Search Results: Titles starting with F from Seth Kaller, Inc.

1827. No binding. Very Good. Autograph Letter Signed. Daring Former North Carolina Congressmen Dr. Robert B. Vance to challenge him to a duel, September 12, 1827. 2 pp. Browned paper, stain on verso, some losses on the edges and minor tears, but unique. ""the malignant shafts of your disappointed ambition fell perfectly harmless at my feet. I am incapable of any revenge towards you & let me assure you that my chivalry would not permit me to avenge any rongs which you could offer... But if you are serious make good your bost-throw the gantlett upon nutrill ground....""Jacksonian Congressman Samuel P. Carson dares his recent opponent Dr. Robert B. Vance to challenge him to a duel. Carson had won Vance's seat in 1825. In 1827, Vance tried to regain his old seat, in part by accusing Carson's father of turning Tory during the Revolutionary War. Carson's lopsided victory (by more than a two-to-one margin) apparently wasn't enough. On November 5, 1827, the men met… Read More

ANNA ELIZABETH DICKINSON.
Autograph Letter Signed, to A. Boyd. August 1, 1866. 2 pp. "Dr. Holmes somewhere says that, 'Apology is but one form of Egotism.' So I shall make none. Nevertheless, - I had I earlier seen your letter, which had been in my hands, I should have sooner answered it …"

Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (1842-1932) was a gifted orator and the first woman to speak before Congress. She was removed from a clerkship at the U.S. Mint for criticizing General George McClellan's handling of the war. She campaigned for the Republicans in 1863, and continued her lyceum speaking tour after the war. After a stint acting in Broadway plays, her sister had her committed to a mental institution. Upon her release, she sued those who had her committed and the newspapers that had labeled her insane. She won in court, but the press retaliated by stopping coverage.

ADDISON W. PRESTON.
Autograph Document, c. July to October 1863, 2 pp., 8 x 12¼ in. Complete Transcript

Lightersvil Md

July 5 Having march all night I enterd Lightersvill Md with 200 men and captured 125 rebels 100 head of cattle and several waggons Entered Hagerstown at 12 oclock "M." Marching between two detachments of Lees Army

July 6 Hagerstown During the early part of the day four companies of my command were thrown into the town as sharp shooters where they were sharply engaged until 3 oclock PM when I was ordered to act as rear guard while our forces retired In so doing, we were obliged to confront greatly superior numbers whose repeated assaults only terminated with darkness The loss to the regiment here was severe

July 8 Boonsboro Was not engaged until after noon by a vigerous attack of all our forces during which a brilliant charge was made by a portion of this regiment the enemy was driven from the field

July 11 Col Sawyer assumed command

July 13 Second Engagement at… Read More

"The Idea that an Army shall be entitled to receive whatever may be called for, is monstrous, and is what the Resources of no Nation can support."

Colonel Wadsworth provides a lengthy critique of a Senate bill to combine the Ordnance and Artillery departments. He insists on the need to maintain uniformity in arms manufacture and the necessity to control the flow of supplies. Many of his arguments about the tendency to waste in military expenditures resonate with modern critiques. DECIUS WADSWORTH.
Autograph Document Signed, critique of Senate bill to combine Ordnance and Artillery departments, ca. 1821. 7 pp., 8½ x 12½ in. [with] DECIUS WADSWORTH, Autograph Document Signed, proposal regarding Ordnance Department, ca. 1821. 3 pp., 8 x 10 in. #23067.04 [with] [JAMES MADISON]. An act for the better regulation of the Ordnance Department, passed by Congress, February 8, 1815, signed in type by President James Madison, Speaker of the House Langdon Cheves, and Senate President pro tem… Read More

[Washington, D.C.], 1941. Hardcover. Fine. Signed Book. Report of President's Committee on Civil Service Improvement. [Washington, D.C.], This presentation copy to William H. McReynolds, the Liaison Officer for Personnel Management, is signed by all the committee members, including the chairman, Justice Stanley Reed, Justice Felix Frankfurter, Justice Frank Murphy, Attorney General Robert H. Jackson, Leonard D. White, General Robert E. Wood, and Cooper Union President Gano Dunn. Historical BackgroundOn June 24, 1938, President Roosevelt extended the Civil Service Act of 1883 to approximately 24,000 higher-level positions. While most positions were quickly reorganized within the Civil Service, roughly 5,000 positions required a more complex transition. Officially classified as professional, scientific, or otherwise specially-skilled jobs, most were attorney positions. To facilitate the attorneys' smooth shift into the Civil Service, Roosevelt issued a second order at the beginning of 1939 that… Read More

Broadside describing the first occupation of Winchester, Virginia, during the Civil War. [CIVIL WAR].
Broadside, signed in type by Colonel William D. Lewis, Winchester, Virginia, April 17, 1862, 1 p. 12½ x 11 in.
Partial Transcript

"HEAD QUARTERS,

Commander of the Post,

Winchester, Va., April 17, 1862.

