President Arthur Appoints Simon Wolf, the Foremost American Jewish Activist of the 19th Century, to the Ambassadorship of Egypt

October 29, 1881

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Document Signed

1 page

SMC 2451

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Cleveland: Wolf’s Book on American Jewry “Challenges Fairness and Justice, For a Class of Our Citizens to Whom They Have Not Always Been Accorded”

December 30, 1895

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 2235

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Theodore Roosevelt Praises Jewish leader Simon Wolf, During the Kishinev Pogrom Crisis, "As Good an American Citizen as is to be Found"

June 19, 1903

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 2186

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Exceptional Association Copy: Simon Wolf’s “Presidents I Have Known” Inscribed to Robert Todd Lincoln

January 10, 1919

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Signed Book Inscribed

page

SMC 2078

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Young Congressman McKinley Regrets He is Unable to Attend Wedding of Simon Wolf’s Daughter: Mrs. McKinley Is Ill

June 12, 1878

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 640

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Simon Wolf Writes President Arthur About Getting His Old Job, as Justice of the Peace, Back

August 4, 1882

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 381

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President Cleveland Supports Washington’s Leading Jewish Charitable Organization's “Israelites Fair” - An Affair Headed by Simon Wolf

January 23, 1886

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 2502

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Typed Manuscript Signed

1 page

SMC 1209

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Chaim Weizmann on the Assassination of Russian Pogrom Organizer Plehve: A Pity He Didn't Die Years Ago

August 4, 1904

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1585

Russian Interior Minister Vyacheslav Plehve, a notorious pogrom organizer and tormentor of the Jews, had been killed the week before by a bomb. Upon hearing of his death, Chaim Weizmann only wished it had happened sooner.

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March 3, 1825

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 935

James Monroe’s Major Accomplishments, What He’s Known For, & His Last Day In Office

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Kennedy and the Arts: His Unprecedented Invitation of Scholars, Artists, Writers, and Thinkers to His Inauguration

September 8, 1961

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1444

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A Rueful Harry Truman on the 3rd Anniversary of his Presidency: “I don't know whether I need congratulations or commiseration”

April 15, 1948

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 256

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Grover Cleveland Worries He Cannot Bring His Baby Into Recently Quarantined White House After His Inauguration

February 20, 1893

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 1967

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Grover & Frances Cleveland: Cleveland Writes To His Bride-To-Be About Their Wedding

April 26, 1886

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 1163

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Mark Twain and Olivia Langdon: Twain Writes Ecstatically On The Pursuit Of His Future Wife

December 12, 1868

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 1852

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George Washington And Thomas Jefferson Signed Document: Trilingual Ships Papers

December 7, 1793

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Document Signed

2 pages

SMC 1807

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Abraham Lincoln's Prayer To "The Almighty" For Himself And The Nation - A Singular Letter

May 21, 1860

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 2509

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April 10, 1914

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1286

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Lincoln's Jewish Friend from Springfield, Julius Hammerslough, Appeals to Rabbi Leeser to Help Fundraise for a Lincoln Memorial

May 30, 1865

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Broadside

1 page

SMC 226

Lincoln's personal friend, Julian Hammerslough, asks Rabbi Leeser to raise funds in his synagogue for a memorial to the late President Lincoln.

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On the Eve of Rebellion, Pierce Still Defends the Kansas-Nebraska Act

October 13, 1860

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 964

Franklin Pierce, who signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act while president, thus enabling the spread of slavery, and pitting the North against the South, doubles down on his decision six years later, on the eve of the Civil War.

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Pierce Defends the Democratic Party as Non-Sectional, Wonders About the Outcome of the 1860 Election

April 18, 1860

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 1809

Pierce insists that the Democratic party is united over the issue of slavery months before the presidential election of 1860 causes the party to split into Northern and Southern Democrats, respectively.

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March 5, 1898

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 919

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Original 1900 Cook's Travel Poster - Nile & Palestine, with Sphinx

1900

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Ephemera

1 page

SMC 2434

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Ephemera

1 page

SMC 2291

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May 9, 1948

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 646

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An Invitation to hear the Israel Declaration of Independence, May 14 1948

May 13, 1948

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Typed Letter

1 page

SMC 219

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August 12, 1924

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 2419

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Writing to Gideon Welles, Abraham Lincoln Attends to a Request From Jewish Congressman Leonard Myers

September 9, 1864

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 2340

Republican Congressman Leonard Myers of Pennsylvania, renowned for his dedication to civil rights, wrote to President Abraham Lincoln not infrequently on behalf of those seeking an introduction, an appointment, or something to do with the machinations of war. Here, Lincoln writes to the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, that he wishes to accommodate Myers's request to appoint Charles R. Wilson to the Naval School.

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Republican Nominee Abraham Lincoln Mentions His Childhood Friends of Spencer County to Former Employer William Jones

June 18, 1860

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 2342

Abraham Lincoln, returning to Indiana, says it would be rather nice to see his "old Spencer County friends."

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Early Carte-de-Visite Photo of Longtime U.S. Consul to Jerusalem, Selah Merrill

1864

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Carte de Visite

1 page

SMC 2230

Selah Merrill, known primarily as the longtime U.S. Consul to Jerusalem, famous for his antipathy for the Jewish people there, as well as anyone outside of mainstream Protestantism, was also, ironically, a chaplain with the 49th Colored Infantry during the Civil War. This rare carte-de-visite photo dates from his year's service in that capacity.

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Abraham Lincoln Carte-de-Visite Photo By Mathew Brady of Which Lincoln Said "I Look Most Like That One"

January 8, 1864

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Carte de Visite

1 page

SMC 1694

Lincoln sat for his portrait more than forty times, but he said that if he had to pick an image that looked most like him, it would be this one.

