All nine members of the Vinson Court signed this 13x10 official photo. Photograph signed: "Fred M. Vinson, Jr." as Chief Justice and "Hugo L. Black", "Stanley Reed", "Felix Frankfurter", "William O. Douglas", "Robert H. Jackson", "Harold H. Burton", "Tom C. Clark" and "Sherman Minton" as Associate Justices. B/w, 13x10. Although every member of this Court was appointed by Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, intense personal animosities - especially involving Black, Frankfurter, Douglas and Jackson - disrupted the Court's harmony. FDR appointed Black (1937-1971), Reed (1938-1957), Frankfurter (1939-1962), Douglas (1939-1975) and Jackson (1941-1954). Truman appointed Burton (1945-1958), Clark (1949-1967) and Minton (1949-1956). Jackson and Black both expected to be elevated to Chief Justice in 1946 after the death of Harlan Fiske Stone, but the intense lobbying by their respective supporters prompted Truman to nominate Vinson instead. Vinson's death in 1953 was historically significant, since the Chief Justice had seemed ready to oppose what proved to be a unanimous school desegregation decision in Brown vs Board of Education (1954). Soiled at 2 signatures.

This collection includes two letters from the Supreme Court Justice, including one signed by six other notable religious and community leaders. Collection comprises: 1) Typed Letter Signed: "Philip S. Bernstein", "Ralph J. Bunche", "William J. Donovan", "James H. Duff", "Felix Frankfurter", "Daniel A. Poling", and "Channing H. Tobias". 7x10 visible. Two pages. Dated April 8, 1953. Sent to Dr. W. W. Alexander in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This letter is regarding a weekend-long event in Aaronsburg, Pennsylvania, from June 19-21, 1953. The founder of the town, a Jewish man named Aaron Levy, donated a lot of land and money to build a Lutheran Church. The 150th anniversary of the Church was celebrated in 1949, and the signers attended a celebratory event that year. They planned to meet in Aaronsburg a second time to discuss religious tolerance, peace, and equality. Letter in Part: "All of us who sign this letter were at Aaronsburg that Sunday, nearly four years ago. We were tremendously impressed by what we saw and heard.…"

Two typed 1916 letters, one signed by Brandeis, the other by his secretary, to the Provisional Zionist Executive Committee, which he had led since its founding. Within the month, he would decide that his appointment to the US Supreme Court obliged him to resign from formal leadership of American Zionism. Framed to an overall size of 43x21. Comprises: (1) ELIZABETH PEABODY. Typed Letter signed: "Elizabeth Peabody", 1p, 8x10¾. Boston, Massachusetts, 1916 June 6. On letterhead to Isaac. E. Feinstein, Esq., Begins: Dear Sir". In full: "Replying to your letter of the 4th: I regret that owing to Mr. Brandeis's absence in Washington he will be unable to attend the First Anniversary Celebration of the Louis D. Brandeis Zionist Club to be held on June 10th. Very truly yours,". Fold creases at "a" of Peabody. 2 ¼ inch tears at right blank margin. Otherwise, fine condition. (2) LOUIS D. BRANDEIS. Typed Letter signed: "Louis D. Brandeis", 1p, 8x10¾. Boston, Massachusetts, 1916 June 13. On letterhead to Isaac. E. Feinstein, Esq. Advisor. Begins: Dear Mr. Feinstein". In full: "Upon my return to the city I find your very courteous invitation of June 4th.…"

From the President to the son of Buchanan's Postmaster General: He cannot attend a meeting of the Society of the Army of the Potomac. Manuscript LS: "Benj Harrison" as President, 1p, 7½x10. Executive Mansion, Washington, 1892 May 21. To Hon. Horatio C. King, Brooklyn, N.Y. In full: "I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of May 19th in which you extend to me a cordial invitation to attend the annual meeting of the Society of the Army of the Potomac to be held at Scranton June 15th and 16th. I fear that it will not be possible for me to accept this invitation, and assure you that I regret that it is so." KING, son of Buchanan's Postmaster General, was Judge Advocate General of New York. In the Civil War, he served with the Army of the Potomac and Shenandoah from 1862-1865. Harrison was Colonel in the 70th Indiana Regiment in the Civil War. Just 2½ weeks after this letter, President Harrison was renominated on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis June 7-10, 1892. Tanned, lined page. Lightly creased. Vertical fold touches the "a" in Harrison. Fine condition.

Income tax form filled out and signed in text by the mobster, stating how much net income he filed taxes on in 1929 and listing his parents as dependents Document Signed in Text: "Joseph Doto" New York State Income Tax Resident Return form, 1929. Adonis has written his name, address, and some of his income information in pencil. 8½x11. Joey Adonis (1902-1972), born Giuseppe Antonio Doto, was an American mob boss and businessman. In 1927, with other underworld figures, he formed the Seven Group to control the illicit alcohol trade. Called the "Broadway Mob", they controlled the flow of bootleg liquor to the top clubs in Manhattan. In 1944, Joe Adonis relocated his activities to New Jersey and used as his headquarters Duke's Bar and Grill in Cliffside Park, Palisades, New Jersey. In the 1940s, Duke's restaurant was the meeting place for the Bosses, including Adonis, Albert Anastasia, Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky. Adonis was also involved in controlling gambling in sections of New York and New Jersey. In 1951, he pleaded guilty to violating New Jersey's gambling laws and served a two-year prison term. Rather than encounter New York's indictment against him for violating its state gambling laws, as well as perjury charges brought against him by the U.S.

