Fine Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

Washington, George Document signed (“Go: Washington”) as President of the Society of the Cincinnati, being a membership certificate for William Munson Engraved broadside on vellum (approx. 355 x 510 mm), accomplished in a calligraphic clerical hand, Mount Vernon, 4 July 1786, conferring membership in the Society of the Cincinnati to William Munson, “Major in the Army of the United States of America,” signed by George Washington as President (“Go: Washington”), countersigned by Henry Knox as Secretary ("HKnox"), engraved allegorical vignettes by Auguste L. Belle after Jean-Jacques Andre LeVeau (from the design of Pierre L'Enfant) depicting America in knight’s armor trampling upon the British standard and the American eagle casting the British lion and Britannia out to sea with thunderbolts, the vignettes incorporating depictions of both sides of the medal of the Order of the Cincinnati within roundels; lightly rippled, laid down with two edges lifting from mat, engrossment slightly faded, repair to small hole at bottom center not affecting text or engravings, some toning. Matted, glazed, and framed (1398 x 805 mm) with an engraved portrait of Washington (355 x 300 mm); not examined out of frame. A fine copy of a Society of the Cincinnati membership certificate, issued on the tenth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The Society of the Cincinnati was founded on 13 May 1783 by officers in the Continental Army who sought to establish fraternal relationships in the wake of the Revolutionary War: “To perpetuate therefore, as well the remembrance of this vast event, as the mutual friendships which have been formed under the pressure of common danger, and in many instances cemented by the blood of the parties, the Officers of the American Army do hereby, in the most solemn manner, associate, constitute, and combine themselves into one Society of Friends.” The organization was named after the fifth-century Roman statesman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a model of civic virtue and the defense of one’s homeland. Washington served as its first president. William Munson of Connecticut marched as 1st Lieutenant with Elmore's Continental Regiment on 15 April 1776, as 1st Lieutenant for the 2d Canadian (Hazen’s) Regiment on 3 November 1776, and was promoted to Captain of the 2d Canadian from 9 January 1778 until June 1783 (Heitman, p. 407). Later, Washington appointed Munson as customs surveyor and inspector at the port of New Haven on 20 February 1793 (Journal of the Senate Executive, p. 130). He served in this position until his death in 1826. REFERENCES Heitman, Historical register of officers of the Continental Army during the war of the revolution, April 1775, to December, 1783; Journal of the Senate Executive of the United States, 1792-1793, Vol. 1 PROVENANCE Christie’s New York, 18 June 2020, lot 96, $11,250

View 1 of Lot 1044: Washington, George | Document signed (“Go: Washington”) as President of the Society of the Cincinnati, being a membership certificate for William Munson

washington, george | document signed (“go: washington”) as president of the society of the cincinnati, being a membership certificate for william munson

Washington, George Autograph letter signed (“Go: Washington”), one page (329 x 203 mm) on a leaf of laid paper, New Windsor, [New York], 14 May 1781, to Jonathan Trumbull; lightly soiled, some short, closed marginal tears, tipped to a mat board. Shortly before his historic conference with General Rochambeau at the Joseph Webb House in Wethersfield, Connecticut—where the Franco-American strategy for the siege of Yorktown was planned—Washington warmly welcomes Jonathan Trumbull as his military secretary, replacing Robert Hanson Harrison, who had been appointed chief judge of the Maryland General Court: “In answer to your favor of the 10th, which came to my hands last night, I have to assure you, that your joining my family in the first part of June will be very convenient for me, and that I shall be happy in the event.” The commander-in-chief concludes the letter “With very great esteem & regard.” The General acceded to Trumbull’s request for a brief delay, and his general orders for 8 June record that “Jonathan Trumbull Esqr. Junior is appointed Secretary to the Commander in Chief and to be respected accordingly” (Papers, p. 389). Washington initially proffered the position to Trumbull on 16 April, and on 10 May Trumbull replied, “I have now the Honor to inform that I have determined to accept the Offer—provided your Excellency can dispense with a Delay which unavoidable Appointments of Public Business will occasion—these Appointments, made previous to your Excellencys Call with the necessary Preperations for joining—will take my Time to the first Part of June.” (Papers, pp. 75–76). At Washington’s headquarters, Trumbull joined a “family” that included Tench Tilghman and David Humphreys. Trumbull remained in office through Yorktown and until the end of the war, and his name is most frequently met with as the countersignature on the discharges of Continental soldiers being paroled from active service. “[T]hree of Washington’s most experienced aides-de-camp departed his family during 1781: Harrison, Hamilton, and Meade. The general moved quickly to fill the vacancies with Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., Dr. David Cobb, and William Stephens Smith. … When Washington lost the valuable services of Robert Hanson Harrison, he cast about for an outstanding writer to replace him. As he had done sometimes in the past when he needed help, Washington turned for assistance to the talented Trumbull family of Connecticut. That state’s governor, Jonathan Trumbull, was the patriarch of the family and one of Washington’s staunchest allies. When the general was desperate for men or food during the war, his best hope was to turn to Governor Trumbull, whom he purportedly called, ‘Brother Jonathan.’ … Governor Trumbull had four sons, all of whom played an active role in the Revolution. … It was Governor Trumbull’s namesake, Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., … replaced Harrison as Washington’s military secretary” (Lefkowitz, p. 232). REFERENCES The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, ed. Ferraro, vol. 32, pp. 75–76 (footnote 3 to Trumbull’s letter of 10 May); cf. Arthur S. Lefkowitz, George Washington’s Indispensable Men: The 32 Aides-de-Camp Who Helped Win American Independence (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 2003) PROVENANCE Christie’s New York, 5 December 2006, lot 325 (undesignated consignor; “The Property of a Gentleman”)