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Carte-de-Visite of Abolitionist Crusader Rabbi David Einhorn

1855

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Carte de Visite

1 page

SMC 1764

This photograph was taken in Baltimore, where the German rabbi had his first American congregation, and where he eventually had to flee for his life due to his outspoken opposition to slavery. He would never return.

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Mark Twain Signed Photo by Abdullah Frères in Constantinople

1867

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Carte de Visite

1 page

SMC 1683

Photo signed as Samuel Clemens, taken in 1867 in Constantinople by Abdullah Frères. Clemens was in the midst of his trip on "The Quaker City," which also took him to the Holy Land.

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At the End of His Life, Albert Einstein Writes Check to His Beloved Hebrew University

January 13, 1955

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Check Signed

1 page

SMC 1814

The Hebrew University was a dream towards which Einstein devoted a considerable amount of time, including serving on its board, speaking at its inauguration, and bequeathing all of his papers to it. Nearing the end of his life, he wrote this check, in 1955 for $10 (equivalent to $90 in today's money) to the American Friends of the Hebrew University.

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Excessively Rare Presidential Check Signed by Zachary Taylor

December 4, 1827

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Check Signed

1 page

SMC 1612

Taylor, a career soldier, wrote this check to himself while stationed in Louisiana. Likely the only surviving check written by Taylor.

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Very Rare Printed Presidential Check Signed by Franklin Pierce: He Purchases Coal for the White House

September 19, 1854

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Check Signed

1 page

SMC 1074

With this, one of the rarest surviving presidential checks, Franklin Pierce purchased coal for the White House in September of 1854.

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One of Benjamin Harrison's First Personal Checks as President

March 9, 1889

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Check Signed

1 page

SMC 1177

This, one of the first personal checks signed by Benjamin Harrison as president, was written to the Treasurer of the American Bar Association, Francis Rawle of Philadelphia.

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A Very Rare President Warren G. Harding Signed Check

January 9, 1922

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Check Signed

1 page

SMC 1325

Exceedingly rare check signed by Warren G. Harding as President.

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Abraham Lincoln's Check to His Son, Robert Lincoln, to Equip Him For Service Under Grant

February 20, 1865

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Check Signed

1 page

SMC 456

Check from Abraham Lincoln to his son, Robert Todd Lincoln. The president had finally allowed his son to serve in the war, and made sure he was sent to General Grant. This check was to ensure that his son was properly kitted out for war.

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Check of Jewish-Owned Cochise County Bank in Tombstone Sends Money to and from Jewish Merchants

March 14, 1885

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Check Signed

1 page

SMC 1924

Interesting artifact of Jewish life in the American West: a transaction from a Jewish owned bank in Tombstone to a Jewish tobacconists in San Francisco.

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On His First Day in Office, "Jack" Kennedy Thanks His Predecessor, Eisenhower, for a Smooth Transition

January 21, 1961

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 2051

Masking his true feelings about his predecessor, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, and twenty-eight years Eisenhower's junior, thanks him for a smooth transition of power.

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John F. Kennedy Letter, Post-Dated November 26, 1963, Signed Before He Left for Dallas

November 26, 1963

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 2181

A letter from President Kennedy wishing Senator Dan Flood a happy birthday, dated November 26, 1963, four days after Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy had signed the letter before leaving for Dallas.

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An Early, and Uncommon, Warren G. Harding White House Card Signed, "Good Wishes!"

May 12, 1921

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White House Card

1 page

SMC 334

The genial Harding inscribes a White House Card with a cordial sentiment - "Good wishes!" – just two months into his Administration.

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President William McKinley Signs Executive Mansion Card on His 55th Birthday

January 29, 1898

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White House Card

1 page

SMC 537

On January 29, 1898, his first birthday in the White House, President William McKinley, turning fifty-five, signed this Executive Mansion card.

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An Autograph Innovation: President Rutherford B. Hayes Signs an Executive Mansion Card

December 13, 1878

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White House Card

1 page

SMC 514

Around the time of Hayes's presidency, it became fashionable to request the president's signature on Executive Mansion stationery. This card, dated, December 13, 1878, suggests that President Hayes might have filled requests for his autograph in his "down time."

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Early Variant of Executive Mansion Card Signed by American President Millard Fillmore

January 4, 1853

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White House Card

1 page

SMC 1067

Card signed by Millard Fillmore as President, being an early variant of a White House Card.

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Woodrow Wilson, on the Ninth Day of His Presidency, Signs a White House Card

March 17, 1913

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White House Card

1 page

SMC 1316

President less than two weeks, Wilson signs this White House card – in the top left corner, as would be his wont, to protect against anything being added above his signature.

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President Theodore Roosevelt Signs a Mint White House Card

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White House Card

1 page

SMC 1269

President Theodore Roosevelt renamed the Executive Mansion "The White House," and wastes no time ordering and signing the new White House stationery.

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January 8, 1956

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 765

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David Ben-Gurion Compares, Favorably, the Fledgling IDF to George Washington's Revolutionary Army

January 27, 1956

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 766

At a critical juncture, when Israel was vastly outnumbered, Ben-Gurion compares the fledgling IDF to "an army that had been established by the owner of an estate in Virginia." Though Ben-Gurion compares the IDF to George Washington's Revolutionary Army and wishes to learn from it, he also claims that the Jewish people's situation is "different from any other nation."

