1830-1861 Stunning Antebellum Autograph Album Featuring the Signatures of 262 American Senators and Congressmen, Including Many of Impressive Historical Significance
On offer is an autograph album circa 1830-1861, coinciding with the 29th through 34th United States Congresses, which ran from 1845 to 1857. The autographs contained within include 262 United States Senators and Congressmen. The majority of the autographs do not have accompanying dates, however one signer dated their entry 1843 and another dated their entry 1850. This album provides a quintessential glimpse into Antebellum Period US politics. It is clear to see, from the signatures and accompanying notation of the state from which each signer hails (some also note their home towns), that the American legislature is still fully functional at this point. The album is easy to navigate as the owner has had all the Senators sign at the beginning of the album and then left a few blank pages before having Congressmen sign in the later pages of the album. The owner was able to gather 46 signatures of Senators from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The owner then gathered 216 signatures from Congressmen from from Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Some highlights of the Senators category include: - John Bell, U.S. Secretary of War, as "Jno: Bell / of Tennessee" on page 6 - Lewis Cass, U.S. Secretary of State, as "Lewis Cass" on page 2 - Salmon P. Chase, U.S. Secretary of Treasury and Supreme Court Chief Justice, as "S.P. Chase / Ohio" on page 1 - Thomas Corwin, U.S. Secretary of Treasury, as "Tho Corwin / Lebanon / Ohio" on page 1 - Hannibal Hamlin, U.S. Vice President, U.S. Minister to Spain, and Governor of Maine, as "H. Hamlin / Maine" on page 3 - Robert M.T. Hunter, Confederate Secretary of State, as "R M T Hunter / Virginia" on page 4 - William R. King, U.S. Vice President, as "William R. King / of Alabama" on page 1 Senators of other historical importance include: - Roger Sherman Baldwin, Governor of Connecticut, as "Roger Sherman Baldwin / of Connecticut" on page 8 - Thomas Hart Benton, U.S. Senator from Missouri from 1821-1851, as "Thomas H. Benton / U.S. Senate / Mri." on page 3 - Andrew P. Butler, co-author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, as "A.P. Butler / of South Carolina" on page 4 - James Cooper, Union General, as "James Cooper / Penna." on page 5 - William L. Dayton, U.S. Minister to France, as "Wm. L. Dayton / Trenton, N. Jersey" on page 7 - Augustus Dodge, U.S. Ambassador to Spain, as "A.C. Dodge / Iowa" on page 8 - Henry Dodge, Governor of Wisconsin Territory, as "Henry Dodge / Wisconsin" on page 2 - Stephen A. Douglas, who defeated Abraham Lincoln for Senator, as " S.A. Douglas / Chicago / Illinois" on page 6 - Alpheus Felch, Governor of Michigan, as "Alpheus Felch / Michigan" on page 2 - Henry S. Foote, Governor of Mississippi, as "HS Foote / Miss" on page 7 - John P. Hale, U.S. Minister to Spain, as "John P. Hale / Dover N.H." on page 8 - George W. Jones, U.S. Minister to New Grenada, as "Geo. W. Jones / S.U.S. / Dubuque / Iowa" on page 1 - Thomas G. Pratt, Governor of Maryland, as "Thomas G. Pratt / Maryland" on page 1 - Pierre Soulé, U.S. Minister to Spain, as "Pierre Soulé" on page 7 - James Whitcomb, Indiana Governor, as "Jas. Whitcomb / Indiana" on page 2 - David Levy Yulee, the first elected U.S. Senator of Jewish ancestry, as "D.L. Yulee / Florida" on page 3 Some highlights of signatures among the Congressmen include: - Albert Gallatin Brown, Governor of Mississippi, Confederate Senator from Mississippi, page 28 - Howell Cobb, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of Georgia, President of Provisional Confederate States Congress, page 9 - Winfield S. Featherston, Confederate Brigadier General, page 32 - Isham G. Harris, Governor of Tennessee, page 15 - David S. Kaufman, 1st U.S. Congressman from Texas from 1846-1851, page 24 - Humphrey Marshall, Confederate Brigadier General, U.S. Minister to Qing Empire, page 31 - Lafayette McMullen, Governor of Washington Territory, page 49 - Charles S. Morehead, Governor of Kentucky, page 30 - James Lawrence Orr, Governor of South Carolina, Confederate Senator from South Carolina, U.S. Ambassador to Russia, page 24 - Frederick P. Stanton, Acting Governor of Kansas Territory, page 33 - Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of Confederacy from 1862-1865, Governor of Georgia, page 35 - Thaddeus Stevens, the well-known Radical Republican, page 40 - Robert Toombs, Confederate Secretary of State, page 53 The album may have belonged to Hugo Jackson of Chicago. His signature is found separated from the politicians on a late page in the album. Our informal research was unable to discover any further biographical data on Jackson. This acquisition comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator who works with authentication services including PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses. The diary has a leather cover in good condition, save for some small marks and scuffing. The binding shows signs of age and there is loss to the spine (see photos). Many of the pages of the album are very loose or have come detached. There are some small ink stains throughout. Overall fair condition. Measurement: 6.375" x 7.875" x .75".
