Search Results: Autographs from Charles Agvent

New York: Press of the Historical Society, 1852. First Edition. Wraps. Moderate age toning. Minor wear to wrappers, the front wrapper neatly detached. Vertical crease down center. Very Good. Octavo (5.5" x 8.74") pamphlet bound in printed wraps; 57 pages. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the orator on the title page to "For Mrs. Paige; with the/love & affection of/Danl Webster." Webster's speech discusses government in the Classical Era and in Revolutionary America, with much on the Constitution. Harriette Story Paige was Webster's sister-in-law and author of DANIEL WEBSTER IN ENGLAND: JOURNAL OF HARRIETTE STORY PAIGE, 1839.

1968-1976. Letters. Very Good. A wonderful collection of 13 AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED (ALSs) (18 pages) by the illustrator of Winnie-the-Pooh and 5 TYPED LETTERS SIGNED (TLSs) by his wife, Norah, all to the American publisher of the Pooh books. Content includes health reports (the letters date from the end of his life: he died at the age of 96) and news, but much of the letters concern his work including 8 letters that mention the Pooh books or their offspring such as THE POOH COOK BOOK and THE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN VERSE BOOK. Five of the letters are signed with his affectionate name, Kip. The final letters are by Norah after Shepard's death.

Letter. Very Good. Three HOLOGRAPH notes from this Connecticut poet which, in her small hand, amount to several hundred words.

Los Angeles, 1920. Letters. Creases from mailing. Near Fine. Four AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED, totaling 9 pages, three of them to his good Hoosier friend and fellow socialist, Oliver M. Sayler. In the first letter, dated 9 January 1920, Dreiser suggests places Sayler could work in New York, mentioning many names including T. R. Smith of the Century Company, Henry Harper at Harper's, J. Jefferson Jones of the John Lane Company, Herbert Kauffmann at McCLURE'S, and Horace Liveright. In the second letter, dated 14 February 1920, Dreiser kindly answers Sayler's request for a letter of introduction to a paper named THE EVENING POST. He informs Sayler that most likely the letter would not do much help as it has "in so far as I can recall been anything but condemnatory -- or perhaps I had better say scornful of me & my opinions." He urges Sayler to go to other places such as the HERALD or TRIBUNE. The third letter, also dated 14 February 1920, is addressed to Mr. Scott at THE EVENING POST recommending Sayler… Read More

Beverly Farms, MA, 24 August 1878. Manuscript. A few small stains and mounting remnants on verso. Near Fine. On a 6-1/8" x 6-3/8" piece of lined paper the author has written the following six-line stanza from his poem "The Silent Melody": Sweet are the lips of all who sing When nature's music heather unsought But never yet could voice or string So truly shape our tenderest thought As when by life's decaying fire Our fingers sweep the stringless lyre! Below this he has SIGNED "Oliver Wendell Holmes/Beverly Farms, Mass./Aug. 24th 1878." The poem is identified in ink in a smaller hand at the bottom left corner.

Louisville, KY, 3 February 1870. Letter. Normal creases from folding; some bleedthrough of ink. Near Fine. A 2-page letter on the front and verso of a 5-1/8" x 8" sheet of blindstamped Galt House letterhead addressed to Mr. Grinnell and SIGNED as "P. T. Barnum." In full: "I enclose a letter from Congressman Kellogg according to my agreement with you. You know I much wanted to have my son in law D. W. Thompson promoted to Weigher and that you promised he should at least be re-instated to Inspector during the month of January. My wife writes me that he is much disheartened to be so long unemployed. I stop at Washington next week & could bring you letters from half the U.S. Senators, but as Senator Ferry has already asked it as a personal favor & Senator Fenton has asked it & far above all, as you have promised it, no further steps can be necessary on my part. I shall be home next week and for heaven's sake don't let me appear before you any longer in the character of a mendicant, but let me come as… Read More

Glen Echo, MD, 4 February 1906. Letter. Faint creases from mailing. Fine with excellent content. A four-page AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED on both sides of a 10-5/8" x 6-3/4" sheet of light blue paper from the 85year-old founder of the American Red Cross to her friend and supporter Roscoe [Green Wells], who held various positions in the National First Aid Association of America, the organization Barton founded after retiring from the Red Cross in 1904. In part: "I believe I am the earliest and most persistent to shout on the danger line -- Too much work for you both -- I see it and have foreseen it for months, and then the financial worry is worse.... It is not saying but doing that is needed. No one knows that better than I. But enough moralizing!!" Barton talks about overcoming troubles and looks forward to seeing him again. "The little Greetings have certainly been very efficient, so many persons have gotten hold of the idea of 'First Aid' through them, who would scarcely have gotten it in any other… Read More

Autograph. Near Fine. Exceptional SIGNED quotation by Anthony on the verso of a fragment of an invitation completely in her hand on a 5-1/2" x 3-1/4" piece of paper. In full: "Perfect equality of rights for/women-- is the demand of/Yours respectfully/Susan B. Anthony/Rochester, N.Y./Jan. 1, 1898." Would make an outstanding presentation framed with a portrait.