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Former President Theodore Roosevelt Writes About Taking Books on His Upcoming Safari to Africa

March 11, 1909

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1274

Former President Theodore Roosevelt tells Samuel Crothers that he has limited space for books while on safari, but is bringing Crothers's A Gentle Reader.

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Theodore Roosevelt: "My Great Hero is Abraham Lincoln"

June 13, 1906

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Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1276

Theodore Roosevelt expresses his admiration for Abraham Lincoln and wishes to emulate him in championing the cause of the common people.

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Theodore Roosevelt on the sinking of the Lusitania

June 21, 1915

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1278

Theodore Roosevelt resented Woodrow Wilson's weak position on German naval aggression. Here, he unequivocally states that had Wilson shown some strong leadership and stood up to Germany, over 1000 civilians would not have lost their lives at sea.

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Theodore Roosevelt Writes From "The Canal Zone" to Panama's President Amador

November 16, 1906

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Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1255

Before departing Panama, Theodore Roosevelt writes to Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero who, as the first President of Panama, received Roosevelt when he visited the Canal Zone in November, 1906. Roosevelt and Amador had worked together on creating the Panama Canal, and here Roosevelt thanks Amador for his thoughtful gifts.

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A Final Roar: In One of His Last Letters, Theodore Roosevelt Blasts Woodrow Wilson

January 3, 1919

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1256

Three days before he died, Theodore Roosevelt, by then unable to rise from the sofa and write, dictated this letter. In it, he finds the strength to lambast Woodrow Wilson for erring "in intellectual honesty and moral straight-forwardness," as well as finding fault in his own "single error," which was to support Wilson for the first sixty days of World War I.

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Theodore Roosevelt on the "Treacherous Injustice at Chicago" and His New Bull Moose Party

July 2, 1912

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1257

Theodore Roosevelt, who had recently created the Progressive party when he lost the Republican party nomination to Taft, takes stock.

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Theodore Roosevelt Bitterly Regrets Being Forced to Sit Through WWI At Home "In Comfort and Safety"

August 14, 1918

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Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1253

Roosevelt has lost one son to the Great War, and two have been badly injured in it. He can't stand the idea that his sons have been put in harm's way, whilst he remains at home, and finds it terrible that the war takes the young. Roosevelt also finds it "more terrible, of course, if the young fear to face death in a great crisis for a great cause."

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Secretary of Navy Long: President William McKinley, "Acute and Wise," Will Not Seek Third Term

June 11, 1901

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Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1186

In this private note to his daughter, in which he discusses, amongst other things, a birthday present for his daughter, Naval Secretary John Long reveals that President William McKinley will absolutely not be seeking a third term.

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Carl Sandburg: Walt Whitman "Strolls In and Out of the Pages Regularly" of His Lincoln Biography

October 12, 1938

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1110

Carl Sandburg, a poet who won acclaim for his four-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, tells Morris Lychenheim,one of Whitman’s last surviving friends, that Walt Whitman "strolls in and out of the pages regularly."

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Chief Justice William Howard Taft: "The Fame of Lincoln Has Spread to Every Land"

April 29, 1925

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1030

Chief Justice Taft looks forward to reading Emmanuel Hertz’s Lincoln addresses, noting that "The fame of Lincoln has spread to every land, and details in respect to his personality will certainly prove to be of interest and usefulness."

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Chief Justice William Howard Taft Comments on an Abraham Lincoln Address by Emanuel Hertz

March 26, 1926

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1031

William Howard Taft, the only man to be both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court here comments, obliquely, on an address about Lincoln, in which Emanuel Hertz has "noted a reference to a suggestion of mine."

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President William McKinley Writes to the Widow of His Vice President and Dear Friend, Mrs. Hobart

March 8, 1900

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 915

In this letter, written four months after the death of his vice-president and dear friend, Garret Hobart, President McKinley thanks Mrs. Tuttle-Hobart for the gift of fruit, and for the wonderful time spent together with her and her son.

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Chaim Weizmann Thanks British Zionist Leader for a Copy of His Book, "The Jews, the War and After"

December 14, 1943

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 829

Weizmann thanks the British Zionist leader, Phineas Horowitz, for a copy of his new book, The Jews, the War and After, which he looks forward to reading "with much pleasure and profit."

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Looks Forward to Receiving Books on Judaism

March 16, 1927

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 925

After lunching with Lincoln biographer and Jewish activist Emmanuel Hertz, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. tells Hertz that he looks forward to receiving the latter's brother's book on Judaism, as well as the Jewish Publication Society's latest translation of the Bible.

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Has Received Jewish Books and is Reading Them With "the Greatest of Interest."

March 23, 1927

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 926

Having received the Jewish books from Emmanuel Hertz, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. follows up and tells him that he's already set to reading them with "the greatest of interest."

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Lists Favorite Parts from "A Book of Jewish Thought"

April 11, 1927

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 927

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. avidly read Joseph Hertz's book about Jewish thought, and lists for Hertz's brother Emanuel, his favorite passages.

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Tells Emanuel Hertz He Will Always Try to Justify His Good Opinion

January 14, 1932

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 929

Having lunched together and corresponded for some half dozen years, Roosevelt tells Hertz it will always be his earnest endeavor to justify his good opinion.

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Secretary of Interior on Campaign to Stop German Annihilation of Jews -The Holocaust- During WWII

October 18, 1943

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1616

Letter from the Secretary of the Interior of the United States, inviting friends to join a campaign to end the German annihilation of the Jews of Europe.

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President Herbert Hoover Silent on 1929 Hebron Massacre

September 4, 1929

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 330

Writing to a minister's wife who was horrified by the 1929 anti-Jewish Hebron massacre in Palestine, President Herbert Hoover responds coolly to her "interesting observations."

