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LOT #42065 |
Starting Bid: $10,000
Marquis de Lafayette Autograph Letter Signed...
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Description
As the Nation Prepares to Mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of Bunker Hill, Lafayette Writes En Route to Boston as the Last Living Representative of the Revolution
Marquis de Lafayette Autograph Letter Signed
("Lafayette"). One page of a bifolium, 7 3/4 x 9 3/8 inches;
Wheeling, [Virginia]; May 24, 1825. With partial docket on address
leaf.Lafayette writes to Massachusetts politician and future Secretary of State, Edward Everett, acknowledging his invitation to the Bunker Hill Monument celebration and describing his rapid journey across the country to arrive in Boston for the fiftieth anniversary. He pens, in full:
"My Dear Sir
Your kind Letter, in the name of the Committee for the Bunker Hill Monument Has Lately Reached me on my Rapid way to the Celebration of the great Half Secular Anniversary Day of the 17th June. I must Say that Whenever the kindness of my friends, my own wishes, and even a Sense of propriety, in other Respects, should Have detained me in my progress through the Southern and Western States, it Has Sufficed, on all parts, to Expedite my Journey, to Have it Remembered that I Had the Honor to Be invited to Boston, as a Representative of the Revolutionary Army, on that Memorable occasion Equally interesting to the Whole Confederate Union. I am proceeding, after a visit to Mr. Gallatin, to Pittsburg, Erie, and along the Canal to Albany, in the Hope to Be with you on the 15th But at least Early on the 16th. I will write again, as Soon as I can ascertain the Calculation of my travelling days, But feel myself assured I Shall not miss one of the Highest gratification I can ever enjoy. present my Respects to the gentlemen of the Committee, Remember me to Your Brothers and all friends and Believe me Most Affectionately Yours
Lafayette."
Written during his celebrated return to the United States, this letter captures Lafayette in motion, crossing the country to reach Boston for the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. His journey had already taken on the character of a national procession, but here the destination carries particular weight. The invitation to attend as a representative of the Revolutionary generation becomes, in his words, reason enough to hasten his progress.
Lafayette's tone reflects both gratitude and purpose. He acknowledges the competing demands of his extensive tour yet makes clear that nothing will delay his arrival for what he calls one of the "highest gratification[s]" he can enjoy. The commemoration was a national event- "equally interesting to the whole Confederate Union"-and his presence links the living memory of the Revolution to its public celebration.
The letter also traces the scale of his reception. Moving from the South and West through Pittsburgh, Erie, and along the canal toward Albany, Lafayette travels through a country eager to claim him. Yet the significance of the moment lay not just in the journey itself, but in what it represented: a returning figure from the founding generation, welcomed back to witness how the nation remembers its own beginnings.
Condition: Very good overall. Flattened folds with minor toning and scattered soiling. Several separations at the edges and fold lines, affecting docket only. Wax seal not present with loss at right margin of address leaf and clipped left margin (likely from opening). Minor adhesive staining at top left margin.
References: Stanley J. Idzerda et al., eds., Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution (Cornell University Press); Marquis de Lafayette, Memoirs, Correspondence and ManusAcripts (various editions); Sarah Vowell, Lafayette in the Somewhat United States (New York: Riverhead, 2015).
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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19th
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