[Plains, GA], 1998. Letter. Wrinkling to the right margin including Carter's writing but with no detrimental effect. Near Fine. On the first page of a letter to Carter, in which the writer describes a chair he purchased at an auction at the Historic Bayside Inn in Annapolis with Carter's name on it, Carter humorously responds in this handwritten note: "To James Carrier-- I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything about the chair -- Someday, I'd be glad to sit in it, if that would help --" and SIGNED "Jimmy C."

n.p., n.d. . Framed Letter. A bit of staining in the margins. Near Fine, framed between two pieces of glass with a 1917 auction description for this letter glued to one side over blank space. An important two-page letter in Stevenson's hand and SIGNED twice by him with his initials "R.L.S." on two sides of a 9" x 8" sheet of paper so that each page of writing has a blank verso. Interesting and characteristic content addressed to his cousin, Robert Alan Mowbray Stevenson, about his health and contrasting England and France. In part: "I have not got the cold. Fanny is better.... I am so dry-rotten that I can do nothing. I have been as dry-rotten in the Savile Club (the old building) where it was endemic, like hospital gangrene; but never anywhere else. It is blame cold. As soon as you have got the pontoon started, better let me see. Do not be stumped by difficulty of beginning; remember that is always hard.... Dry rot is, I think, English; though I have felt its hand in Parry on the gay bullyvard. The… Read More

1967 - 1968. hardcover. Near Fine. Autograph Guest Book (10" x 7-5/8") in gilt-lettered red cloth maintained 1967-1968 by the Banfer Gallery, Inc. in New York City and containing autographs on 95 pages including Edward Albee, John Ashbery, Paul Cadmus (5 times), Truman Capote, Jean Charlot, Adolf Dehn, Michael Frank, Stephen Holden, Alice Neel, Charles Rain (2 times), Ned Rorem, and many others.

Los Angeles, 24 March 1920. Letter. Creases from mailing, some light soiling. Near Fine. An interesting two-page AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED in which Dreiser tries to buy a first edition of his landmark novel SISTER CARRIE. Addressed to Jeremiah Cullen. In part: "If you still have the copy of SISTER CARRIE you mention, 1st edition, I will take it.... I have sold and am selling some of the original MSS of my short stories & plays if you know any collectors. The price to me must be $200 each. The originals of LAUGHING GAS, THE COURT OF PROGRESS, HEY, RUB-A-DUB-DUB, and THE LOST PHOEBE (a prize story -- 1916) are all in my possession." With the original envelope addressed in Dreiser's hand.

n.p., 17 July 1848. Manuscript. Light stains at corners from previous mounting. About Fine and scarce. A SIGNED AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION on a 4-1/8" x 6-5/8" sheet from the novel FALKLAND by Edward Bulwer Lytton, dated 27 July 1848, written to William W. Stickney, U. S. Attorney for the state of New Hampshire. In full: "The passions are like sounds of nature, only heard in her solitude. Our senses may captivate us with beauty; but in absence we forget or can conquer so superficial an impression. Our vanity may enamour us with rank; but the affections of vanity are traced in sand; but who can love genius and not feel that the sentiment it excites partakes of its own intenseness and its own immortality." Dolley Madison, wife of James Madison, President of the United States from 1809 to 1817, did much to define the role of the President's spouse, known only much later by the title First Lady -- a function she had sometimes performed earlier for the widowed Thomas Jefferson. It is believed that Aaron Burr… Read More

(Boston). Letter. Faint crease from mailing; ink dark and clear. About Fine. A brief AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED as "O. W. Holmes" to Dr. Bowditch on a 4-1/2" x 6" sheet of paper dated February 25, no year, thanking him for his letter. In part: "I had thought of sending it to your cousin Frank Bowditch, and I wish you would show it to him-- also to Dr. Slade, and any other who you think might take an interest in the very curious and important question it deals with."

