Presidential Autograph Collection - A One-Of-A-Kind Bound Archive of Signed Documents, Letters and Photographs of Every Chief Executive (University Archives LOA)

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2015

This is perhaps the finest and most comprehensive collection of Presidential signatures to ever come to market. Including every President from George Washington through Barack Obama, this unique archive is professionally bound in a 12” x 16" leather volume complete with gilt engraving and page edging, ensconced in its own leather slip case. Each spread in this magnificent book features an engraved portrait on the left page while the right has a signed document, letter or cut of the president depicted. Each of the signed pieces have been professionally mounted and can be removed if so desired. Many of the pieces have been signed while the subject was a sitting President, making this already museum worthy archive all the more significant. The volume begins with a personal letter bearing the signature of our first President, George Washington, mounted along with a contemporary newspaper from 1795. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are represented with choice cut signatures, also displayed with contemporary newspapers. The most sought after Presidential signatures are all found within the leather covers: first and foremost is William Henry Harrison, the ninth president who passed away after just 32 days in office. A former military hero, Harrison is represented by a signed document from his earlier army career authorizing whiskey rations. James Garfield, assassinated after less than a year in office, has signed a two page hand-written letter. Rather than gathering of uniform cut signatures, this collection stands out for the endless variety of documents, signed letters and photographs each president is represented by. Abraham Lincoln has signed a stunning army commission dated the first month of the Civil War. JFK is represented on an early congressional letter from 1949 and Jimmy Carter has signed a candid color snapshot. Benjamin Harrison has signed a letter to Queen Victoria and Gerald Ford has signed an invitation to a private reception from 1975. The original collector of this archive has added some subtle playfulness to the selection of some pieces: Zachary Taylor writes a few lines to a fan asking for an autograph just after his victory in the Mexican War in 1848 and almost a decade later Franklin Roosevelt fulfills a 1930 autograph collector's request on the engraved letterhead of the State of New York. Not only is this a collection of the signatures of the world's most powerful leaders but it is also a glimpse into their lives as well: Dwight Eisenhower discusses his golf game in a signed type written letter and a 1934 letter finds Harry Truman faced with a forced resignation from the Army's Reserve Officer Corps. This is volume rates far above any collection of presidential signatures that we have ever seen and to say it is worthy of the finest of collections would be an understatement. Comes with full letter of authenticity from University Archives.