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James Monroe Autograph Letter Signed...
Description
James Monroe Invites a Correspondent to Oak Hill and Provides an Introduction to the Visiting Marquis de Lafayette
James Monroe Autograph Letter Signed ("James
Monroe"). One page of a bifolium, 6 1/4 x 7 5/8 inches; Oak
Hill [Loudoun County, VA]; September 8, 1824.Monroe writes to an unidentified correspondent inviting him to Oak Hill, noting an anticipated meeting with Lafayette, and enclosing a letter of introduction. Monroe pens, in full:
"Dear Sir
I wrote you from Washington a letter which I find you did [no]t receive. I expected to see you h[ere] and am sorry you do not come [?] [o]ur room for you, & the family [w]ill be glad to see you.
The trip you intend to make is extensive & interesting. I had hope that you would have been with me when general La Fayette arrivd, but presume you cannot be there at that time - I enclose you a letter of introduction to him [not included with lot] - your friend
James Monroe."
Written during Lafayette's celebrated return to the United States, when the aging founders received renewed public attention, Monroe extends a personal invitation to a correspondent whose travels will ultimately have him miss Lafayette's arrival. Enclosing an introduction to Lafayette, Monroe shows his continued relationship with his Revolutionary-era ally and the importance attached to Lafayette's tour.
Condition: Overall good; flattened folds with minor scattered foxing throughout. Minor wear to the bottom edges of both leaves with a few short tears. Three areas of loss (approximately 1 1/4" x 1 3/4") to the integral and outer margins of the upper horizontal fold, affecting text and filled with contemporary paper; adhesive visible along repaired areas. Small rust stain at the upper margin and pencil notations to lower margin of verso. Monroe's signature remains bold and dark.
References: Daniel Preston, ed., The Papers of James Monroe (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press); Stanley J. Idzerda et al., eds., Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977-1983).
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