it with whatever means necessary. From the only State of the Union address Taylor lived to present, speaking of the Union, he said, "...its dissolution would be the greatest of calamities..." and, "whatever dangers may threaten it, I shall stand by it and maintain it in its integrity..." Taylor was even more blunt with some southern lawmakers who were speaking of secession. To them he stated that in the event of a secession, he would personally lead the army against the rebels, and that he had no reluctance to hang those in rebellion. Taylor undoubtedly meant what he said. Item 17 is a letter Taylor wrote early in the campaign of 1848, in which he concisely states what in effect was his platform: "If honored by election to the Presidency I will strive to execute with fidelity the trust reposed in me, uncommitted to the principles of either party." $9,000.
Andersonville is perhaps the most notorious name to emerge from the horrors of the Civil War. A Confederate prison for Union soldiers, it more resembled the Nazi concentration camps of the following century than the typical prison. Some 13,000 soldiers died there. The commandant of this prison was one Henry Wirz. When the war ended, Wirz was placed on trial for the atrocities that occurred at Andersonville. However, military trials were generally conducted in secret. For this trial to have a major public impact, the proceedings would have to be open. That decision would have to come from President Andrew Johnson, historically associated with leniency toward the South. Item 28 is a letter from President Johnson to Acting Secretary of War T.J. Eckert allowing publication of the proceedings of the Wirz trial if such is "necessary to a full understanding of the case by the Public..." Those proceedings were made public, Wirz was convicted, and he became the only person executed for war crimes from the Civil War. It remains a debate today whether Wirz was a scapegoat for the horrors of this war or a man justly punished. Johnson's letter is available as item 28 of the Raab catalogue. $11,800.
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Autographs, Manuscripts and More of Famous People from The Raab Collection
Zachary Taylor pledges an independent course if elected president.
Item 44 is a photograph of Britain's Queen Victoria in all her regal splendour. The Queen sports her crown while wearing some sort of flowing outfit and seated on her throne. She looks most uncomfortable, but certainly retains her Victorian propriety. See image accompanying this article. The photograph is signed and dated by the Queen, 1882. $5,800.
Item 50 is an amazing collection of documents for anyone who collects Thomas Edison. Among the great inventor's many projects was developing a superior storage battery. The lead batteries of the day were not particularly effective and Edison sought to create a superior model. From 1906 to around 1910, Edison sent numerous notes to John Lystrop, a chemical engineer working for his Edison Storage Battery Co. Lystrop kept a collection of 19 of these autographed notes plus other related documents in a scrapbook. Raab recently obtained the collection from Lystrup's great-grandson. $25,000.
The centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth took place on February 12, 1909 (a reminder the bicentennial is coming up soon). A celebration took place in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln's birthplace, and among the attendees was President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt spoke, offering a comparison between Lincoln and the revered George Washington. "Each possessed inflexible courage in adversity, and a soul wholly unspoiled by prosperity," said Roosevelt. This tribute from one of the four presidents to make it to Mount Rushmore to two of the others who did is an exceptional association of three of America's greatest leaders. Item 51 is an excerpt from this address, signed by Roosevelt. $6,800.
President William Howard Taft is not one of America's more celebrated leaders. Following the dynamic Roosevelt, he was a plodding personality with a reputation for a more conservative agenda than the dynamic reformer who preceded him. Eventually, Roosevelt would turn on Taft for his views and assure that the latter was a one-term president. However, Taft's reputation for conservatism may not be entirely deserved. Ultimately, Taft would prosecute far more antitrust cases than did Roosevelt. And Taft was less willing to look the other way to monopolistic trusts considered to be "good" trusts rather than evil ones. In fact, in this letter to a judge who had suggested changing the Sherman Antitrust Act to recognize a difference between "good" and "bad" trusts, Taft replies, "I think the act is too valuable...to permit amendments, and I can make no distinction that shall separate good from bad trusts." Item 56 is this letter from President Taft. $4,500.
The Raab Collection may be found on the internet at www.raabcollection.com and reached by phone at 800-977-8333.
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