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President Harry Truman Defends Atomic Bombing of Japan as "the Only Language" a "Beast" Can Understand

August 11, 1945

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 367

Harry Truman defends his use of the atomic bomb, reasoning that the only language the Japanese understand is that of extreme force.

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Extraordinary Orville Wright Letter Discussing the Birth of Manned Flight at Kitty Hawk

December 4, 1919

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Typed Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 382

Lawrence L. Driggs, who later went on to write extensively about early aviation, wrote a letter to Orville Wright asking him what was "the most interesting or significant episode in the birth of flying at Kitty Hawk." This long letter is Wright's response, primarily describing unusual soaring experiences during various test-flights.

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Sen. John F. Kennedy Declines McCarthyite Alvin Owsley's Invitation to Visit Texas; Invites Him to Lunch

November 11, 1953

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 340

Kennedy’s letter to Alvin Owsley, addressed to him in Dallas, is dated almost ten years to the day on which he would make his ill-fated trip to that city as president. In a sad twist, Kennedy concludes the letter with the hope that he will be able to see Owsley during "one of my visits to Texas on another occasion."

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President John F. Kennedy Plans a Pleasure Trip to His Ancestral Home, Ireland

April 23, 1963

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 341

Ahead of his trip to Ireland, President Kennedy reassures his close friend Dot Tubridy that she will be included in all presidential functions.

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President John F. Kennedy On His Historic Trip to Ireland: "It Couldn't Have Been Better. We Loved It."

July 9, 1963

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Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 342

John F. Kennedy writes to his close friend Dot Tubridy to tell her how much he enjoyed his trip to Ireland and seeing her.

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In 1942, Ensign J.F. Kennedy Requests Sea Duty on a PT Vessel: "Recommendation Approved"

June 26, 1942

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 343

This document sent John F. Kennedy to sea during World War II, where he would become a celebrated hero after his boat sunk, and he swam three miles to shore dragging a shipmate to safety with his lifejacket between his teeth.

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President Kennedy Sends General Maxwell Taylor to South Vietnam to Appraise the Situation

October 13, 1961

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 344

Under pressure to send US ground troops to Vietnam, President John F. Kennedy plays for time by sending General Maxwell Taylor to South Vietnam to appraise the situation. Kennedy reminds Taylor that the "initial responsibility for the effective maintenance of the independence of South Viet-Nam rests with the people and government of that country."

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President Harding, About to Leave on the Trip During Which He'll Die, Makes Plans to Meet a King

June 7, 1923

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Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1326

President Warren Harding writes to arrange a royal visit from King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy upon his return from the trip he was embarking on. The meeting would never happen, as Harding would die on the trip.

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President Warren G. Harding: Possibly the Last Letter He Wrote from the White House

June 20, 1923

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1327

In this eerie letter, in all probability the last that Harding wrote from the White House, he discusses a memorial proposed to be erected south of the cemetery in Marion, OH. A few weeks later, Harding would be dead, and the memorial erected to him would be in the precise location of the monument he discusses here.

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President Warren G. Harding Acclaims Abraham Lincoln the Apogee of the Golden Age of American Statesmanship

February 20, 1923

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1331

President Warren G. Harding, whose administration would be marred by scandal and corruption, reflects on the Edenic, Lincolnian age of politics, in which all men were giants owing to the "moral intensity of this one man," Abraham Lincoln.

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President Warren G. Harding: He Won’t "Overdo" It on What Would Be His Last Trip

June 11, 1923

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1336

President Warren Harding promises his Solicitor General, James Montgomery Beck, that he would not "overdo it" on a trip across the continent, the stress of which would ultimately kill him.

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Former President Herbert Hoover, at Seventy-Five, Confesses His Hope to Make Ninety - Which He Did

September 25, 1949

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1345

Former President Herbert Hoover congratulates F.A. Seiberling - the founder of Goodyear Tire - on his ninetieth birthday, and hopes that he, too, will be as fortunate to make it to ninety.

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Woodrow Wilson Lobbies for Ratification of the Treaty of Versailles - A Matter of Gravest Consequence

July 19, 1919

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1313

This letter is an example of Woodrow Wilson's attempt to court Republican senators to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, of which he was one of the chief negotiators; Congress refused to ratify it.

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Woodrow Wilson Explains That He Wouldn't, and Couldn't, Pardon Atlantic City Boss Kuehnle

February 25, 1914

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1319

As Governor of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson brought down crime boss Louis Kuehne. When asked if he would pardon him, Wilson replied that he couldn't, and even if he could, he would not.

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Woodrow Wilson on How the Bodies of America's WWI Dead Are Handled Prior to Eventual Re-Burial in the US

October 9, 1918

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1320

President Woodrow Wilson explains the process by which every fallen soldier is tagged and temporarily buried until their bodies can be brought to their final resting place in the United States.

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Woodrow Wilson on the Emotional Impact WWI Has Had on Him - Which Led to His Devastating Stroke

July 6, 1922

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1321

Woodrow Wilson confides that he doesn't read anything pertaining to World War One that "renews too deeply the emotions of wartime," as he is "too much affected and too upset by it."

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Taft, Running for President Against Theodore Roosevelt, Calls Him a "General Menace" To the Country

October 31, 1912

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1290

Taft says he wouldn't mind losing the election against Roosevelt, if only to have thwarted Roosevelt from gaining a third term in the White House. He calls Roosevelt "a genuine menace to the welfare of our country."

