HORACE GREELEY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 04/23/1865 - HFSID 1787

HORACE GREELEY
Horace Greeley wrote this letter on New York Tribune stationery in 1865 regarding someone that he thought would be "a very fit and worthy person to be a trustee of the great college". Greeley was the founder and editor of the Tribune.
Autograph letter signed "Horace Greeley". 1 page, 4¾x8, on New York Tribune stationery, docketed on verso. April 23, 1865. Addressed to the Honorable E. Cornell. In full: "Dear Sir: I think Mr Brooks a very fit and worthy person to be a trustee of the great college. I do not know that Hon. Edwin B. Morgan is one of the Trustees. He was a good one of the People College. If [illegible] Edwin O. Morgan of our city would take hold, he would prove a good Trustee. I will try to be [illegible] Friday afternoon, though I may fail. Yours,". Greeley (1811-1872, born in Amherst, New Hampshire) founded the New York Tribune in 1841 and edited it until his death. His newspaper, competitive in price with the "penny press" but less sensational, was the first to give its writers individual by-lines and the first with a literary and book review department. The Tribune had wide readership and influence, and many of his editorial quips - like "Go West, young man" - became famous. He was steadfast in support of many causes, such as antislavery, temperance, and the rights of labor, but he could be mercurial at times. (His swift reversal of opinion on the secession of the southern states is reflected in two 1861 Tribune editorials: Go in Peace, Errant Sisters, followed shortly by On to Richmond) He served as a Whig in Congress for three months (1848-1849)to fill a vacancy and did not seek reelection. As the Democratic and Liberal Republican parties' presidential nominee in 1872, he was defeated by President Ulysses S. Grant, who was seeking reelection. On Nov. 28, 1872, just 23 days after the election, Greeley, worn out by the grueling campaign, died at the age of 61. Lightly toned and creased. Signature has bled lightly in places but is legible. Body of letter is lightly smeared but legible. Show-through from docket (does not touch signature or body of letter). Neatly torn from binding at left edge. Folded in half vertically and twice horizontally. Otherwise in fine condition.