View 1 of Lot 1043: Washington, George | Autograph letter signed  welcoming Jonathan Trumbull to his “family” as an aide-de-camp, 1781

washington, george | autograph letter signed welcoming jonathan trumbull to his “family” as an aide-de-camp, 1781

Washington, George Autograph letter signed (“Go: Washington”), one page (232 x 188 mm) on a bifolium, Mount Vernon, 15 February 1774, to the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Boucher in Prince George County, autograph address and reception docket on verso of integral leaf, remnants of black seal; rebacked, fold separations closed with transparent tape on rebacking, browned, shipped with marginal loss costing much of the g in Washington’s signature, larger loss to margin of integral leaf. Washington writes to his close friend—and the tutor of his stepson John Parke Custis—about the frustrations of engaging someone to lead an expedition to validate his claim to lands in Ohio territories granted for his service in the French and Indian War: “Before Mr Beall deliver’d me your Letter of the 10th [this letter has not been located], which came to hand later than I expected (under a supposition of his willingness to undertake my business on the Ohio) I had conditionally agreed with Mr Vale Crawford for this purpose; who you must know, had Imbark’d in a Courting Scheme (in this neighbourhood) and, as I conceiv’d the task of pleasing a Master & Mistress, equal to that of two Masters, I made a point of his settling this business some how or other with the Lady—before he undertook mine; and this he did unfavourably to his wishes, the very day Mr Beall came here & was at liberty for me. “I should have mentioned this to you by Mr Beall, but was a good deal hurried just at that time by sevl Person’s on business, who chanc’d to fall in here just as he did. Mrs Washington Desires me to thank you for your kind congratulations on her Son’s Marriage; & with Complimts to Mrs., Miss Boucher, & yourself in which we both join. …” Valentine Crawford was expected to lead such an expedition of workers to Washington’s lands on the Great Kanawha, but he was delayed, first by the romantic entanglement Washington references, and then by the outbreak of hostilities between Virgina settlers and the Shawnee and Mingo people in the trans-Appalachia region of the colony. Once this conflict, called Dunmore’s War, was resolved, Washington dispatched George Young on a similar journey in April 1775. By that time, Boucher was probably planning his return to England: despite his friendship with Washington, he was an ardent and outspoken Loyalist. The black mourning wax used to seal this letter was probably a memorial to Washington’s stepdaughter, Martha Parke Custis, who had died at the age of seventeen some eight months earlier. REFERENCES The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, ed. Abbot & Twohig, vol. 9, pp. 440–441 (text from a photocopy at the NYPL)

View 1 of Lot 1042: Washington, George | A 1774 letter to his Loyalist friend Jonathan Boucher concerning his grants in the trans-Appalachian Ohio lands

washington, george | a 1774 letter to his loyalist friend jonathan boucher concerning his grants in the trans-appalachian ohio lands

