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Collection of Letters and Ephemera Concerning Peter H. Clark. ...
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Sold on Oct 19, 2022 for:
$10,000.00
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Description
Collection of Letters and Ephemera Concerning Peter H. Clark. A large group of assorted material belonging to Peter Humphries Clark (1829-1925), Secretary of the Lincoln Memorial Club and African American political and social activist and educator. Clark was based in Cincinnati and corresponded with many prominent nineteenth-century African American men, including politicians, religious figures, and journalists. The Lincoln Memorial Club was an organization dedicated to "keeping green his memory by observing the anniversary of his birth and of his death." This collection contains four letters, eight songsheets by Joshua McCarter Simpson, two 1874 programs from the African M. E. Church at Allen Temple, an 1874 petition from the Lincoln Memorial Club to recognize Lincoln's birthday as a national holiday, an 1886 program honoring Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, a newspaper article recounting President Lincoln's assassination titled "Lincoln's Last Night," notes concerning African American soldiers in the War of 1812, and a clipped signature from Clark. The undated notes appear partial and include transcriptions of letters from the "Hero of Lake Erie," Oliver Hazard Perry, and the War of 1812. One partial sheet contains commentary on the various races of American sailors under his command, reading in part: "The American fleet was manned with a motley set of being, European, Africans, American from every part of the United States full one fourth were blacks. They were brave, who could be otherwise under the command of Perry -"The four letters were sent in January and February of 1876 and concern an upcoming meeting of the Lincoln Memorial Club, where prominent African American community members submit reverential letters on Abraham Lincoln in line with the association's aim of championing the late president's memory. Among these is a one-page autograph letter signed from John P. Sampson dated January 24, 1876, from Washington, D.C., accepting his election as a member of the Lincoln Memorial Club. He writes, in part: "...I have watched the progress of this association with unusual interest... I accept the honor with more than ordinary satisfaction. I also appreciate it the more because it comes from those with whom I have been most intimately associated, for whose talents I entertain the highest sentiments of respect..." Signed, "John P. Sampson". Sampson was an abolitionist, minister and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of The Colored Citizen, a Cincinnati-based newspaper that focused on the interests of African American soldiers in the Civil War that ran from 1863 to 1865.
Also included is a one-page autograph letter signed from J[ames] Poindexter dated January 28, 1876, from Columbus, Ohio, accepting a position as a corresponding member of the Lincoln Memorial Club. He goes on to write a respectful tribute to Lincoln that reads, in part: "...I ask no greater honor than association which these who have organized to perpetuate the memory of the patriotic citizen, Philanthropist, Stateman, Martyr Abraham Lincoln... Wiser than the wisest, in goodness, peer of the best, if he seemed slow in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation it was not that unascending in sympathy for the state. It was that he was biding his time, waiting for the opportune moment... Great man! God bless him! Perpetual his memory..." Signed, "J. Poindexter". Poindexter was a minister, abolitionist, and politician from Ohio who advocated heavily for the education of black children. He was the first African American man to be nominated in Ohio for a seat in the House of Representatives.
The final two letters in the collection are from "D. Jenkins" on Mississippi House of Representatives letterhead. They are dated February 2 and 7, 1876 and were sent from Jackson, Mississippi. In the first letter, Jenkins accepts an unspecified position with the club and declares his intention to prepare something for their next meeting. He duly does so in the second letter, addressed to the Lincoln Club, where Jenkins writes a lengthy three-page letter on the character and veneration of Abraham Lincoln. It reads, in part: "Sirs I have only to express my gratitude to know the men of the Queen City of the West still revere the great and good name of the immortal Lincoln... Abraham Lincoln, the nations friend, he proved to be the only one who was bold enough to head the storm... his name is imortal [sic], our hero, this is due to his memory because he proved to be only one who was willing to say to the south thus for shalt thou go and no farther. He also proved to be a hero of our liberties although his plans were marked by traters [sic] on every hand still...the ship of state was taken safely into port... It seems to me that God in divine wisdom marked out this great and good man as a Moses of our race. He was born to low degree of poor parentage and obscure in a slave state without friends, almost an out cast, so was Moses the leader of the Israelites, but he soon became eminent and a good man. We cannot my friends say too much about Mr. Lincoln and his good and great deeds... he was the nations friend the slave's deliverer and the people's choice."
Condition: Several songsheets and programs have split along old folds with tape repairs on verso; most ephemera worn with light soiling and moderate to heavy edgewear. Jenkins' February 7 letter separated along horizontal folds with tape repairs on verso; 2" closed tear to upper margin of Poindexter letter.
Auction Info
2022 October 19 Historic African Americana Signature® Auction #6248 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
October, 2022
19th
Wednesday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 8
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.
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