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A.P. Tasker Compiled Group of Civil War Currency, Signatures, Imprints, and Related Ephemera....
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Description
A.P. Tasker Compiled Group of Civil War Currency, Signatures, Imprints, and Related Ephemera. Shortly after the fall of the Confederate capital at Richmond, captured Confederate records began to flood into Washington, D.C. In July 1865, a special unit was established, known as the (Confederate) Archive Office, but more commonly referred to as the Bureau of Rebel Archives. Six clerks, including A.P. Tasker, were appointed to preserve, arrange, and classify each and every article with a man named B. Wells functioning as chief clerk. Wells resigned in 1871 and Tasker was promoted to chief clerk, a position he would hold until at least 1879. In 1874, a project was established to publish the official records of the Union and the Confederacy and Tasker was given the job of collecting the Confederate material for publication.The items in this lot, comprised of over fifty signatures, Confederate currency and bonds, newspaper clippings, imprints, and other ephemera, was collected by him while working in the archive office. The majority of the material is affixed to the pages of a 7.75" x 10" notebook of ruled paper bearing a title label on the front cover reading "Relics of the Civil War A.P. Tasker & Memorial Day."
The signatures, nearly all of which are clipped, include two from General Ulysses S. Grant, one signing as ad interim secretary of war, circa 1867, and the second as a breveted captain in 1852; President James A. Garfield; Union General John A. Dix, a former secretary of the treasury who signs as major general; Confederate General James Longstreet; Boston Corbett, a Union soldier best-remembered as the killer of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth; and a signature noted as being that of Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, though the signature is that of 1st Lt. Thomas K. Jackson.
Following the signatures are four Confederate imprints. The first, Senate No. 157, one page, dated January 9, 1865, measuring 6.25" x 5.75" and titled "A Bill to provide for the appointment of a Directing General of the armies of the Confederate States." Marked "Secret" at the upper edge. (Reference: Parrish & Willingham, 409). The second, Senate Bill no. 190, one page, dated February 10, 1865, measuring 6" x 9" and titled "A Bill to provide for Raising Two Hundred Thousand Negro Troops." (Reference: Parrish & Willingham, 432). The third, dated November 30, 1864, measuring 5.75" x 9" and titled "Resolutions in relation [to] the seizure of the Confederate war-steamer Florida by the United States steam-sloop Wachusett, in the bay of Bahia, Brazil." (Reference: Parrish & Willingham, 386). The final imprint, three and a half pages measuring 6.25" x 9.75", dated February 6, 1865, titled "Message of the President to the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America" contains President Davis' submission "of a report of the commissioners to confer with the President of the United States with a view to the restoration of peace." (Reference: Parrish & Willingham, 940).
Also included in the book is a pass to the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson; a period fair copy of the "Declaration of reconstructed patriotism" from the United States to William Petersen, a German tailor in Washington, D.C. who owned the house in which Lincoln died, for "injuries to furniture, bedding &c sustained on account of the death of the President" listing items and their claimed value in addition to the monetary recompense paid by the government; a facsimile copy of Robert Hanna's pension claim form; ; a program for the "Eighth Annual Banquet and . . . Celebration of the Army of Northern Virginia"; and newspaper clippings celebrating Memorial Day.
The remainder of the items consists of Confederate currency and bonds, some of which are also affixed to the pages of the book, including bills noted as being "Taken from the trunk of General Pierre Gustav Toutant Beauregard in the Bureau of Rebel Archives War Dept. by A.P.T." Bills range from five cents to $100 and include those issued by the government as well as bills issued by the states of Georgia, Louisiana, and Virginia.
Condition: The documents included show the expected age toning with scattered foxing. Some of the currency is fragile, but is in overall very good condition.
Auction Info
2015 November 4 - 5 Manuscripts Grand Format Auction - New York #6149 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
November, 2015
4th-5th
Wednesday-Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 13
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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