Important Judaica

George Washington Collection of the Speeches of the President of the United States to Both Houses. At the Opening of every Session, With Their Answers. Also, The Addresses to the President, With His Answers, From the Time of His Election: With an Appendix, Containing the Circular Letter of General Washington to the Governors of the several States, and his Farewell Orders, To the Armies of America, and the Answer. Dedicated to the Citizens of the United States of America. Boston: Manning and Loring for Solomon Cotton, July, 1796 8vo (172 x 100 mm), first edition; 282 pp., with 1-page publisher’s ad at rear; intermittent foxing (heavier on pp. 71-97, 168-182, 276-282.), even light browning, repaired tear in the title page with no loss to text. Modern calf-backed marbled paper boards. Catalogue Note "to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance" This historic volume reflects the first appearance in book form of the correspondence between George Washington, the first President of the United States, and the various American Jewish communities of the day. Characteristically, American Jews chose not to unite and dispatch one letter to congratulate Washington upon his inauguration. The congregation in Savannah sent its own letter, and the communities of Philadelphia, New York, Charleston and Richmond sent one jointly. In response to the good wishes expressed in the latter letter, Washington reciprocated: “May the same temporal and eternal blessings which you implore for me, rest upon your Congregations.” The Jews of Newport declined to sign the letters sent by the other congregations. This may have been because the citizenry of Rhode Island was divided as to whether or not to join the new union and the state’s Jews may have been hesitant to make a public statement on the matter by writing to the newly elected President. Nonetheless, when Washington visited Newport in 1790, Moses Seixas, the warden of the congregation, addressed him on its behalf. Washington replied: “For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving on all occasions their effectual support… May the children of the stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants.” This volume, “Collection of the Speeches,” contains the correspondence exchanged between President Washington and the Jewish community of Newport and the communities of Philadelphia, Charleston, New York and Richmond. (It also contains a second letter penned by Moses Seixas, this one in his capacity as the master of a local Masonic lodge.) The letters continued to be cited by Jews and their advocates throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to demonstrate that Washington, the most influential and highly revered of all the founding fathers, had fully sanctioned their inclusion in the American nation. Provenance John Allen - his signature on the dedication page (p. iii) – ink collection stamp on front free endpaper Literature Singerman 102.

View 1 of Lot 77: First edition of the correspondence between George Washington and the American Jewish communities, 1796

first edition of the correspondence between george washington and the american jewish communities, 1796

A detailed map of Central London, based on the Ordnance Survey, overprinted with the routes of the Underground lines.<ul><li>George Washington Bacon (English).</li><li>London Transport Underground. Map of London.</li><li>London: Roadway Publications, 1934. </li><li>Color-printed map.</li></ul>

Quad-Royal poster map with Central London's Underground

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first American edition</a> of The Life of George Washington, by <a href="sothebys.com/en/search?query=John%20Marshall&amp;tab=objects" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Marshall</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 6 volumes.</li><li>John Marshall (American).</li><li>The Life Of George Washington, Commander In Chief Of The American Forces [...] [with] Maps And Subscribers' Names.</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;C.P. Wayne,&nbsp;1804-1807.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavos, plus a quarto atlas.</li><li>Volumes 1-5 are bound in full tree calf, spines of volumes 1-2 have maroon and black labels with gilt lettering and ornamentation, spines of volumes 3-5 have faded maroon labels with gilt lettering and ornamentation.</li><li>Atlas volume is quarter bound in brown leather with corners tipped and marbled paper boards.</li></ul> Contents: Volume I:<ul><li>xxii, 488, 45 pages.</li><li>Published in 1804.</li><li>Contains a frontis portrait of George Washington.</li></ul> Volume II:<ul><li>viii, 560, 72 pages.</li><li>Published in 1804.</li></ul> Volume III:<ul><li>viii, 580, 28 pages.</li><li>Published in 1804.</li></ul> Volume IV:<ul><li>viii, 626, [2], 16 pages.</li><li>Published in 1805.</li></ul> Volume V:<ul><li>vii, [1] 779, [1], 36 pages.</li><li>Published in 1807.</li></ul> Volume VI:<ul><li>"The Life of George Washington: Maps and Subscribers' Names"</li><li>[2], 10 engraved folding maps (8 double-page), 22 pages).</li><li>Published in 1807.</li></ul>

The Life of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the American Forces First American Edition