CITIZENS OF WINCHESTER:

Upon me has devolved the duty of commanding this Post. My wish and my duty is to afford you all the liberty and protection, due to fellow citizens. The Government I represent, is the same our forefathers established to form a more perfect Union. . . promote the general welfare and secure to us and our posterity, the blessing of Liberty. We mean truly to represent its impartial Justice.

But no one can expect the privileges of a citizen and behave as an enemy. No one can expect kindness . . . who does not extend it to others.

Citizens are reminded that the troops now stationed here, are those of their own Government, and are lawfully here on their country's soil. . .… Read More

Before John F. Kennedy could defeat Richard Nixon in the election of 1960, he had to win his party's nomination against veteran Senator Lyndon Johnson and perennial candidate Adlai Stevenson. Kennedy did so handily, on the first ballot of the convention. HARRY S. TRUMAN.
Pamphlet Inscribed and Signed. 1960 Democratic National Convention program, Los Angeles, signed in 1964. "To Robert William Bean Kindest regards 1/22/64 Harry Truman / It's a great platform!" 3¾ x 8½ in.
Excerpts:

In 1796, in America's first contested national election, our Party, under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, campaigned on the principles of "The Rights of Man." Ever since, these four words have underscored our identity with the plain people of America and the world. In periods of national crisis, we Democrats have returned to these words for renewed strength. ...

The common danger of mankind is war and the threat of war. Today, three billion human beings live in fear that some rash act or blunder may… Read More

In the first fugitive slave law case, which came before his cousin Commissioner Gardiner: "The fugitive was promptly dealt by and restored to his owner in Baltimore. Mr. Gardiner has proven himself to be a faithful public servant, an honest man, and a Patriot. And yet, by a certain class of Editors in New York he is sneered at…"

Tyler criticizes two NY editors in particular: "Now what jackasses are Mssrs Herricks and Ropes… These would-be somethingarians [a colloquialism, usually used as an insult] in the first place, deem it a matter of censure in a judge, to execute the law—and, in the next they show their ignorance … by ascribing to Mr. Tyler under their witty soubriquet of Captain (a title he is well content to wear since he enjoyed it during the war of 1812 with Great Britain)…" JOHN TYLER.
Autograph Letter Signed and Autograph Manuscript Signed several times in the third person. Sent to S. Cunningham, from Sherwood Forest, October 12, 1850, 1 p., 9⅜ x 7¼ in. on blue… Read More

"Thus it is that though the subject of Slavery is constantly agitating the minds of the people, and their opinions are wholly at variance, yet there are many important elements which tend to bind them together. And we are all hoping for a time when these elements shall so combine as to form one universal sentiment with regard to Slavery. When the North shall not only use their voices, but their hearts and their money if necessary in behalf of the oppressed. When the South shall not only feel the injustice of their "peculiar institution" but shall see that interest alone requires them to unite in making this a truly free and independent nation."

"Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate!" (Longfellow) [FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION].
Autograph Document, July 4, 1860, Hancock, MA. 14 pp., 8 x 10 in. Unknown author, ending by quoting Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "O… Read More

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.
Typed Letter Signed, as Governor, to Samuel H. Tatum, April 14, 1932, Albany, New York. 1 p., 8 x 10½ in.
Complete Transcript

STATE OF NEW YORK

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER

ALBANY

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

GOVERNOR

April 14, 1932.

Mr. S. H. Tatum,

Roanoke, / Alabama.

Dear Mr. Tatum:

Thank you for your nice note of April 11th. I am delighted to know that you so thoroughly enjoyed my radio talk.

I am leaving here the 23rd of April for Warm Springs but will stop off on my way down at Richmond, Virginia, to attend the Governors' Conference. However, I expect to be in Warm Springs the first part of May and I shall hope to see you all again.

Very sincerely yours,… Read More

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.
Autograph Note Signed "FDR" twice in the text, pencil, no place, no date but likely 1939. 2 pp., recto and verso, 4½ x 6½ in. Regarding the need to raise $3,000,000 for the Warm Springs foundation to handle 200 in-patients and 20 out-patients.
Historical Background

By the time he contracted polio in 1921 at age 39, Roosevelt had already been assistant secretary of the Navy and a candidate for vice-president. He spent three years searching for ways to recover the ability to walk. After George Foster Peabody wrote to him of a young man's improvement after swimming in the mineral-rich waters at his Georgia resort, the Meriwether Inn, Roosevelt left for Georgia. His atrophied legs and hips strengthened enough to allow him stand on his own, albeit with steel braces.

Warm Springs attracted national attention, drawing other polio survivors from around the country. In 1926, FDR purchased the property for $195,000. His biographers estimate that he accumulated debts… Read More

Both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were avid readers. With this postcard, the future president orders three books from Pierce & Scopes, Booksellers and Importers, in Albany, New York. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.
Autograph Notes filling out bookseller's printed postcard order form, October 28, 1924, 1 p.
The books Roosevelt ordered here are:

"Naval Battles 2.50."

