Search Results: Titles starting with T from The Raab Collection

09/11/1840. John Q. Adams Autograph Letter Signed, Boston, November 9, 1840, to his niece, Caroline Amelia DeWint in Fishkill, New York. “My dear niece: I have engaged to deliver a lecture before the New York Lyceum on Tuesday the 18th inst. and another at Brooklyn the next day. I shall be happy to meet you in New York if it should suit your convenience, and am ever your affectionate Uncle, with my kindest regards to Mr. DeWint and all the family.” Adams was currently serving in the U.S. Congress, which was probably on Christmas vacation.Caroline Amelia (Smith) DeWint (1795-1852) was the daughter of President John Adam’s daughter Abigail Adams and William Stephens Smith. She married John Peter DeWint. The couple had 11 children.Adam's diary indicates that in New York he delivered a lecture on Society and Civilization, and that his niece attended.

25/04/1829. Andrew Jackson In 1812, the General Land Office was established as a federal agency within the Department of the Treasury. The Office’s primary responsibility was to oversee the survey and sale of lands deemed by the newly formed United States as “public domain” lands. As such it handled the land grants issued to private purchasers and approved by presidents. There were frequent disputes over titles to these lands, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office was responsible for resolving these disputes.James Allison was a Tennessean and known to Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812 as well. Allison would later become Deputy Land Surveyor in the Eastern District of Louisiana. In 1828, a new regional head surveyor took over and accused Allison of negligence and corruption. Allison complained directly to the new President, Andrew Jackson, once the latter took office. Jackson, to gain justice for his old acquaintance, wrote directly to the head US surveyor, George Graham, demanding… Read More

15/04/1865. Abraham Lincoln The Assassination:Abraham Lincoln continues to stand as America’s most beloved President. Of our nation’s historical icons, Lincoln is the quintessential embodiment of American possibility in his mythic-like rise from rail-splitter to Chief Executive and Emancipator of the oppressed. The admiration felt by Americans for Lincoln’s humble integrity, his performance in office, his noble statesmanship, and his keen sense of justice, is enduring. Lincoln is not given the highest marks just for character, but for the transformation of the nation that he left behind, which was both profound and long-lasting.Polls of historians generally show their belief that Lincoln faced the hardest job of any president. He had to define the issues, inspire the people, be steadfast in the face of losses, win the Civil War, free the slaves, and lay the groundwork to reunite the nation. All that in the face of determined opposition. He accomplished all this in four years, but was… Read More

6/5/04. Theodore Roosevelt Bliss accepted and led the highly successful campaign, TR’s only presidential run as a Republican This campaign led to the first calls for campaign finance reform, and this letter was cited in the investigationCornelius N. Bliss was a partner in one of the largest wholesale dry-goods firms in the country. Involved in politics, he knew fellow New Yorker Chester A. Arthur and served as chairman of the Republican committee in New York in 1887 and 1888, contributing much to the success of the Benjamin Harrison ticket in his state in the 1888 election. Presidents Arthur and Harrison both wanted to offer him cabinet posts, but he declined on the grounds that his wife was a semi-invalid and could not move from their New York home to Washington. He served as Treasurer of the Republican National Committee from 1892 to 1904, and became friendly with William McKinley in his early years in that office. In January 1896, McKinley asked Bliss to become Secretary of the Treasury in… Read More

Theodore Roosevelt This letter was obtained by us directly from the recipient’s family and has never before been offered for saleDuring his campaign for the presidency in 1904, Theodore Roosevelt publicly resolved not to run in 1908; instead, he supported his secretary of war, William Howard Taft, as the Republican nominee. Taft was elected president in 1908, but his conservative politics led to a falling out with Roosevelt, who decided to return to the political arena in order to oppose his former ally. In the 1912 election, therefore, it was Roosevelt who accepted the nomination of the newly formed Progressive Party. Progressives held a convention in Chicago that was populated by dedicated reformers who wanted to radically remake America. Their numbers included suffragettes, social workers, urban planners, conservationists, labor activists, political reformers, and idealists of all strains. Neither the candidate nor the platform let them down. The platform and Roosevelt also called for the reform… Read More

28/01/1904. Theodore Roosevelt A 6 1/2 by 11 inch photograph of Theodore Roosevelt taken by the George G. Rockwood studio in 1898, likely upon his election as New York governor. TR liked the photo and signed this one as President: “With regards of Theodore Roosevelt, Jan. 28th, 1904.” The name W.J. Davis is on the verso, inviting conjecture that this was given by TR to William John Davis, British reformer and founder of the General Federation of Trade Unions.