Album of signatures of nearly every <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=U.S.+President&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">U.S. President</a> from <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=George+Washington&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">George Washington</a> to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, mostly clipped or franking <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signatures</a>.<ul><li>[assembled circa 1950].</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>Each autograph mounted or tipped onto White Ace Presidential Series printed pages, with engraved portraits of each president mounted on facing leaves. </li><li>Not including James K. Polk (present as a printed signature only).</li><li>Twentieth century full navy blue morocco, seal of the U.S. in gilt on the upper cover, in a later blue slipcase.</li></ul> Signature Details:1) George Washington. Franking signature, on an address leaf addressed in his hand to Mrs. A. Stockton.2) John Adams. Franking signature, in an old and very shaky hand, on a clipped address panel addressed to General Dearborn, dated November 28, 1822, with the word "Roxbury" added in Adams's hand. 3) Thomas Jefferson. Franking signature, on a clipped address panel addressed to Mr. Isaac Briggs. Approx. Irregularly trimmed.4) James Madison. Franking signature, on a clipped address panel addressed in his hand to "Cutts, Esq. Washington"5) James Monroe. Clipped signature.6) John Quincy Adams. Franking signature, on a clipped address panel addressed in his hand to M. M. Jones in Utica, NY. 7) Andrew Jackson. Franking signature, clipped from an address panel. 8) Martin Van Buren. Clipped signature.9) William Henry Harrison. Clipped signature and valediction.10) John Tyler. Franking signature, clipped from an address panel addressed to Mrs. Elizabeth Watter. 11) James K. Polk. Printed signature, on small clipped sheet. 12) Zachary Taylor. Clipped signature and rank. 13) Millard Fillmore. Franking signature, on a clipped address panel addressed to Thurlow Weed. 14) Franklin Pierce. Franking signature, on a clipped front of a mourning stationery envelope.15) James Buchanan. Clipped signature and valediction.16) Abraham Lincoln. Clipped signature and valediction, "Yours truly."17) Andrew Johnson. Clipped signature and date, in pencil, on ruled paper. 18) Ulysses S. Grant. Signature, on card.19) Rutherford B. Hayes. Signature, on card with bevelled edges. 20) James A. Garfield. Clipped signature, on yellow paper. 21) Chester A. Arthur. Signature, on Executive Mansion card.22) Grover Cleveland. Signature, on Executive Mansion card. 23) Benjamin Harrison. Signature, on card with bevelled edges.24) William McKinley. Signature, on card. 25) Theodore Roosevelt. Signature, on White House card.26) William Taft. Signature, on card. 27) Woodrow Wilson. Clipped signature, from the bottom of a typed letter to George W. Whyte.28) Warren G. Harding. Clipped signature, from a partly-printed document. 29) Calvin Coolidge. Signature, on White House card. 30) Herbert Hoover. Signature, on small card. 31) Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Clipped signature, on blue ruled paper.

Album of Signatures of Nearly Every U.S. President from George Washington to Franklin Delano Roosevelt

First Sparks edition and the first collected edition large paper copies of correspondence, addresses, messages and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts, The Writings of George Washington, with A Life of the Author, notes and illustrations by Jared Sparks.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 12.</li><li>George Washington (American).</li><li>Jared Sparks (American).</li><li>Boston: American Stationers’ Company; Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and Metcalf, and Hilliard, Gray, and Co.; Boston: Russell, Shattuck, and Williams, and Hilliard, Gray, and Co. 1834-1837.</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>All first issues except volume III which is a second issue.</li><li>Illustrated with frontispieces to four volumes and thirty further plates as called for.</li><li>Bound in recent tan half calf over marbled boards, gilt titles on red and green morocco squares to spines, gilt tooling to spines, marbled endpapers.</li></ul>

The Writings of George Washington

A large map of the world showing the British Empire at its height marked in pink.<ul><li>G.W. Bacon (American).</li><li>Bacon's New Chart of the World Mercator's Projection.</li><li>Manchester: G.W. Bacon &amp; Co., 1908.</li><li>Color lithograph map, dissected into 24 sections and laid onto linen as issued.</li><li>This work is presented framed.</li></ul> Insets in this map record a wealth of additional detail, including the principal British steamship lines, a gazetteer of cities from across the world, with plans of towns including Adelaide, Auckland, Bombay, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Wellington, and insets for the Panama and Suez Canals, the two Poles, a Universal Time chart and a large inset map of the British Isles. The top section is illustrated with 46 national flags and ensigns.