The Roosevelt Library has American Naval Battles, published between 1831 and 1848, as well as Edward Shippen, Naval Battles, Ancient and Modern (1883); Harry Parker, Naval Battles from the Collection of Prints Formed and Owned by Commander Sir Charles Leopold Cust, Bart. (1911); Charles Elkins, The Naval Battles of Great Britain (1828); three copies of The Naval Battles of the United States in the Different Wars with Foreign Nations (1857-1859); and Edward Kirk Rawson, Twenty Famous Naval Battles (1899).

Autograph Notes "Valentine's Manual 12.50," likely Henry Collins Brown, Valentine's Manual of Old New York.… Read More

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT.
Typed Letter Signed as President, to Frederic A. Delano. Washington, D.C., August 25, 1942, 1 p., 7 x 9 in. On White House stationery. Complete Transcript

Dear Uncle Fred:- Many thanks for sending me that clipping about Tom Paine. I, too, have always had a keen interest in him. His principal mistake lay in his rather violent opposition to Washington in the campaign of 1792. [sic 1796].

Historical Background

Franklin Delano Roosevelt thanks his Uncle Fred, his mother's brother, for sending an article on Thomas Paine, a Revolutionary figure in whom the president had "a keen interest." However, FDR was mistaken in his reference to Paine's opposition to Washington in the presidential campaign of 1792. There was no campaign in 1792; Washington ran unopposed and was unanimously reelected. Paine's opposition came in 1796, after two parties had formed: the Federalists and the anti-Federalists, the nascent Democratic - Republican party.

In 1792, Paine and… Read More

With the war going badly, the 1864 election is no shoo-in for the incumbent.

Frederick A. Aiken, former Secretary of the Democratic National Convention, applauds General John C. Frémont's nomination by the Radical Republicans. He suggests that Frémont will have the blessing of the Democrats if he goes up against Lincoln for the Republican nomination. Aiken went on to serve (unsuccessfully) as defense attorney for Lincoln assassination conspirator Mary Surratt. FREDERICK A. AIKEN.
Autograph Letter Signed, to John C. Frémont, Washington, D.C., June 12, 1864. 2 pp. 7¾ x 9¾ in.
Complete Transcript

"Washington D.C. June 12th 1864.
Sir:
Up to the present time I have not heard from any democrat in this city an unkind word concerning yourself since the action of the Cleveland Convention. The Platform promulgated by that convention and your brave, truthful and powerful letter of acceptance have completely disarmed all bitter and personal hostility at the hands of the… Read More

"the Committee is convinced that a policy of equality of treatment and opportunity will make for a better Army, Navy, and Air Force. It is right and just. It will strengthen the nation." [LOUIS A. JOHNSON].
Book. Freedom to Serve: Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services
(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1950). May 1950 report to President Harry S. Truman by the Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. Rare presentation edition, bound in decorative brown cloth with gilt lettering, with Secretary of Defense Johnson's name gilt-stamped on the front cover. 82 pp., 6.8 x 9.8 in.
Historical Background

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 declaring his policy that "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." The president appointed a committee to examine the military's rules, procedures, and… Read More

Lyon, France, 1752. No binding. Very Good. Map. L'Amerique Divisee en ses Pricipales Parties ou sont distingues les ud de autres les Estats, selon quils appartiennents presentement aux Differents Souverains De L'Europe . . . Par le Sr. Bailleul le jeune Geographe. Jean Louis Daudet, Lyon, France, 1752. Approximately 31 x 40 in., on original wooden rollers. Historical BackgroundJean Louis Daudet, a Lyonnais map and book seller, published this map of the known states and territories of the New World created by Gaspard Bailleul, a noted Parisian geographer, and his son. Unsurprisingly, the Caribbean, Eastern Seaboard, and California coasts are the most detailed and accurate, while the extremities north, south, and inland are less detailed, leading to some interesting cartographic fables. Bailleul's view of the Northwest Coast of America, includes the early appearance of the fabled ""Mare de L'Ouest"" (Sea of the West) and ""Presque Isle de Nord Ouest"" (Peninsula of the Northwest) in the areas of… Read More

"If there is one measure better calculated than another to produce that state of things so much deprecated by all true republicans, by which the rich are daily adding to their hoards and the poor sinking deeper into penury, it is an exclusive metallic currency...."

On a cold, wet day, March 4, 1841, President Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history. Harrison wrote the entire speech himself, though it was edited by his soon-to-be Secretary of State, Daniel Webster. Webster said afterwards that in the process of editing the text, he had "killed seventeen Roman proconsuls." Contracting pneumonia, Harrison became the first president to die in office 31 days after delivering this address. His vice president John Tyler became the new president and served out Harrison's term.

In an 8,460-word address, printed here on the front page of the National Intelligencer, Harrison presents a detailed statement of the Whig agenda and a repudiation of the populism and policies of… Read More