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

Fine Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

Lincoln, Abraham Engraved document signed (“Abraham Lincoln”) as sixteenth President, one page (255 x 202 mm) on a bifolium of blue wove paper, Washington, 5 March 1864, accomplished in a secretarial hand, being an order to the Secretary of State to affix the seal of the United States to the Treaty for the Extinguishment of the Scheldt Dues; browned at margins, mounting remnants on verso of integral blank, as well as a blotted signature of Secretary Seward. Lincoln directs Secretary of State William H. Seward “to affix the Seal of the United States to the ratification of the original of the Treaty between the United States & His Majesty the King of the Belgians, concluded May 20th 1863.” The Scheldt is an important commercial waterway, flowing through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. After Belgium had claimed its independence from the Netherlands in 1830, the treaty of the Scheldt determined that the river should remain accessible to ships heading for Belgian ports. Nevertheless, the Dutch government continued to collect a toll from passing vessels until 16 July 1863. The Treaty for the Extinguishment of the Scheldt Dues was a set of agreements in 1863 that ended the Dutch tolls on shipping in the Scheldt River estuary. The primary treaty was signed between Belgium and the Netherlands, but the United States and other nations also signed separate but related conventions, with the U.S. paying its share to secure the free navigation of the river. This order officially sealed the ancillary treaty between the United States and King Leopold I of Belgium.

View 1 of Lot 1030: Lincoln, Abraham | The President orders the Seal of the United States to be affixed to the Treaty for the Extinguishment of the Scheldt Dues, 1864

lincoln, abraham | the president orders the seal of the united states to be affixed to the treaty for the extinguishment of the scheldt dues, 1864

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

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