Bacon’s New Chart of the World Map

Lee, Robert E. Autograph letter signed ("R E Lee"), 1 1/4 pages (203 x 129 mm) on a sheet of paper, Richmond, 13 June 1865, to General Edward O. Ord, with autograph envelope addressed "Genl Ord | Comm[andin]g &c" and docketed "fr Gen Lee," accompanied by several related later documents (described below). Robert E. Lee's long road to amnesty and restored citizenship. While the two figures most intimately associated with the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Courthouse are Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, Grant's compatriot Edward O. Ord played an instrumental role in ending the Civil War. On 9 April, he led the Army of the James on a forced march to relieve General Phil Sheridan, and his arrival determined Lee that his Army of Northern Virginia could no longer successfully resist the North's offensive. No less a warrior than William Tecumseh Sherman stated that Ord's "skillful, hard march the night before was one of the chief causes of Lee's surrender." Ord—encouraged by Confederate General James Longstreet, whom he had met during an exchange of prisoners— had in fact been working for a month to initiate peace talks between Lee and Grant. Ord had the honor of receiving Lee's letter of 9 April asking for "a suspension of hostilities pending the discussion of the terms of surrender," which he eloquently docketed, "the within read—acted upon … men at rest … firing stopped" (sold, Sotheby's, 26 October 1988, lot 102). The assassination of President Lincoln threw the peace and reconstruction process into confusion. Lincoln's successor, Vice President Andrew Johnson, shared his lenient view of the defeated South, but he did not possess either the political capital or skill that Lincoln had, and many of his efforts were thwarted by hardliners bent on punishing the former Confederate states. Lee himself was indicted on charges of treason in federal court in Virginia. Both Ord and Lee were strong proponents of full regional reconciliation once the South had laid down her arms, and Ord sent the former Confederate commander a copy of President Johnson's Amnesty Proclamation of 29 May 1865. Johnson's executive order granted "to all persons who have, directly or indirectly, participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except in cases where legal proceedings, under the laws of the United States providing for the confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion, have been instituted." In Lee's case, three of the fourteen stated exceptions stood in the way of his amnesty and pardon: "3d, all who shall have been military or naval officers of said pretended Confederate government above the rank of colonel in the army or lieutenant in the navy; … 5th, all who resigned or tendered resignations of their commissions in the army or navy of the United States to evade duty in resisting the rebellion; … 8th, all military and naval officers in the rebel service, who were educated by the government in the Military Academy at West Point or the United States Naval Academy." However, Johnson's Proclamation provided that special application could be made by any person belonging to the excepted classes. With this understanding, Lee began his efforts to obtain post-war amnesty with the present letter to E. O. Ord: "I am much obliged to you for a copy of the proclamation. I have thought it best to proceed as I would have done had I not heard of the action of the Court at Norfolk, & therefore have enclosed to Genl Grant an application for amnesty which I have requested may be acted on, provided it is not the intention of the Govt: to prosecute me. I believe that is the mode of proceding pointed out, & I shall be much obliged to you if you will present it to Genl Grant. With thanks for your kindness & regrets for your disposition." Lee's letter to Grant (now in the National Archives) was of a much more formal nature: "Upon reading the President's proclamation of the 29th ult., I came to Richmond to ascertain what was proper or required of me to do, when I learned that, with others, I was to be indicted for treason by the grand jury at Norfolk. I had supposed that the officers and men of the Army of Northern Virginia were, by the terms of their surrender, protected by the United States Government from molestation so long as they conformed to its conditions. I am ready to meet any charges that may be preferred against me, and do not wish to avoid trial; but, if I am correct as to the protection granted by my parole, and am not to be prosecuted, I desire to comply with the provision of the President's proclamation, and, therefore, inclose the required application, which I request, in that event, may be acted on." The enclosure to President Johnson (also in the National Archives) was written in a similar voice: "Being excluded from the provisions of amnesty and pardon contained in the proclamation of the 29th ult., I hereby apply for the benefits, and full restoration of all rights and privileges, extended to those included in its terms." Lee then cites the categories of his exclusion: "I graduated at the Military Academy at West Point in June, 1829; resigned from the U. S. Army, April, 1861; was a General in the Confederate Army, and included in the surrender of the Army of N. Va., April 9, 1865." Lee's letter to Ord is here accompanied by a typed transcript of the above letter to Johnson, attested and signed by his oldest son, George Washington Custis Lee. The transcription also includes an explanatory paragraph by G. W. C. Lee: "When Gen. Lee requested me to make a copy of this letter to Presdt. Johnson, he remarked: