THOMAS JEFFERSON and JAMES MADISON In the year of the Louisiana Purchase, both the President and the Secretary of State sign this grant of land in the new State of Ohio Land Grant signed: "Th. Jefferson" as President, "James Madison" as Secretary of State, 1 page, 13¼x10½. Washington, D.C., November 3, 1803. Document bears a large blind-embossed seal in the lower left-hand corner. In accordance with the Act of Congress providing for the sale of lands in the territory northwest of the Ohio River and above the mouth of the Kentucky, and determining that Benjamin Stanton has made full payment for a specified section of land there, the land is granted to Stanton, his heirs and assigns forever. Stanton's payment was deposited at the land office in Steubenville, in the new State of Ohio. Ohio became the 17th State in 1803 on either February 19, when Congress approved Ohio's constitution, or March 1, the date celebrated by the state of Ohio as the day its legislature first met. THOMAS JEFFERSON (1743-1826) served as third U.S. 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...

JAMES EARL "JIMMY" CARTER Typed, unsigned speech with handwritten corrections read by Carter during his 1976 presidential bid in a predominantly black part of Los Angeles County. Typed speech unsigned, with handwritten corrections in black and blue ink. 8 pages, 8½x11. This speech was read during Carter's 1976 presidential run at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, now Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. The hospital is located an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County near the Watts neighborhood, site of the Watts Riots of 1965, and the city of Compton, which had one of the highest concentrations of blacks - over 90 percent - in the United States at the time. Needless to say, Carter focused on race relations in this speech, specifically the impact of the civil rights movement. Carter and his running mate Walter Mondale ran against Republican candidates Gerald Ford, the incumbent, and Bob Dole, in 1976. Ford been appointed president in 1974 after the resignations of president Richard Nixon during Watergate and vice president Spiro Agnew and was the first person appointed president under the 25th amendment, which had been ratified less than 10 years earlier. read more...

ZACHARY TAYLOR Three months before his Presidential nomination and one year before his inauguration, Taylor writes military aide and political supporter J. B. Butler that he cannot come to Cincinnati because he may soon be ordered back to "the seat of war." Autograph Letter signed: "Z. Taylor", 2 pages (front and verso), 8x9¾. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1848 March 1. To Major J. B. Butler, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In full: "Your kind favor of Feb. 9 came duly to hand and I am truly indebted to you for the wish you have expressed that I should visit Cincinnati etc., but I assure you such a journey is at present quite out of the question as Rumors have been rife of the intention to order me again to the seat of war and tho' all is uncertain, I must maintain myself for a time at least where I may be readily accessible to the communications of the Dept. Accept my sincere thanks for the many kind sentiments of regard you have once and heretofore expressed towards me both those of a political & personal nature." The popularity of war hero Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) led to his election as the 12th U.S. President (1849-1850). read more...

JAMES GARFIELD The 20th President of the United States signed this 5¾x2¾ piece of paper less than two months before being assassinated in office. Signature: "James A. Garfield/May 21 1881" 5¾x2¾ piece of paper. 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). A political moderate, Garfield was the compromise choice of a deadlocked Republican Convention in 1880, nominated on the 36th ballot and elected President by a narrow margin. Garfield's assassination by a disappointed office seeker helped advance the cause of civil service reform which he had advocated. Shot on July 2 1881, Garfield died on September 19, only 200 days into his term. Signatures of Garfield as President, are thus extremely rare. Fine condition. Previously authenticated by PSA/DNA. read more...

PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. "BILL" CLINTON The 42nd U.S. President pens a letter to a friend who had been profiled in an Arkansas newspaper, thanking him for his friendship Autograph Letter Signed: "Bill". One page. 6¾x9. Place: The White House, Washington, District of Columbia. Date: April 27, 1995. In full: "Dear David: I loved the High Profile article - It was richly deserved. I hope it gives your work a boost too - Thanks for being a true friend." "High Profile" is a feature in the Sunday edition of Little Rock's "Arkansas Democrat-Gazette". On the morning of the day the President wrote this letter, he met with Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev in the White House. Following the meeting, he had a telephone conversation with President Boris Yeltsin of Russia. On the afternoon of May 8, 1995, President and Mrs. Clinton left for Moscow, arriving the next morning. President Clinton met with President Yeltsin on May 9th. The visit coincided with the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe. read more...

JAMES MADISON and JAMES MONROE As war with Britain looms (1812), the President and Secretary of State sign the papers of an American merchant ship bound for France with a valuable cargo. Partly Printed DS: "James Madison" as President, "Jas Monroe" as Secretary of State and "David Gelston" as Collector of Customs of the Port of New York, 1 page, 20½x16½. Signed in Washington, but issued from New York, 1812 January 18. The text is in four columns, each in a different language; from left to right: French, Spanish, English and Dutch. A four-language ship's paper for the brig Don Roderick under the command of Davis G. Gillies, bound for Bordeaux from New York, "Laden with Cocoa, Coffee, Sugar, Pepper, Cotton, Tea, Mahogany Oil...." No American ships could sail the open seas without this properly authorized passport, and ships still faced problems. If an American ship was sailing to a European port under French control, as the Don Roderick was bound for Bordeaux, France, it could be seized by a British ship if it had not called at a British port. read more...

HARRY TRUMAN and CABINET Official 14x10½ Cabinet Photo, taken two weeks after the Inauguration for his (unexpected) full term, signed by the President himself, by Vice President Barkley, and by all nine members of the Cabinet. Attorney General Clark would soon become a Supreme Court Justice. This is one of the last photos of Defense Secretary Forrestal, sacked by Truman 6 weeks later and dead under suspicious circumstances within 3 months. Photograph signed: "Harry Truman" as President, "Alben W. Barkley" as Vice President, "Dean Acheson" as Secretary of State, "James Forrestal" as Secretary of Defense, "Tom C. Clark" as Attorney General, "John W. Snyder" as Secretary of the Treasury, "Charles F. Brannan" as Secretary of Agriculture, "J. M. Donaldson" as Postmaster General, "Charles Sawyer" as Secretary of Commerce, "Maurice J. Tobin" as Secretary of Labor, and "J. A. Krug" as Secretary of the Interior. In all eleven signatures, a complete roster of the Cabinet. read more...

ANDREW JACKSON His Presidential signature (bold and 6 inches long) on an 1836 patent for an improved machine to make ship's thimbles, also signed by Secretary of State Forsyth and Attorney General Butler, 11½x15½, framed with a portrait and biographic plaque to 29x25. Accompanied by a 3-page handwritten description of the device by the inventor, Prentice White. Patent signed: "Andrew Jackson" as President, "John Forsyth" as Secretary of State, "B. F. Butler" as Attorney General, 1 page, 11½x15½. Washington, D.C., 1836 July 1. Patent issued to Prentice White for [in part] "a new and useful improvement in the Machine for making Ship's Thimbles which improvements he states has not been known or used before his application; [White] hath made oath that he does verily believe that he is the true inventor or discoverer of the said improvement; hath paid into the treasury of the United States the sum of thirty dollars." Archivally double matted and framed with a seated portrait and a biographical plaque, to an overall size of 29.5 x 25.25. read more...