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William Howard Taft Confesses He's "Struggling to Get into a New Trade… Fading Away into Obscurity"

April 6, 1913

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1291

A deflated Taft, who had recently finished third in the elections as a sitting President, appreciates the invitation to a specific event, but regretfully must decline this, and all others, at the moment, until he settles into his new role as a university lecturer. He especially regrets it, as he fears that these invitations will cease as he fades "away into obscurity."

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President-Elect Howard Taft Qualifies the Thought of a Four Year Term: "If I Live"

November 30, 1908

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1292

President-Elect William H. Taft informs an acquaintance that since he is about to assume the presidency, he must remain in the United States for at least four years, if he lives.

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Important People, Hoover Explains, Don't Have Time to Write Longhand - Or Like Their Letters Being Sold

April 3, 1959

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1352

Herbert Hoover explains that important men neither have the time to write letters by longhand, nor do they like the "trafficking" of their letters.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt, as President-Elect, Recognizes the "Grave Responsibility" He is About to Undertake

November 19, 1932

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1359

Franklin D. Roosevelt acknowledges not only the "grave responsibility," but the "great opportunities" in his new role as President.

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Benjamin Harrison: The Earliest Known Example of a Typewritten Presidential Letter

April 4, 1889

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1818

This 1889 letter to a book bindery owner in Philadelphia, thanking him for the gift of an olive wood box which he had made especially for the new President, is the earliest known example of a presidential typewritten letter.

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Albert Einstein Tells Cyril Clemens He Consents to Having a Street Named After Him - But That's All

March 25, 1939

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1781

Here Einstein responds to Mark Twain’s third cousin once removed, that he is willing to have a street named for him in Webster Groves, Missouri, but his health won't allow for him to attend the ceremony in order to deliver a speech.

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Einstein on the Holocaust: He Never Forgot, Never Forgave

March 8, 1948

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1782

Einstein declines an invitation to join Weltstaatliga (World State League), explaining that he can no longer participate in German public endeavors after the genocide of the Jews.

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President McKinley’s Secretary Cancels McKinley's Engagements "Owing to Mrs. McKinley's Serious Illness"

June 4, 1901

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1861

McKinley’s devoted secretary, George Cortelyou regrets to cancel President McKinley's appearance at Harvard University, "owing to Mrs. McKinley's serious illness."

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Reagan Worries That the Left Wants Conservatives in Concentration Camps and Says LBJ is a Bum

November 5, 1964

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1898

Two days after the crushing defeat of Barry Goldwater, Reagan takes stock of the nascent Conservative movement, speculates that the Left wants to see the Right in concentration camps, and gives vent to a rare burst of personal animosity: Lyndon Johnson, he declares, is a bum.

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Theodore Roosevelt Lambasts Woodrow Wilson for Refusing to Let Him Lead a Division in World War I

June 11, 1917

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 2022

Fifty-nine year old, arthritic, overweight Theodore Roosevelt lambasts President Woodrow Wilson for refusing to allow him to lead a division in World War I, calling it Wilson's inability to "rise above the cheapest kind of party politics."

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Herzl Directs U.S. Zionists to Force McKinley to Protest Turkish Discrimination of Jews in Palestine

February 25, 1901

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Typed Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1680

In 1900, the Ottoman Empire officially barred Jews from visiting the Holy Land. The Italian government immediately protested this violation of human rights, which distinguished between Jewish and Gentile Italian citizens. Here, Theodor Herzl aims to introduce the debate to Congress or Senate so that a country as powerful as the United States would emulate Italy's example, inspiring other countries to follow suit.

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President Calvin Coolidge Writes to a Jewish American About the Book "Jewish Thoughts"

September 11, 1923

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1650

This brief letter documents a rare instance of Calvin Coolidge communicating with a Jewish American and, rarer still, about an aspect of Judaism: here he thanks Emanuel Hertz for a copy of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire’s popular work, A Book of Jewish Thoughts.

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President Calvin Coolidge Declares His Abiding Interest in Abraham Lincoln

November 11, 1927

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1653

Here, President Calvin Coolidge thanks Emanuel Hertz, the Lincoln scholar and Jewish activist, for his book on Lincoln, confiding that he "is always deeply interested" in Lincoln.

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President Herbert Hoover, on the Lessons to be Drawn from Abraham Lincoln's Life

June 17, 1929

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Typed Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1654

President Herbert Hoover, addressing a Lincoln biographer, suggests that Lincoln's greatness was not in winning a war, but in his conduct and attitude in victory.

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Abraham Lincoln Signed Photo: The "Solitary Pine Pose," From the January 8, 1864 Sitting

January 8, 1864

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 1702

One of five photographs of Abraham Lincoln taken by Mathew Brady in Washington on January 8, 1864, it is sometimes called "The Solitary Pine" pose, from the comment by Francis Grierson, who saw Lincoln debate Douglas. Lincoln, he said, "rose from his seat, stretched his long, bony limbs upwards as if to get them in working order and stood like some solitary pine on a lonely summit."

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Signed Photo of Edmund Allenby Entering Jerusalem

December 11, 1917

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 1772

In direct contrast to Kaiser Wilhelm II's entrance to Jerusalem on horseback, Edmund Allenby respectfully dismounted before entering the Holy City. He was the first Christian to rule Jerusalem in centuries.

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A Ronald Reagan Photo in Front of the Berlin Wall, Inscribed With "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!"

1987

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 1471

Autograph quote from Ronald Reagan on a photo of him in front of the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg gate. The famous "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

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Rutherford B. Hayes Signed Photograph as President

February 21, 1880

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 1200

President Hayes inscribes this photograph for his dear friend and avid collector, Thomas Donaldson.