It was but right for him to set an example of making formal submission to the Civil Authorities; and that he thought, by so doing, he might possibly be in a better position to be of use to the Confederates, who were not protected by Military paroles—especially Mr. Davis." This attestation is enclosed in an autograph envelope endorsed by Fitzhugh Lee: "Copies of letter from Gen Lee to … President Johnson dated June 13, 1865 taken from his letter book in reference to his being restored to the rights of an American citizen." Lee did set an exemplary model of reconciliation for both the North and the South in the five remaining years of his life. This is perhaps best demonstrated in a letter he wrote to the wartime governor of Virginia, John Letcher, who, despite having served in the House of Representatives from 1851 through 1859, was interred for several months at the end of the war in the Old Capitol prison in the District of Columbia. One 28 August 1865, Lee encouraged Letcher to be receptive to President Andrew Johnson’s conciliatory manner of speaking about the South and to embrace reconciliation: “I wish that spirit could become more general. It would go far to promote confidence, & to calm feelings which have too long existed. The questions which for years were in dispute between the State & Genl. Governments, & which unhappily were not decided by the dictates of reason, but referred to the decision of war, having been decided against us; it is the part of wisdom to acquiesce in the result, & of candour to recognize the fact. The interests of the State are therefore the same as those of the U. States. Its prosperity will rise or fall with the welfare of the Country. The duty of its citizens then, appear to me too plain to admit of doubt. All should unite in honest efforts to obliterate the grievous effects of war, & to restore the blessings of peace. They should remain if possible in the Country; promote harmony & good feeling; qualify themselves to vote; & elect to the State & Genl. Legislatures, wise & patriotic men, who will devote their ability to the interests of the Country & the healing of all dissensions. I have invariably recommended this course, since the cessation of hostilities, & have endeavoured to practice it myself.” (sold, Sotheby’s, 15 December 1998, lot 202) Despite this attitude, for the rest of his life, Robert E. Lee was a man without a country. Grant endorsed Lee's application for pardon and amnesty and forwarded it to President Johnson. And, on 2 October 1865 (the same day he assumed the presidency of Washington College), Lee submitted a notarized copy of an Amnesty Oath pledging to "henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of States thereunder." But the federal government never acted on his application. While there has been some speculation that either Johnson or Secretary of State William Seward may have purposely ignored Lee's amnesty request, it seems more likely that the papers were lost due to a clerical error. Lee's original Amnesty Oath was rediscovered by a researcher in the National Archives in 1970, and this provided the impetus for the question of Lee's pardon to be resurrected. Finally, on 5 August 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed at Arlington House, Lee's former home, a joint resolution of the United States Congress "To restore posthumously full rights of citizenship to General R. E. Lee." An official copy of the Resolution—signed by President Ford, Speaker of the House Carl Albert, and Vice President (and President of the Senate) Nelson A. Rockefeller—is here included with Lee's letter to Ord: "Whereas this entire Nation has long recognized the outstanding virtues of courage, patriotism, and selfless devotion to duty of General R. E. Lee, and has recognized the contribution of General Lee in healing the wounds of the War Between the States, and "Whereas, in order to further the goal of reunion of this country, General Lee, on June 13, 1865, applied to the President for amnesty and pardon and restoration of his rights as a citizen, and … "Whereas, on October 12, 1870, General Lee died, still denied the right to hold any office and other rights of citizenship, and "Whereas a recent discovery has revealed that General Lee did in fact on October 2, 1865, swear allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and to the Union, and "Whereas it appears that General Lee thus fulfilled all of the legal as well as moral requirements incumbent upon him for restoration of his citizenship: Now, therefore, be it "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in accordance with section 3 of amendment 14 of the United States Constitution, the legal disabilities placed upon General Lee as a result of his service as General of the Army of Northern Virginia are removed, and that General R. E. Lee is posthumously restored to the full rights of citizenship, effective June 13, 1865"—that is, the date of the present letter. The final elements in this documentary archive of Robert E. Lee's quest for pardon and amnesty are a typed letter signed by President Ford, 7 August 1975, and an accompanying pen, sent to Missouri congressman James W. Symington: "It was with great pleasure that I signed, on August 5, Senate Joint Resolution 23 restoring posthumously the long overdue full rights of citizenship to General Robert E. Lee. This legislation corrects a 110-year oversight of American history. You, as a Member of Congress, took the necessary action to remove the legal obstacles to citizenship. As a memento of this historic event, in which every citizen can take pride, I am pleased to send you this ceremonial pen."