31/01/1918. Theodore Roosevelt When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, many Americans strongly supported the Allies, and the foremost and outspoken among them was ex-President Theodore Roosevelt. TR blamed Germany for the war and its atrocities, and openly advocated taking a harsh line against that nation. there was no universal American championship of the Allies cause, and in fact many people leaned towards the German side. In fact, in 1916 President Wilson ran for reelection on the slogan “He kept us out of war,” and won. Then, on April 6, 1917, Wilson changed his stance and asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. The vote in Congress was 455 in favor to 56 against. One of the Republican to vote no, and a leader of the dissenters, was the populist and future U.S. Senator Ernest Lundeen of Minnesota, who followed this vote with a no vote on the conscription bill. In the months after the U.S. declaration of war, Lundeen engaged in a heated exchange, almost a debate via… Read More

26/07/1918. Theodore Roosevelt TR: “I am not concerned about his attitude towards me personally. I am concerned only with the attitude of every such leader of thought towards the affairs of the nation. I am with any man who in the stormy days through which we are passing, and which are ahead of us, takes the right stance…” Refusing to look back on disagreements or slights, he says “I care nothing for the past, except insofar as it affects the future”Theodore Roosevelt was interested in South America, and in 1913 he journeyed to Brazil and took a trip down an uncharted tributary of the Amazon: the mysterious River of Doubt. The expedition collected many new animal and insect specimens, but TR nearly died during the voyage and his health was permanently damaged. He remained widely known for his interest in both South America and zoology.Dr. Carl Eigenmann was an alumnus of Indiana University, an instructor/professor in IU's department of zoology, and an administrator at the university… Read More

23/09/1917. Theodore Roosevelt We cannot recall any other president document on the market issuing such a blanket passJohn Charles Shaffer was a noted newspaper editor and publisher of the day. Shaffer built his empire from a humble start as a telegraph operator, to become a major newspaper publisher and owner of business concerns in grain and railroad transportation. He arrived in Chicago in 1874 and began amassing a fortune through his railroad investments. In 1901, Shaffer purchased the Chicago Evening Post, and then a series of other papers including the Indianapolis Star, Muncie Star, Terre Haute Starr, and the Louisville Herald. He then purchased the Denver Post, Denver Times, and Rocky Mountain News. Shaffer was also a philanthropist who focused mainly on music, funding the Chicago Symphony orchestra and the civic opera in Chicago.Shaffer was a strong supporter of Theodore Roosevelt, and TR valued the connection. The two were in touch as early as 1903, when Shaffer wrote Roosevelt thanking him… Read More

03/04/1890. Theodore Roosevelt The International Copyright Act of 1891 was originally introduced in January 1890, and in May Representative William McKinley introduced a Special Order by which the copyright bill could be debated. Getting enough support was not easy, the Senate being especially difficult to line up in support. The bill did not pass until March 3, 1891, and it went into effect on July 1, 1891. It was the first U.S. congressional act that offered copyright protection in the United States to citizens of countries other than the United States. The act extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. It was also important for American creators since they were more likely to have international copyright protection in countries that were offered the same protection by the United States. The Act empowered the President to extend copyright to works of foreign nationals. An English author wrote, “The passing of the American Copyright Bill is a fact of the highest… Read More

03/02/1889. Theodore Roosevelt This is our first letter of Roosevelt on the details and accoutrements of hunting, which define much of his imageTheodore Roosevelt was, and remains, the nation’s most noted and passionate hunter. He loved the thrill of tracking and chasing game, the skill in marksmanship, the careful and deliberate recording of his observations about each hunt, the demanding preservation of specimens, and the pleasure of capturing in rich and vibrant language this ephemeral experience so that he could share it with the world.To improve his ornithological study at age 12, he shot a number of winged specimens while on a family trip to Egypt. He hunted and developed his expertise as a natural scientist in the Adirondacks thereafter. One of the first impulses Roosevelt acted on when he moved west in 1884 was to shoot a buffalo, and over the next several years he added numerous other trophies—a bighorn sheep, and a 1,200-pound grizzly bear. He became a western ranchman by sheer force of… Read More

08/11/1898. Theodore Roosevelt ""I shall do all in my power to redeem every promise I have made, expressed or implied…I believe I can best serve the Republican Party by doing everything I can to help it serve the state. I shall strive to administer the office of governor in the interests of the whole people. It is by so doing that I can best show my appreciation of the support given me by the independents and Democrats…""[embed size=""full""]https://player.vimeo.com/511644882[/embed] At the start of Roosevelt's political career, he served three years as a member of the New York State Assembly. His next post was as a member of the U.S. Civil Service Commission (of which he later became head). In 1895 he undertook the direction of the New York City Police Department. Then in 1897 he joined President McKinley's administration as assistant secretary of the Navy. None of these offices were stepping stones to a major political career, nor were they ones that placed the holder in the… Read More

27/03/1913. Theodore Roosevelt William Draper Lewis was for decades Dean of the University of Pennsylvania. During his deanship, Lewis's attention was highly diverted by the politics of the Progressive movement. Advisor and confidant to Theodore Roosevelt; in fact, Lewis chaired the platform committee for Roosevelt's failed run for president on the Bull Moose ticket in 1912. In his most politically impassioned maneuver, Lewis ran for Pennsylvania governor in 1914 on a straight Progressive platform, but was defeated.William Hinebaugh was chairman of the Republican Party in Illinois, but switched to the [Progressive] Bull Moose Party in 1912 when his friend, Theodore Roosevelt, split with the Republican Party. It was on the Progressive Party ticket that Hinebaugh was elected to the 63rd U.S. Congress from the 12th Illinois District, where he served one term, 1913-1915. TR saw him as a leader as the party began to set and implement its 1913-14 agenda.Typed letter signed, on his Outlook letterhead, New… Read More