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Abraham Lincoln's Inscription on a Photograph to Lucy Speed, Who Had Gifted Him a Bible

October 3, 1861

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 1097

President Abraham Lincoln expresses his gratitude to Mrs. Lucy Speed, the mother of his best friend when he was in his twenties. Mrs. Speed had given the younger melancholy Abraham Lincoln a Bible and instructed him to read it and adopt its precepts; help would follow.

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A Scarce Signed Photograph of Benjamin Harrison as President

October 6, 1892

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 1243

Rare signed photograph of Benjamin Harrison as President.

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A Rare Signed Photo of Theodore Herzl

December 10, 1898

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Signed Photograph

2 pages

SMC 335

A rare signed photograph of Theodore Herzl, addressed to Fraulein Fini Ungar of Vienna.

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Herzl Signed Photo Commemorating His Visit in Jerusalem With Kaiser Wilhelm II

November 3, 1898

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Signed Photograph

2 pages

SMC 332

Photo of Herzl signed on the verso with a reference to the day he spent in Jerusalem.

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Roderick Cole's 1858 Beardless Photo of Abraham Lincoln--Signed "Yours Truly, A. Lincoln"

1858

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 383

Abraham Lincoln sat for this photo in Roderick Cole's studio in 1858, and reportedly said to Mr. Cole, "I cannot see why all you artists want a likeness of me unless it is because I am the homeliest man in the State of Illinois."

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President-Elect Lincoln Grows His Beard: This Second Photograph, Signed, Depicts the Progress

January 26, 1861

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 384

At the advice of fellow Republicans, and even an eleven-year-old girl, Abraham Lincoln decided to grow a beard. This photograph depicts the progress of Lincoln's increasingly famous beard.

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Abraham Lincoln Signed Photo from First Washington Sitting, With John Hay Note of Authentication

1861

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Signed Photograph

2 pages

SMC 216

One day after sneaking into Washington from Baltimore under cover of darkness, Lincoln, exhausted and pensive, sits as president-elect for this photo—his first taken in Washington.

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Mark Twain 1868 Signed Photo

April, 1868

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 132

Signed photo of Mark Twain on the occasion of his speaking tour about his excursion to the Holy Land.

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A Rare Signed Photograph of Captain Alfred Dreyfus

1906

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 785

Scarce signed photograph of Alfred Dreyfus, from the collection of the actor and Dreyfusard, Constant Coquelin.

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Signed Photo of Challenger Astronaut Judy Resnik-Second American Woman, and First American Jew, in Space

1983

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 820

Signed photo of doomed Challenger astronaut Judy Resnik-the second American woman, and the first American Jew, in space

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Theodore Roosevelt Inscribes Photo of His 1905 Inaugural Address With His Keystone "Square Deal" Credo

May 19, 1905

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 466

Theodore Roosevelt famously argued for each man not to be treated in accordance with his wealth but for his value as a person--otherwise known as a "square deal." Roosevelt emphasized this in his 1905 inaugural address, of which this is a photo with his inscription of the square deal.

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Theodor Herzl Signed Photograph, Taken in Basel, Switzerland

August 28, 1903

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 2316

Perhaps the most iconic photo of Theodor Herzl, taken on the balcony of the Three Kings Hotel in Basel, Switzerland, in December of 1901. Signed.

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Signed Photo of Lyndon Johnson Taking the Oath of Office Inscribed to the Photographer

1963

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Signed Photograph

1 page

SMC 2076

The iconic photograph of Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office hours after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated; inscribed to Cecil Stoughton, the photographer.

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"Union is Dissolved!" - South Carolina Secession Ordinance Poster

December 20, 1860

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Broadside

1 page

SMC 625

South Carolina proclaims it has dissolved its bonds to the United States, becoming the first state to secede.

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A Broadside Advertising "Dickson's Palestine Museum" and a Lecture on "The Outrage at Jaffa"

1858

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Broadside

1 page

SMC 186

Broadside advertising Henry Dickson's museum of Palestine. Dickson, having lived in Palestine for five years, offers his spectators not only curiosities from the country, but insight as to the dress and custom of the Arab people. He also retells the story of the fateful night in which his family were "beaten, robbed and murdered."

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Signed Etching of Max Nordau

December 5, 1899

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Signed Portrait

1 page

SMC 752

Max Nordau, co-founder of the World Zionist Congress, psychiatrist, and proponent of the Muskeljudentum, or Muscular Judaism, signs this virile likeness with a self-effacing and vernacular “whatever!"

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50 Cent Civil War Sutler Token of Jewish Sutler and Abraham Lincoln Friend, Henry Rice

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Historical artifacts

1 page

SMC 2242

This Civil War Sutler token, at 50 cents, is the largest denomination of sutler currency issued during the war. This token was issued by Henry Rice, a Jewish immigrant from Germany, who would come to endorse Abraham Lincoln as a young lawyer, remain friends with Lincoln throughout his career, and even to offer to make his inaugural suit.

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A Rare Original Watercolor by John F. Kennedy of the Kennedy Palm Beach Home in 1955

1955

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Signed Drawing

1 page

SMC 1452

Likely one of Kennedy's last watercolors, inscribed and gifted to Dot Tubridy, a close family friend of the Kennedys.

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Preview

Autograph Note

1 page

SMC 744

Max Nordau expresses his gratitude for "an interesting article.

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Max Nordau Sends New Years Greetings to Viennese Writer and Translator Paul Tausig

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Autograph Note

1 page

SMC 745

Max Nordau sends New Year's greetings on his own calling card to the Viennese writer and translator Paul Tausig.