View 1 of Lot 1027: Lee, Robert E. | Lee's letter, 13 June 1865, to General Edward O. Ord, beginning his long road to amnesty and restored citizenship

lee, robert e. | lee's letter, 13 june 1865, to general edward o. ord, beginning his long road to amnesty and restored citizenship

The Form of Prayers According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Philadelphia: Isaac Leeser, 1837-1838, 6 volumes

The Form of Prayers According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Philadelphia: Isaac Leeser, 1837-1838, 6 volumes Description Six volumes (9 x 5 1/2 in.; 228 x 140 mm); vol. 1: iii-viii pp., 216 ff. (pp. i-ii wanting); lightly stained, some foxing, some wear from normal use; vol.2: 121 ff.; vol 3: [2], 246 ff. [3pp.], f. 1 trimmed, (includes supplement to vol 3); vol 4: 176 ff.; vol 5: 182 ff.; vol 6: [2], 186 ff.;[4], 12 pp.; some foxing. Assembled, with owners' names in vols. 2, 5. Marbled endpapers. Crimson calf antique with gilt-tooled triple fillet, spine in five compartments with raised bands, gilt titles on two black lettering pieces, other compartments with gilt diaper pattern. Catalogue Note The first comprehensive Jewish liturgy printed in America This set of prayer books published by Reverend Isaac Leeser, hazzan of Philadelphia's Mikveh Israel congregation, represents the first comprehensive Jewish liturgy produced in America. Comprising all the Tefillot for the entire year, the production of these volumes was a multifaceted and complex undertaking made more remarkable by the fact that it was accomplished in just over one year in 1837-38. He would have been finished even sooner, Leeser tells us in his preface, if not for his inability to locate any typesetters in Philadelphia familiar with Hebrew characters. Consequently Leeser undertook to teach the Holy Tongue to Christian typesetters Benjamin George Smith and Jacob Washington Fletcher, whose facility in the newly acquired language he praises highly. For the English translation, Leeser relied heavily on the London edition of David Levi, although Leeser himself revised the text considerably. For the Hebrew text he made use of a wide variety of published liturgies, with the final product having some very unique characteristics. A close examination reveals several of these curiosities. In volume six, devoted to the liturgy of Fast-Days, Leeser, in addition to his English translation, provides an interlinear Spanish commentary for the Hebrew Haftarah of Tisha B'Av. To appeal to Jews in England as well as to their American coreligionists, Leeser included two distinct iterations of the prayer for the government, one for a monarchy and another for a republic. Much more parochial in nature are the printed notations, found in several volumes, that certain prayers are omitted in Philadelphia. This set would become the benchmark against which other American Jewish prayer books would be measured for many years to come. Its popularity is attested to by the numerous subsequent reprinted editions. In addition to his decades of service in the pulpit of Philadelphia's congregation Mikveh Israel, where he was the first to introduce a regular English sermon into the synagogue service, Isaac Leeser's accomplishments as an architect of the American Jewish community include the founding of the first Jewish Publication Society (1845), the first Hebrew high school (1849), and Maimonides College, the first American Jewish rabbinical seminary, in 1867. A prolific writer, in 1843 he founded the monthly The Occident, the first successful Jewish newspaper in America. For 25 years, this was an important forum for articles on Jewish life and thought. His major literary achievement was the first American translation of the Bible, published in 1845. This remained the standard American Jewish translation of the Bible until the new JPS edition of 1917. Literature Goldman and Kinsberg, Hebrew Printing in America, #36. Provenance Uriah Hendricks - his stamp in vol. 2 (ff. 2r, 4r, 120v) and vol. 4 (ff. 2r, 4r, 175v). Hendricks was one of the original pre-publication subscribers (see subscription list on [p.1] of vol.6.); David de Sola Pool - his signature in English in vol. 5 (2nd free endpaper) and in Hebrew as signatory to presentation to Leah (Lilian) Gold, 1920. Also, an additional undated loose leaf containing sermonic notes in his hand; Leah (Lilian) Gold - inscribed and presented to her (vol. 3) in June 1920 by David de Sola Pool. Her signature and notation dated Jerusalem, June 1929 in vol. 5. Also, her calling card, loose.

View 1 of Lot 79: The Form of Prayers According to the Custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Philadelphia: Isaac Leeser, 1837-1838, 6 volumes

the form of prayers according to the custom of the spanish and portuguese jews, philadelphia: isaac leeser, 1837-1838, 6 volumes

Jefferson, Thomas Printed document signed (“ThJefferson”) as Secretary of State, being an official printing of “An Act respecting the Government of the Territories of the United States North West and South of the River Ohio.” [Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Childs and John Swaine, 1792] One page (408 x 242 mm) on a bifolium of fine laid paper (watermarked Posthorn | HS Sandy Run), the Act approved 8 May 1792 at the first session of the Second Congress; lightly browned and foxed, some fold separations with a few mends on verso, a bit of marginal chipping. A very rare printing of an early United States law respecting the recently organized Northwest Territory, bearing the printed signatures of President George Washington, Speaker of the House of Representatives Jonathan Trumbull, and President pro tempore of the Senate Richard Henry Lee, as well as the holograph signature of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. The present Congressional Act deals with the laws and government of the Northwest Territory: “Be it enacted … That the laws of the territory north west of the river Ohio, that have been or hereafter may be enacted by the governor and judges thereof, shall be printed under the direction of the secretary of state, and two hundred copies thereof, together with ten sets of the laws of the United States, shall be delivered to the said governor and judges, to be distributed among the inhabitants for their information, and that a like number of the laws of the United States shall be delivered to the governor and judges of the territory south west of the river Ohio. “And it be it further enacted, That the governor and judges of the territory northwest of the river Ohio shall be, and hereby are authorized to repeal their laws by them made, whensoever the same may be found to be improper. “And be it further enacted, That the official duties of the secretaries of the said territories shall be under the control of such laws, as are or may be in force of said territories. “And be it further enacted, That ay one of the supreme or superior judges of the said territories, in the absence of the other judges, shall be and hereby is authorized to hold a court. “And be it further enacted, That the secretary of state, provide proper seals for the several and respective public offices in the said territories. “And be it further enacted, That the limitation act, passed by the governor and judges of the said territory, the twenty-eighth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and eighty eight, be and hereby is disapproved.” The final provision of the Act ensures that expenses incurred by John Cleve Symmes and George Turner, two judges of the territory, will be reimbursed by the United States Treasury. Other expenses were involved as well. On 12 July 1792, Jefferson wrote to Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to inform him that “By an act of Congress passed on the last day of their session it was made the duty of the Secretary of state to have seals prepared for the courts of the two Western governments, but nothing particular was said as to the resource for making payment for them. I have therefore to ask the favor of information from you whether there are any funds which you should think it justifiable to apply to the payment of these objects. I assume they will amount to several hundred dollars (Papers of Alexander Hamilton, ed. Syrett, vol. 12, p. 28). Individual acts and bills of Congress were routinely printed for public distribution but there was a provision to print a few large-paper copies of each act for official dissemination to the states which bore the Secretary of State's signature. The present copy is one of the large-paper issues. The only other signed, large-paper copy that we can find in the auction records or standard references was sold by the Elsie O. and Philip D. Sang Foundation nearly fifty years ago (Sotheby Parke Bernet, 14 November 1978, lot 444). The few copies located by Evans, ESTC, and OCLC are all printed on a more standard size of paper (340 x 210 mm) and are not signed by Jefferson. These routine issues can also be easily distinguished because they include on the same sheet, beneath the Northwest Territory Act, the text of “An act to compensate the services of the late Colonel George Gibson,” which is not printed here. REFERENCES ESTC W380; Evans 24902

