Lincoln Abraham

A. Lincoln and his Cabinet, Senators, Congressman, Over 220 Sign an Album

[ABRAHAM LINCOLN.] Autograph Album Signed, January 28, 1862. This album, compiled by Congressman William M. Davis of Pennsylvania, includes signatures of 226 members of the Lincoln administration and Congress. Approximately 224 pp., with signatures on 64 pp., 6" x 8.75". Wear to cover and split between front and spine covers; gilding on page edges largely present; interior clean and tight; tears to two leading pages; very good.

This fascinating autograph album, assembled by Congressman William Morris Davis of Pennsylvania contains the autographs of President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, and all but one member of the Cabinet, including Secretary of State William H. Seward, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, Attorney General Edward Bates, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Secretary of War Simon Cameron, and Secretary of the Interior Caleb B. Smith. The only signature missing is that of Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. It also includes the autographs of Treasurer Francis E. Spinner, and approximately 217 members of Congress. The Thirty-seventh Congress had 50 senators and 183 members of the House of Representatives, so this collection represents the vast majority of the members. Prominent individuals in the Thirty-seventh Congress who signatures appear in this volume include future President Andrew Johnson, future Vice President Schuyler Colfax, Charles Sumner, Lyman Trumbull, William P. Fessenden, David Wilmot, Henry Wilson, Clement L. Vallandigham, Erastus Corning, Thaddeus Stevens, John J. Crittenden, Owen Lovejoy, and George W. Julian.

Lincoln’s autograph bears the date January 28, 1862. That evening, the Lincolns held a reception in the White House, and Congressman Davis may have obtained Lincoln’s signature at the reception. According to one newspaper report, “Mr. Lincoln took his position in the Blue Room, and shook hands with those who passed him for two hours. At the expiration of this time he took the arm of Mrs. Senator Chandler, and proceeded to the great East Room, and promenaded but a short time, and then withdrew from the scene.

Excerpts

“Washington, D. C.

January 28, 1862

Yours truly A. Lincoln”


“Collection of the Autog. of the Adm & members of the War Congress made by Wm Morris Davis he at the time being representative from the Fifth Dist. of Penna”


William Morris Davis (1815-1891) was born in New York and moved to Pennsylvania, where he became a sugar refiner in Philadelphia. He served as a Pennsylvania delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention. He was an abolitionist and was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh Congress (1861-1863). He authored Nimrod of the Sea or The American Whaleman, published in 1874 by Harper & Brothers.


This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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