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Mark Twain's Autograph Notes Regarding People, Places, and Recalling an Incident

1907

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Autograph Note

6 pages

SMC 125

Mark Twain's notes from 1907, in two sections. One, in the manner of a questionnaire, matches names to places (Joe Goodman's, for instance, with "San Francisco, and Alameda") and indicates where Clemens had not been (Los Angeles & Palmyra); the other section mostly concerns an incident, and includes dialogue.

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Herbert Hoover's Handwritten List of His Autograph Collection

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Autograph Note

5 pages

SMC 329

Herbert Hoover knew the value of his handwritten letters, as he himself was a collector of autographs. Amongst his collection was Mark Twain, Queen Victoria, and, most valuable, according to Hoover, a letter of Bayard Taylor – the poet, travel writer, and great chronicler of Palestine and the Levant.

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Manuscript from Mark Twain's Missing 1867 Notebook, Announcing His Intention to Travel Abroad

1867

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Autograph Note

2 pages

SMC 911

In this leaf from one of Mark Twain's missing notebooks, the young author writes of his upcoming journey to Europe and the Levant. Twain would chronicle the trip in The Innocents Abroad, a book that which would launch his career as a writer.

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"His Accidency," President John Tyler, Says He is a Creature of Accidents, "Being an Accident Himself"

Preview

Autograph Note

2 pages

SMC 955

President John Tyler accepts an engagement on the condition that no presidential duties get in the way. Since he ascended the presidency merely upon the death of President William Henry Harrison, he was referred to by his detractors as "His Accidency." Here Tyler demonstrates his sense of humor and refers to himself as "an accident," explaining that things might occur which would cause him to break the engagement.

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1858 Senate Report Regarding the "Outrages at Jaffa" - The Rape and Murder of the Dickson Family Colony

May 1, 1858

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Typed Manuscript

30 pages

SMC 1012

The 1858 Senate report, which details the murder and rape of the Dickson family in their agricultural colony. The author, Jonathan Steinbeck was a descendent of members of the colony, and the "Outrages at Jaffa" is alluded to in his East of Eden. Herman Melville, inspired by the tragic events, wrote his epic poem Clarel.

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Autograph Manuscript Signed

1 page

SMC 994

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Preview

Calling Card

1 page

SMC 544

This rare autographed calling card of Franklin Pierce was written in haste and left at the occupant's vacant lodgings. Pierce is sorry to have missed the person but asks that they call on him later that evening at his hotel.

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Theodor Herzl, Hustling and Bustling, Sends Thanks for a Joke

February 7, 1899

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Calling Card

1 page

SMC 515

A cordial Herzl inscribes his thanks, on his personal calling card, "for the good joke," and apologizes for not answering a friendly letter "in the hustle and bustle of recent days."

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Theodor Herzl Asks Jewish Sculptor Samuel Friedrich Beer to Show "Mr. Simon" His Work

March 22

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Calling Card

1 page

SMC 516

Theodor Herzl asks his friend, the sculptor Samuel Friedrich Beer to show an acquaintance, a Mr. Simon, around his studio.

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Thomas Jefferson's Visiting Card, Bearing His Signature in an Ornate Printed Border - A Rarity

Preview

Calling Card

2 pages

SMC 519

Thomas Jefferson's calling card; ornately decorated, yet inscribed with the simple "Mr. Jefferson."

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Andrew Johnson Calling Card, Signed Four Times

Preview

Calling Card

1 page

SMC 521

Andrew Johnson signed his calling card four times, and crossed out one signature and his printed name. It's possible that he did this because he was practising signing his name after his right hand was severely injured in a train wreck.

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Preview

Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 1617

A brief note regarding composition from Mark Twain, directing either Elisha or Frank Bliss to set something up in facsimile rather than type.

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President John F. Kennedy "On the Edge of the New Frontier," Wonders What The Next Four Years Will Bring

February, 1961

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 901

John F. Kennedy signs a quote to the photographer, who had recently captured him "on the edge of the new frontier."

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Lincoln, Four Days After Son Willie's Death, Tells Sumner Mary Lincoln Needs His Help - "Can You Come?"

February 24, 1862

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 1034

Four days after the death of his eleven year-old son Willie - and as his youngest son still lay seriously ill - a grieving Lincoln asks Mary Lincoln's close friend, Senator Charles Sumner, to call on his inconsolable wife.

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Lincoln Interjects Himself Into a Case of Two Jewish Merchants Charged With Selling Goods to Blockaders

January 8, 1865

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 1038

Meyer and Philip Wallach were Jewish brothers who were charged with selling goods to blockaders and were held at an infamous prison for Confederate officers. Here, President Lincoln protects them by ordering the head of the prison to keep them in his custody - to neither send them away or allow them to be transferred.

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Physician of Assassinated President William McKinley Quotes McKinley's Last Words

November 25, 1901

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 1182

Matthew D. Mann, the physician who tended to President William McKinley on his deathbed, confirms McKinley's fabled last words.

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As Lee Surrenders, Abraham Lincoln Happily Grants a Favor to the Captain of the Riverboat Queen

April 9, 1865

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 123

The only surviving Lincoln letter from April 9th, 1865, the day that Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of North Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at the home of Wilmer and Virginia McLean in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Written aboard the "River Queen" on the Potomac, President Lincoln grants a favor to the steamboat's Captain Bradford.

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Three Days Before He is Assassinated, Abraham Lincoln Orders the Discharge of a Sickly Boy from the Army

April 11, 1865

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Autograph Note Signed

4 pages

SMC 211

Three days before he will be shot and killed, Lincoln responds to a friend’s letter beseeching his help in arranging the discharge of a sickly boy from the army.