View 1 of Lot 1023: Jefferson, Thomas | A  rare signed Congressional Act respecting the recently organized Northwest Territory, 1792

jefferson, thomas | a rare signed congressional act respecting the recently organized northwest territory, 1792

Books, Manuscripts & Music

John Churchman Magnetic Atlas or Variation Chart Engraving (609 x 609mm.) with original wash colour, a few creases flattened, some areas of restoration to upper and lower sheet edges not affecting printed image [together with:] An Explanation of the Magnetic Atlas, or Variation Chart, hereunto annexed; projected on a plan entirely new. Philadelphia, 1790. 8vo, 2 folding charts, minor foxing to text, faint damp stain affecting portion of first four leaves, minor chips to edges A PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, this work represents the last gasp for Edmund Halley’s theory for the determination of longitude by magnetic declination. John Churchman (1753–1805) first came to prominence for his ‘Map of the Peninsula between Delaware & Chesapeak Bays’ (1778). In the mid-1780s, Churchman became consumed by the problem of finding longitude at sea, which had challenged navigators for centuries. He developed three basic premises: that the two magnetic poles could be located precisely, that on any meridian linking those poles magnetic variation was the same at every point, and that over the centuries the magnetic poles rotated at a constant rate around the geographic poles. If these premises were true, a mariner need know only his latitude and the local magnetic variation of the compass to ascertain his longitude with accuracy. Unfortunately for Churchman, his method was theoretically unsound, and practically flawed. An aggressive self-promoter, Churchman communicated his method in both the United States and overseas to luminaries such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Banks, and learned bodies including the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Academy of Sciences (France), and the Board of Longitude itself. Responses to his work were somewhat mixed, with Thomas Jefferson, despite welcoming his work, raising practical objections. Despite even receiving strident criticisms, by 1790 Churchman had received enough encouragement from his correspondents that he published a remarkable map along with an explanatory pamphlet. Due to its sheer size, the unusual projection, and the clarity and refinement of the engraving, the Magnetic Atlas is a most ambitious production for an American map of the period. It is extraordinarily rare, and the present example is remarkable in that the map appears to have been separately issued. PROVENANCE: Presented to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences by the Author, Cambridge MA, in 1791 LITERATURE: ESTC W32217; Evans 22406 (pamphlet with map frontispiece); Phillips, p.1094 (pamphlet with map frontispiece); Sabin 13026; Wheat and Brun 6 and References 86 (pamphlet with map frontispiece; background on Churchman’s project and life from Charles H. Cotter, “John Churchman and the Longitude Problem”, Navigation 27 (1980) pp. 217-225; Phillip Lee Phillips, Virginia Cartography: A Bibliographical Description (Washington: Smithsonian Institute, 1896) pp.58-59; Margaret Beck Pritchard and Henry Taliaferro, Degrees of Latitude: Mapping Colonial America (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002) pp.232-235; Ben Smith and James Vining, American Geographers 1784-1812 (Westport: Praeger, 2003) pp.34-35

View 1 of Lot 72: John Churchman | Magnetic atlas or variation chart, Philadelphia, 1790

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