Details:

Winfield Scott autographed document signed (ADS), one page, written on the reverse of a partly printed bill of lading and dated June 17, 1852. Signed by Scott and entirely in his hand, the document concerns the shipment and delivery of a marble bust of the celebrated general from Italy to the United States. The accompanying printed bill of lading records the shipment aboard the ship Niagara from Leghorn (Livorno), Italy, to New York.

The lower portion is annotated and signed by the referenced Thomas Williams, dated Fort Mackinac, Michigan, June 28, 1852, in full: “Please deliver the marble-bust to Sidney Brooks, Esqr, N. York.” Williams was a career army officer who fought in the Mexican War and who served for some years as aide-de-camp to Scott. As a Union general in the Civil War, he fought in North Carolina and then along the Mississippi and was killed in action in August 1862 in Baton Rouge.

In this fascinating document, Scott provides detailed instructions regarding the delivery of a marble bust of himself created by noted American sculptor Chauncey B. Ives. Scott directs that the bust be delivered to Major Thomas Williams of the United States Army, who would pay all associated charges. The document was subsequently endorsed by Williams at Fort Mackinac, Michigan, on June 28, 1852, requesting that the bust instead be delivered to Sidney Brooks in New York. The piece offers a remarkable glimpse into the personal affairs of one of America’s most celebrated military figures and documents the transatlantic shipment of a sculptural portrait of Scott at the height of his national fame.

The date is particularly noteworthy. June 17, 1852, was the opening day of the Whig National Convention in Baltimore. Just three days later, Scott would secure the Whig nomination for President of the United States, making this document one of the last pieces signed immediately before his emergence as a presidential candidate.

The marble bust referenced in the document was the work of Chauncey Bradley Ives (1810–1894), one of the foremost American neoclassical sculptors of the nineteenth century. After relocating to Italy in the 1840s, Ives produced portrait busts and idealized sculptures for prominent American patrons. This document directly connects Scott to one of the sculptural likenesses created during the general’s lifetime and provides uncommon provenance for the transportation of the artwork from Italy to America.

Very good condition. 

Winfield Scott (1786–1866) was one of the most important military figures in nineteenth-century American history. A hero of the War of 1812 and commanding general during the Mexican-American War, he earned the nickname “Old Fuss and Feathers” and became one of the most celebrated soldiers of his era. Scott later served as General-in-Chief of the United States Army and helped formulate the Union’s early military strategy during the Civil War. In 1852 he was nominated as the Whig Party’s candidate for President of the United States.

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

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Reference sku: 11669 1416177-1