Bridgeport, CT, 29 August 1890. Letter. Normal creases from folding; some bleedthrough of ink. Near Fine. A 2-page letter on two 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" sheets of Barnum's Marina letterhead addressed to Mrs. [Alice Graham] Lanigan and SIGNED as "P. T. Barnum." Barnum discusses a sketch being written by Mrs. Barnum and an unnamed neighbor (who might possibly be fictitious). In part: "I have thought you had better look over the article.... This lady in quiet conversation with Mrs. Barnum drew out the account of her training at school, & it seems a pity to strike it out-- Most of the description of Waldemere [Barnum's estate] might be omitted & then it must be left to your discretion to cut out what you feel you must do. I must see the proof & submit it to our neighbor ... before it goes to press. Mrs Barnum is a splendid writer. I have tried long to get her to write over her own name with but little success-- but she gives considerable for charity & might I think be induced to write for pay-- all of which she… Read More

Boston, 2 January 1894. Letter. Minor toning to the edges and mounting remnants, else Very Good. A fine 1-1/4 page letter of @50 words on Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court 4-7/8" x 8" stationery SIGNED by the Justice to an unnamed correspondent. Holmes transmits the address of an editor that his correspondent might contact in order to have a piece of writing published. Holmes was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1902 by President Theodore Roosevelt, a position he held until his retirement in 1932. Holmes became famous for his liberal interpretations of the U.S. Constitution and was known as the "Great Dissenter" because of his disagreement with the views of his colleagues on the Court. His lectures on common law at the Lowell Institute in Boston, collected as THE COMMON LAW (1881), are considered a classic of legal writing.

Boston, 25 April 1853. Letter. Creases from folding; mounting strip on verso. Very Good. A 2-1/2-page AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED on a 8-1/4" x 6-3/4" sheet of paper folded in half by Sumner to Rev. John L. Blake. Sumner tells Blake that he has only his own copy of his book--ORATIONS & SPEECHES OF CHARLES SUMNER--but that Blake can find a copy in New York. He congratulates Blake on the success of his book and concludes: "My father to whom you kindly refer died at Boston in April 1839. I was at the time in Rome." John Lauris Blake (1788–1857) was an American clergyman and bestselling author, best known for the GENERAL BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Senator Charles Sumner, perhaps the most influential man in public life after Lincoln at the end of the Civil War, was a notable advocate for emancipation of the slaves and later for civil rights. He was severely beaten on the floor of the United States Senate by Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina in retribution for Sumner's attack on Brooks's uncle,… Read More

Boston, 19 December 1891. Letter. Toning to letter with slightly lighter margins, likely due to previous framing. Very Good. A one-page AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED in full "Oliver Wendell Holmes" on one panel of a 9" x 7" sheet of paper folded into fours. In full: "My dear little Lady, Do you think I could refuse writing you that 'little letter' you ask for? No, indeed, you shall have it before your open letter has time to cool. I am pleased that you ask for it, but you have paid for it beforehand by your charming impersonation of the fascinating young nobleman. I hope you are succeeding in your new role as remarkably as you did in the other, and I send you my kind regards and all my best wishes. Very sincerely yours, Oliver Wendell Holmes."

Northampton, MA, 30 November 1888. Letter. Bleed through of mounting stains to verso. Good. A one-page letter in Cable's hand and SIGNED by him as "G. W. Cable" to Mrs. Henry M. Phillips. In full: "Thank you kindly for your invitation to meet Professor and Mrs. Fiske, but Mrs. Cable's health is delicate. She is virtually confined to the house and on Tuesday evening, December fourth, I must be in Columbus Ohio. With regrets I beg to remain." Mrs. Phillips might possibly be the widow of Henry Myer Phillips, Pennsylvania's first Jewish congressman.

1848. Letter. Creases from folding; otherwise Fine. One-page letter to the Honorable John Davis, former governor of Massachusetts and United States senator at the date of this letter: 11 August 1848. On an integral sheet is Everett's SIGNATURE with a Cambridge postmark, red wax seal, and a free frank in the form of a stamp of the word "FREE" with "Free" written by Everett over that. Everett writes regarding a memorial presented to the Senate by Davis for his sister Mrs. A. H. Everett. Edward Everett--a Unitarian minister, member of both the United States Congress and Senate, and also a governor of Massachusetts--is perhaps best known for his oratory powers. It is he who gave the "other" address at Gettysburg on 19 November 1863. The next day he wrote Lincoln saying, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes."