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Home / Historical / 2014 October 8 - 9 Historical Manuscripts Signature Auction - Beverly Hills Auction #6111 / Lot #49136
    LOT #49136  | 
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    John Quincy Adams Autograph Poem Signed....

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    • Autographs:U.S. Presidents, John Quincy Adams Autograph Poem Signed....
    • Autographs:U.S. Presidents, John Quincy Adams Autograph Poem Signed....
    Autographs:U.S. Presidents, John Quincy Adams Autograph Poem Signed.... Autographs:U.S. Presidents, John Quincy Adams Autograph Poem Signed.... View More >
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    Description

    John Quincy Adams Autograph Poem Signed. One page, 3.5" x 7", n.p., February 25, 1840. Adams once wrote that could he have "chosen my own genius and condition, I would have made myself a great poet." While he never achieved fame as such, he was a voracious reader and writer of poetry. Here he muses on "The Beard / Past, Present and Future / A Yankee Notion," in full:

    "When Greece and Rome were on the stage,
    And wisdom was abundant,
    The beard bespoke a heavy page,
    Of intellect redundant.
    But wisdom now, is not somehow
    So precious as a guinea;
    And thus you say, in this our day
    A beard denotes a ninny."

    Written on colored paper which once held lacy edges (only the upper edge retains the lace pattern). Smoothed folds; slight separation of the lower fold at the right edge. Minor paper loss near the upper right corner; lower right corner damaged. Scattered spots of light foxing and ink dots.

    Auction Info

    Auction Dates
    October, 2014
    8th-9th Wednesday-Thursday
    Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 7
    Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
    Page Views: 440

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