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Autograph Album Signed by Abraham Lincoln and other notable nineteenth-century figures including, Edwin Stanton, Charles S...
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Description
Signed by Lincoln on the Day He Signed the Emancipation Proclamation
Autograph Album Signed by Abraham Lincoln and other notable
nineteenth-century figures including, Edwin Stanton, Charles
Sumner, Hannibal Hamlin, Gideon Welles, Salmon P. Chase, and Ralph
Waldo Emerson. Autograph album belonging to Theodore F. Wurts
of Carbondale, PA. Also signed by other public notables, Wurts's
personal acquaintances, and Civil War soldiers. Signatures are
dated January 1, 1863-July 13, 1895. Octavo. 96 leaves (two
excised). Publisher's brown morocco stamped in blind and gilt,
yellow endpapers, all edges trimmed and gilt.Theodore F. Wurts was one of the "Wide Awakes" who contributed to Lincoln's 1860 Presidential campaign, a group described as comprised of "young men of character and energy, earnest in their Republican convictions and enthusiastic in prosecuting the canvass on which we have entered" (The New York Times, October 3, 1860). On September 12, 1862, Wurts enlisted in the 13th Regiment of Pennsylvania, Company C, later known as "The Wurts Guard." After surviving the Battle of Antietam, Wurts was mustered out of the 13th Regiment on September 26, 1862, after which he enlisted in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Companies K and G, on November 13, 1862. Eventually, he left the army, serving in a variety of civilian jobs before beginning a career in civil engineering in 1864.
According to an article in The Topeka Daily Capital (August 13, 1902), Wurts, accompanied by his mother, attended the New Years Day reception at the White House on January 1, 1863. "His mother, who knew Mr. Lincoln very well, took a novel plan to secure the President's autograph and photograph on one occasion, at a reception. Taking a pen, a small vial of ink and an album, she held them toward Mr. Lincoln as he greeted her. He took the pen and vial, and holding up one in each hand, said: 'Madam, you have made it very easy for me.'" Lincoln then signed the very first page of the present autograph album, thus beginning a remarkable collection of signatures from the most distinguished political and military officials of the day. The album was later passed down to his son, John S. Wurts.
Though Lincoln is certainly the cornerstone of the collection, other notable autographs include the following: "Edwin M. Stanton" as Secretary of War; "H. Hamlin" as Vice President; "S.P. Chase" as Secretary of the Treasury; "Gideon Welles" as Secretary of the Navy; "A.H. Foote" as Rear Admiral of the Navy; "Thaddeus Stevens," member of the US House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and later chairman of the managers appointed to conduct impeachment proceedings against Andrew Johnson; "Schuyler Colfax" as Speaker of the House (later Vice President under Ulysses S. Grant); "C.A. Dana" as Assistant Secretary of War, playing the role of liaison between the War Department and General Grant; "R.E. Fenton" as Governor of New York; Senators "J.R. Doolittle" and "D. Wilmot," famous for authoring the "Wilmot Proviso" in 1846 which would have banned slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War, or in the future; Massachusetts Senator "Charles Sumner"; and Illinois Senator "Lyman Trumbull," who, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, co-wrote the 13th Amendment prohibiting slavery.
While enlisted with the 177th Pennsylvania Regiment, Wurts also gathered signatures from his fellow soldiers, most while the regiment was stationed at Deep Creek in the second quarter of 1863. Many signed their names with a one-line quip, as Henry Wilson did when he remarked that he was "still without the first dollar of pay for his valuable services," or Samuel Raynor, who wrote, "May a Kind Providence protect and bless those who are true to our Country's interests, in these hours of peril."
A remarkable collection of the autographs of notable public officials and endearing personal inscriptions by his fellow soldiers and his family.
Condition: Moderate edgewear, heavily worn, corners bumped and rubbed, boards scuffed, most of spine lost. Slightly cocked, shaken; hinges starting, dampstaining to rear endpapers and final few leaves, bookseller ticket of Hudson Taylor to front pastedown, effaced bookplates with adhesive remnants to front free endleaf recto; ownership signature of Wurts and his son, John Wurts (dated 1863 and 1894, respectively), to initial blank recto. Text block variously split, first two gatherings somewhat loose; intermittent scattered staining and thumbing throughout. Several signatures with penciled identification in a later hand, possibly by his son, John S. Wurts. Good.
Provenance: Property of A Distinguished American Collector From The Pacific Northwest
Auction Info
2023 July 8 Historical Platinum Signature® Auction #6275 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2023
8th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 2
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 888
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