This extraordinary typed manuscript for Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital about Western lawman Bat Masterson, with a total of four handwritten corrections by him, including his very rare full signature. It was written by Robert M. Wright, former mayor of Dodge City, Kansas, and sent to Masterson, a former deputy in Dodge City, for his review. Annotated typed manuscript signed "William Barclay (Bat) Masterson". Black ink and lead pencil notations in unknown hand. 6 pages, 8½x11, bound with a needle at top edge. There are a total of four corrections on the first page. The first is Masterson's signature, correcting the title "W.B. Masterson (Bat)". He also corrected the initials "W.B." in the first sentence with "William Barclay". The other two corrections pertain to his candidacy for sheriff of Ford County, Kansas, which included Dodge City. He crossed out the "6" in "1876" and corrected it with "7".  This extraordinary document is a short biography of Masterson written by Robert M. Wright for his book Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital (1913). Wright, a former mayor of Dodge City, Kansas sent this manuscript to Masterson, a former deputy in Dodge City, for his review.

Henry Clay wrote this letter from his Ashland estate in Kentucky in 1829, about nine months after he stepped down as President John Quincy Adams' Secretary of State. In it, he talks about President Andrew Jackson - "the Military despot" - as well as the election and a friend who had published a letter of his without his permission. Autograph letter signed "H. Clay". 4 pages, 7¾x9¾, 1 sheet folded, front and verso. Written at Clay's Ashland estate in Kentucky, Nov. 21, 1829. Addressed to P. R. Fendale, Esq. In full: "I recd. you favor both of the 30th. Oct. and the 7th. instant. I believe Mr. Wonley has made the permanent arrangement to supply the place of his late Co-partner; and I think it probable that he will make none before the fate of the Journal is finally decided. However much gratified I should be, in some respects, to see you a resident of Kentucky, I should regret it extremely if it were to be the consequence of the failure of the Journal. That paper has been edited with very great ability, generally, since the commencement of the present administration; and is considered in this quarter as standing unquestionably at the head of the papers which are arrayed against the Military despot.…"

This color photograph of the Supreme Court is signed by all nine Justices and framed! Photograph Mount Signed (from left to right): "Thurgood Marshall", "John Paul Stevens", "Wm. J. Brennan Jr.", "Lewis F. Powell Jr.", "Warren E. Burger", "William H. Rehnquist", "Byron R. White", "Sandra D. O'Connor", and "Harry A. Blackmun". 10½x14 color photograph mounted to a 15x18 board. Warren E. Burger (1907-1995) was Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1969 to 1986. This photograph was taken sometime between 1981 and 1986. Sandra Day O'Connor joined the Supreme Court on September 25, 1981, replacing Potter Stewart. Frame corners chipped. Otherwise, fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 39¾x22¼.

9x11 black and white publicity photograph of Clarence Darrow wearing a suit and tie. Photograph inscribed and signed: "Clarence Darrow/Warmest wishes to/Gifford Ernest/Chicago Feb'y 2, 1936". B/w, 9x11 overall, image 7½x9¼ (one surface). Attorney Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), who specialized in corporate law, shot to fame in 1894, when he defended American Socialist leader Eugene V. Debs, President of the American Railroad Union, arrested on a federal contempt of court charge arising from a strike at the Chicago Pullman Palace Car Company. Although Darrow lost the case, he won a national reputation as a champion of radical causes. A brilliant orator and a master of reforming the law, framing pleas and eliciting evidence, he became one of America's most renowned defense lawyers, and he used his position to campaign against capital punishment. In his sixties, Darrow successfully defended Leopold and Loeb (1924) in getting life imprisonment instead of death for kidnapping and killing a 13-year-old boy. In 1925, he defended John T. Scopes, accused of violating a Tennessee law by teaching evolution, in the "Scopes Monkey Trial". Darrow's autobiography, The Story of My Life, was published in 1932. Blank areas are lightly soiled. Lightly creased.

Signing in the text of this handwritten 1777 letter, he discusses his corrections to proofs of a legal address he delivered before the Society of Antiquaries Third-Person Autograph Letter Signed: "Sir William Blackstone" and "Sir Wm" in text, 1 page, 7½x4½. Wallingford, 1777 April 17, Monday morning. In full: "Sir William Blackstone returns to Mess. Bowzer and Nichols the Proof Sheets of his letter to Mr. Barrington & with them the MS. Copy. [Items not included.] Had he known the Society intended to have printed it immediately, he would have corrected it for the Press before it was sent to the Compositor, but believes the few Emendations he has made will not occasion any considerable Trouble. Sir Wm would have returned it sooner, but did not receive it till Saturday Afternoon."  English jurist and writer SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE (1723-1780) is referring to the publishing of his letter to Judge Daines Barrington, which he had read in 1775 before the Society of Antiquaries. Blackstone, as a Fellow of the Society since 1761, addressed a paper to the Vice President, Barrington (1727-1800), regarding the use of seals by those with ecclesiastical jurisdiction as specified by a law passed in 1547, during the first year of Edward VI's reign.