WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON As the Whig Party candidate for President, Harrison devotes 3 pages to defending his conduct at the Battle of the Thames (War of 1812). He is so anxious to vindicate his military record that he is traveling to Cincinnati to have copies of depositions made and published! Harrison's signature is rare, especially so close to the date of his brief Presidency! Autograph Letter signed: "W. H. Harrison", 3 pages with integral address leaf, 7¼x12½. North Bend (Ohio), 1840 February 14. To Moses B. Corwin, House of Representatives of Ohio. In full: "Your letter of the 10th was brought to me yesterday from Cincinnati. I had seen an article in the journal that Flood was charged with having written in his place, an assertion that I was not in the sortie of the Thames. I immediately addressed a note to him which I enclosed to General [Joseph] Vance demanding to know whether he had made such an assertion and the ground upon which it was made. In answer to my letter to him, the general expressed an opinion that I gave too much importance to the matter and declined delivering my note to Flood until he would hear from me again. read more...

WOODROW WILSON As President he signed and dated this hardbound copy of his speech to a joint session of congress requesting a Declaration of War on Germany. Book signed: "Woodrow Wilson/1 August, 1920" as President on first flyleaf, 16 pages, 8x12¼, hardcover. Address of the President of the United States Delivered at a Joint Session of the Two Houses of Congress April 2, 1917, privately printed in 1918. The complete text of President Wilson's speech requesting that Congress declare war on Germany and her allies. On April 6, four days after Wilson delivered this "War Message", Congress overwhelmingly passed the War Resolution that brought the U.S. into WWI. In part: "The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them…. read more...

JAMES GARFIELD The President signs a warrant authorizing the Secretary of State to place the US seal on a congratulatory message to the new Kingdom of Romania. Signatures by Garfield as President are extremely rare, this one penned less than two months before he was shot. Presidential Warrant signed: "James A. Garfield" as President, 8x10, matted with a photograph of Garfield (with facsimile signature) to an overall size of 18½x15. Washington, D.C., 1881 May 5. In full: "I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to cause the Seal of the United States to be affixed to an envelope containing my reply to the letter of King Charles of Romania, announcing the erection of Romania into a Kingdom &c, &c. dated this day, and signed by me; and for so doing this shall be his warrant." James Abram Garfield (1831-1881) rose to the rank of Major General in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, participating in the battles of Shiloh and Chickamauga, before resigning his commission to take a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1863-1880). read more...

FRANCIS SCOTT KEY In this handwritten and signed letter, the writer of the Star-Spangled Banner discusses appearing before the United States Supreme Court Autograph Letter Signed: "F.S. Key", 1p, 8x9½. Geo: Town, 1815 February 20. Integral leaf addressed by Key to: "Mr Thomas Biddle/Philadelphia". Postmarked Georgetown, Feb 22 ("22" handwritten). Docketed above address panel, probably by Biddle: "F.S. Key/Georgetown, Feby 20, 1815". In full: "Your cause will be called I presume in two or three weeks, but if the trial is not pressed by your opponent, it can be continued till the next Term - nor is it likely he would object to the continuance - I observe no Counsel has yet entered an appearance for it. - If it is thus put off till the next Term, it will afford you the means of compromising it, if you think you can do so on advantageous terms. As to your success, I think it as certain as any thing undecided I can conceive of can be. - Not only is it a very plain case in your favour, as I think, but two of the Judges of the Sup Court - Washington & Story have both so adjudged the point on which it chiefly depends. read more...

KENNEDY FAMILY ARCHIVE Collection of nearly 80 personal items spanning almost a century, most of which were the personal mementoes of Mary Loretta Connelly, Joseph P. Kennedy's sister. Included are many signed letters from the family patriarch, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.; items signed by John, Robert and Ted Kennedy and spouses Jackie, Ethel and Joan; mementoes associated with the eldest Kennedy brother, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr; items connected with Kennedy sisters Pat, Eunice, Jean and Kathleen; and souvenirs of the next generation of Kennedy's: JFK Jr., Caroline Kennedy, and their cousin Joseph Kennedy II and Ted Kennedy, Jr. Most of the items in this remarkable collection of Kennedy family history come from Kerry McCarthy, the granddaughter of Joseph P. Kennedy's sister Mary Loretta (Kennedy) Connelly, and herself a well-known and respected political activist. They have been in her family for many years. Additional well authenticated items offered here to round out the collection are JFK's clipped signature, the handwritten manuscript by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the photographs of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Joseph Kennedy II, and the invitation to a Kennedy Presidential Library event signed by Caroline Kennedy. read more...