12/04/1776. John Hancock Those very bells would sound 2 months later to celebrate his signing of the Declaration of Independence He announces the news of the capture of the first British vessel by a regularly commissioned American force, done by John Barry, news having been sent him as President the day before A newly discovered and unpublished letter, our best ever of Hancock from 1776 “You say nothing about Boston. I want to hear every little stirring. How pray are the bells taken from the steeples, I long to hear the Sound of those Bells. Do give me particulars…Captain Barry’s letter to me you will see in the enclosed papers. We have good accounts from our little fleet at New London…Persevere in doing all the good you can.”“We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” This, the closing line of the Declaration of Independence, manifests the frame of mind of the Signers at that momentous time. All fifty-six of them literally put their… Read More

20/01/1927. Thomas Edison Thomas Edison and Electricity are almost synonymous. Edison invented many electricity-inspired devices, such as the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and a forerunner of the movie projector. To create the electricity, he set up the world's first electricity generation plant, and developed a complete electrical distribution system for light and power. These are are just a few of the host of his electricity inventions that laid the basis for the modern electric world. So it is not surprising that he should seek a self-generating source of electricity; in other words, a battery.Edison’s interest in batteries was long-standing and dated back to his time as a telegraph inventor. He was among the first to try to develop consumer-friendly batteries, and made important improvements in battery design, inventing alkaline batteries. He began investigating storage batteries as early as the 1880s, but it was the advent of automobiles in the late 1890s that spurred him to develop… Read More

1880. Thomas Eckert Eckert was head of the U.S. Military Telegraph office in Washington. He organized and administered the War Department’s military telegraph, and was responsible for sending and receiving many of the messages.The War Department's Telegraph Office was next to the White House. President Lincoln spent significant time in the telegraph office sending and receiving war correspondence. He often walked alone from the White House to the office, and chatted with Eckert and the operators. As Bates later wrote, “During the Civil War the President spent more of his waking hours in the War Department telegraph office than in any other place, except the White House. While in the Telegraph Office he was comparatively free from official cares, and therefore more apt to disclose his natural traits and disposition than elsewhere under other conditions."" In fact, it is said that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation at Eckert’s desk..Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1890.… Read More

12/10/1895. Thomas Edison The iron ore business was made unprofitable by new ore discoveries at Lake Superior, and cheaper rail shipping rates set by Andrew Carnegie and othersWhen people think of Thomas Edison, they think of his great inventions and the huge industries they created. He made phonographs, movies, founded General Electric to provide light, and so much more. But sometimes the mind of Edison fastened on an idea that, though susceptible to important inventions, did not prove commercially viable.About 1885 American industrialists began to worry that the Great Lakes and other sources of high-grade ore were being exhausted. So to take advantage of and address this perceived iron ore shortage, in 1891 Edison launched a mining operation called the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Concentrating Company. He promptly set about securing locations for what he hoped would be likely successful mining operations, He developed a concentrating process, designed rock-crushing technology, and an… Read More

1920. Thomas Edison An oversize photograph of Edison, showing him circa late 1920s, posed with people who are likely his staff, standing in front of a laboratory building. One of the finest signed photos of Edison we have ever had.

29/08/1887. Thomas Edison He is also close to a method of safely powering his electric generators or dynamos: “Regarding the paper for Dynamos we are trying a set of elaborate experiments, which will be finished next week. So far we find paper should soak 10 days then air dried in closed place and then re-dipped for a moment only and re-dried. Its like glass and spark does not go through.”Thomas Edison propelled the world out of the gaslight era and into the electric age. With dreams of lighting up entire cites, Edison lined up financial backing, assembled a group of brilliant scientists and technicians, and applied his genius to the challenge of creating an effective and affordable electric lamp. With unflagging determination, he and his team tried out thousands of possibilities, convinced that every failure brought them one step closer to success. They succeeded where so many others had failed. On January 27, 1880, just a month after exhibiting his invention, Edison received the historic patent… Read More

1892. Thomas Edison Edison also looks for help in creating his mining operation, asking for carpentersJohn Kruesi apprenticed as a locksmith in Switzerland, and migrated to the United States where he settled in Newark, New Jersey. There he met Thomas Edison, who was impressed with the young Swiss immigrant and took a liking to him, employing him in his workshop starting in 1872. He became Edison’s head machinist through his Newark and Menlo Park periods, responsible for translating Edison’s numerous rough sketches into working devices. Since constructing and testing models was central to Edison’s method of inventing, Kruesi’s skill in doing this was critical to Edison’s success as an inventor. By the late 1880s, Kruesi was General Manager of the Edison Machine Works, a company set up to produce dynamos, large electric motors, and other components of electrical illumination. In 1889 the Machine Works business moved to Schenectady, NY. However Kruesi was still assisting Edison in a variety of… Read More