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Archive of Letters Addressed to Elizabeth Bacon Custer....
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Sold on Feb 26, 2026 for:
$8,125.00
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Description
Archive of Letters Addressed to Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Approximately 15 letters written in the years 1876 to 1878 addressed to Libbie Custer together with a theater ticket. The archive includes six letters of condolence, two letters from members of Philip Sheridan's family, and a handful of letters related to finances. Of note:Volney Woolfolk ALS. Two pages of a bifolium; 7 3/4 x 9 3/4; St. Louis, Missouri; August 10, 1876. Woolfolk encloses a copy of "A Lament for Custer" (not present) published in a newspaper, adding: "We may be all permitted to join with you in sorrowing over your great affliction - for this is a public grief as his death was a public Calamity intensified and rendered greater by the loss with him of so many brave men and gallant soldiers." With the original transmittal cover.
Edwin Booth Signed Theater Ticket (cardstock, 5 1/2 x 3 7/8 inches) for a performance of "Two Gentlemen of Verona, IV, I." Engrossed to "Mrs. G. A. Custer" in a scribal hand and signed, "Edw Booth."
Emma Nash Porter ALS. Two pages, 5 x 8 inches; Lansing; September 21, 1876. A letter asking Libbie to lend their Ladies Association "the Indian curiosities which you have now at Jackson" for exhibit at a church benefit.
Thomas L. Crittenden ALS. Two pages, 5 x 8 inches; Washington, D.C.; September 21, 1877. Crittenden writes to decline Libbie's request that he serve as a pallbearer at a funeral ceremony being held at West Point for General Custer on October 10. He writes, "I do not think that I will ever again visit West Point. My son was, in my judgment greatly outraged at that Academy..."
Also with the lot is the disbound title page, contents, and endpapers from a book with two signatures in pencil by May Custer Elmer, and a torn printed circular of an insurance company annual report.
Condition: Letters are in generally good condition, with occasional instances of separations at folds.
Provenance: Presented by Elizabeth Bacon Custer to May Custer Elmer; thence by descent and inheritance to our consignor.
Auction Info
2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction #6328 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
February, 2026
26th
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 7
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 181
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% of the successful bid per lot.
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