ABRAHAM LINCOLN This is a rare handwritten legal document, signed by Lincoln with his firm's name of "Murphy & Lincoln" and with two paragraphs of comments on a suit against Sam Frazier, sheriff of Vermillion County, Indiana. It's an excellent example of a document from before he became 16th President of the United States. Rare Autograph Endorsement signed: "Murphy & Lincoln [illegible]", 1p, 7¾x12½. Champaign County, Illinois, circa 1852. In full: "And the defendant doth the like." Signed beneath the first paragraph of a manuscript document relating to the case of Nelson Ligget vs Samuel Frazier, who were represented by Linder Benedict & Davis. In full: "And the said plaintiff for replication to said defendants first pleas by him above pleaded, says precludi non, because he says That the said defendant at the time and place when & in the said plea mentioned, he the said defendant did not then and there have in his possession the said writ in said plea mentioned And this the said plaintiff prays may be enquired of by the county &c." A second paragraph follows Lincoln's first endorsement. read more...

JIMMY CARTER: 1976 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN Original draft of Jimmy Carter's address accepting the 1976 democratic nomination for president. This draft bears 153 words written in Carter's hand, including this attack on Republicans: "use line about every mistake-- Vietnam, Chile, CIA excesses, etc. - happened because plotted in secrecy without U.S. people". Annotated Speech Unsigned, 8p. No date, but 1976. Eight pages from a draft of his July 15, 1976 speech accepting the Democratic nomination for President. Pages are numbered 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 14 (concluding page of speech). Not signed, but bearing 153 words in Carter's handwriting. Adviser STUART EIZENSTADT is mentioned frequently by Carter ("Stu") on these pages. In the Carter White House, Eizenstadt served as Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Policy. The following are quotes from the eight pages, Carter's handwritten edits and comments, and related excerpts from Carter's acceptance address delivered at the Democratic National Convention in Madison Square Garden on July 15, 1976. read more...

JOHN F. KENNEDY Signed memo as President to General Maxwell Taylor (July 10, 1961), concerning the search to replace CIA Director Allen Dulles in the wake of the Bay of Pigs fiasco Memorandum signed: "JFK" as President, 1 page, 6¾x8¾. (Washington), 1961 July 10. Memorandum for General [Maxwell] Taylor, in full: "Would you talk to Allen Dulles about Fowler Hamilton and if he feels he is good would you ask Gilpatric, who comes from New York to check on him. If all of the reports come up good arrange for me to see him towards the end of the week." Pencil note in upper right, possibly in Taylor's hand: "Done. Reported orally 12 July". During the 1960 Presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy had attacked the Eisenhower administration and his opponent, Vice President Richard Nixon, for allowing the emergence of a communist regime in Cuba. Upon becoming President, JFK learned that plans for an invasion of Cuba by CIA-trained Cuban exiles were already underway. That operation, known as the Bay of Pigs invasion (April 17, 1961) was a dismal failure. Many Cuban exiles and CIA officers blamed Kennedy for the failure, because he had refused to sanction air support by US Air Force planes. read more...

ANDREW JOHNSON Attempting to fill Lincoln's shoes in the White House, President Johnson signed this tracing of his shoes, intended for making a new pair (1865). Shoe print signed twice: "Andrew Johnson", 2 pages, 9x14 ½. Washington City, District of Columbia, 1865 December 12. Page one is a tracing of a pair of shoe soles, signed inside each tracing by the President. Additional markings (unknown hand) are measurements, including an apparent overall she size (13½). Accompanied by 2-sided tracing of same dimensions, bearing the foot measurements of Major Andre K. Long of the Executive Mansion, dated December 12, 1865; and of Major R. Morrow, A. A. G. (Assistant Adjutant General), dated December 14. Andrew Johnson represented Tennessee in the U.S. House (1843-1853) and Senate (1857-1862, 1875) and served twice as that State's Governor (1853-1857, 1862-1865). His second term was as a Military Governor appointed by President Lincoln. A pro-war Democrat fiercely opposed to secession but also opposed to imposition of a stringent Reconstruction read more...