Details:

Robert Y. Hayne autographed handwritten letter (ALS), with integral address leaf entirely in his hand, dated Charleston, February 7, 1837. Addressed to Lewis J. Cist of Cincinnati, Ohio, Hayne courteously responds to Cist’s request for his autograph, writing in full:

“In reply to your letter of the 25th ult. requesting my autograph, I have the honor to forward the same herewith, and am respectfully Your obt. Servt.”

Signed, “Robt. Y. Hayne.” The letter retains its original integral address leaf, addressed by Hayne to “Lewis J. Cist Esq., Cincinnati, Ohio,” and bears its original postal markings and red wax seal remnant.

This letter represents an early exchange between one of America’s most prominent antebellum political figures and one of the nineteenth century’s earliest and most important autograph collectors. Although brief, it documents the growing popularity of autograph collecting in America during the 1830s and preserves Hayne’s personal response to a request from the young Lewis J. Cist, whose collection would later become one of the finest of its era.

Very good condition with expected mailing folds and light age toning.

Robert Young Hayne (1791–1839) was one of South Carolina’s most influential nineteenth-century political leaders. After serving in the War of 1812, he represented South Carolina in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate, where he became nationally known for his celebrated 1830 debate with Senator Daniel Webster over states’ rights and the nature of the Union. Hayne emerged as one of the leading advocates of the doctrine of nullification and was a close political ally of John C. Calhoun. After resigning from the Senate, he served as the 90th Governor of South Carolina before becoming the first chief executive of Charleston to officially bear the title of Mayor. He later served as president of the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad, one of the South’s most ambitious early railroad projects.

Lewis Jacob Cist (1818–1885) was an American banker, government official, poet, and one of the foremost early autograph collectors in the United States. He published Trifles in Verse: A Collection of Fugitive Poems in 1845 and authored “A Chapter on Autography – Part II,” published in Graham’s Magazine in December 1841, helping to popularize autograph collecting in America. Cist also assembled autograph collections for the U.S. Sanitary Fairs during the Civil War. His renowned collection was dispersed at major New York auctions during the 1880s, with additional portions sold in subsequent auctions into the early twentieth century.

Authentication:
Includes a full letter of authenticity from JG Autographs, Inc.

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Reference sku: 11364 1416601-1