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Abraham Lincoln "Pardons" Misbehaving Boys, Allowing Them to Return to School

February 12, 1865

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 212

On his last birthday, Abraham Lincoln pardons mischievous schoolboys, allowing them to return to school on condition that they do not misbehave.

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Abraham Lincoln Endorses the Appointment of a Jewish Sutler, Henry Rice

December 6, 1861

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 193

Abraham Lincoln endorses General Alexander McClernand's pick for the position of sutler (a civilian merchant who sells goods to the army), Henry Rice.

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A Historic Memo: Harry Truman Salutes Dean Acheson's Crucial Role in Going to War With Korea

July 19, 1950

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Autograph Note Signed

2 pages

SMC 685

President Harry Truman commends Dean Acheson as Secretary of State for superbly handling events leading up to the Korean War.

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Two Days After Unleashing a Tempest by Firing MacArthur, President Truman Writes to a Journalist

April 13, 1951

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 699

President Truman writes to Merriman Smith, perhaps in response to something Smith had said to the President, a prediction, seemingly, about the great news of the day – Truman’s firing of MacArthur two days before – that inspired this note, with which Truman apparently forwarded “an interesting piece” he had run across in his hometown paper.

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General Eisenhower Approves a Soldier's Request to Shoot Captured Reich Marshal Goering -"The Fat ____"

May 25, 1945

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 702

Eisenhower had ordered every soldier not on the front to tour a concentration camp in order to understand not only the magnitude of the Holocaust, but the enemy itself. As a result, one soldier put in a request to shoot Hermann Goering, if he was indeed to be shot. Goering was sentenced to death by hanging, but took his own life in his cell. Here, Eisenhower refers to the corpulent Goering as "that fat ___"

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Emile Zola Writes to Alfred Dreyfus at the Height of the Dreyfus Affair

1899

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 509

Emile Zola's calling card, asking Alfred Dreyfus to send him a document which he has asked Zola to sign.

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Alfred Dreyfus Writes to Emile Zola's Widow to Commemorate the Anniversary of the Publication of "J'Accuse"

January 13, 1910

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 510

Eight years after Emile Zola has died, Alfred Dreyfus continues to expresses his gratitude to Alexandrine Zola, Emile Zola's widow, on the twelfth anniversary of the publication of "J'Accuse."

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Alfred Dreyfus Thanks Senator Leopold Thezard Who Challenged the Refusal to Allow His Wife to Join Him in Exile

November 9, 1905

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 512

Alfred Dreyfus thanks French Senator, Leopold Thezard, who was also a professor of law at Poitiers University, for his support. Thezard argued against the illegality of the French government to deny Lucie Dreyfus the right to join her husband in exile.

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The Day He Dies, Lincoln Writes a Pass to Richmond for Wife of the Doctor Who Would Attend His Death-Bed

April 14, 1865

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 575

Lincoln issues a pass for Mrs. Alice Stone to travel to Richmond; by that night her husband, the Lincoln family physician, would be attending at Lincoln’s deathbed.

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Lincoln Would be Glad to See General Milroy but knows "...He Wishes to Ask for What I Have Not to Give"

October 19, 1863

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 570

Abraham Lincoln gracefully sidesteps a meeting with the problematic General Milroy, who was arrested for losing half of his troops. Milroy railed against his superiors, who jailed him for his actions, and continuously pestered Lincoln for his release and restoration to command.

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Lincoln Requests a "Map or Two" For His Youngest Son, Tad

March 7, 1865

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Autograph Note Signed

1 page

SMC 2038

Lincoln, who always liked to give his son Tad special gifts, asks here for two maps for his son.

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What's in a Name: Samuel Clemens Defines Mark Twain

September, 1902

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Autograph Note Signed

2 pages

SMC 2117

Samuel Clemens explains his nom de plume as originating as a navigational term along the Mississippi. "Mark Twain" signified a depth sounding of two fathoms, and was called out by the leadsman; it was a term Twain, having served as a riverboat captain, would have heard daily.

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Thomas Edison Inscribed Photo: "In 1879 I Invented the Incandescent Lamp"

1920

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Signed Photograph Inscribed

1 page

SMC 1771

Inscribed photo by Thomas Edison, identifying himself as the inventor of the light bulb.

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Signature of James Calhoun, Custer's Brother-in-Law, Killed With Him at the Battle of Little Bighorn

1873

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Signature

2 pages

SMC 1157

Rare signature of Lieutenant James Calhoun, Custer's brother-in-law, who died with him at Little Bighorn on what would come to be known as Calhoun Hill.

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Signature of Young Officer, J.J. Crittenden, Killed With Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn

1876

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Signature

1 page

SMC 671

Signature of John Jordan Crittenden III, whose father, Thomas Leonidas Crittenden was a Lieutenant Colonel who secured for his son an army commission after the latter failed out of West Point. The frail, one-eyed Lieutenant met his end at Little Bighorn with General Custer.

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Signature of Second Lieutenant Henry Moore Harrington, Killed With General Custer at Little Bighorn

Preview

Signature

2 pages

SMC 674

Signature of Second Lieutenant Henry Moore Harrington, who was killed with Custer at Little Bighorn. His was one of three bodies to not have been identified.

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March 20, 1849

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 372

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Ben-Gurion Predicts Victory Under Dayan in 6-Day War; Discusses How Many Arabs Equal One Israeli Soldier

June 6, 1967

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 385

Moshe Dayan is appointed minister of defence; Ben Gurion predicts that Israel will triumph over Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the coming Six Day War.

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Mark Twain Inquires if Alfred Dreyfus Was Struck in the Face With the Hilt of a Sword

February 11, 1895

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 388

Here, Samuel Clemens, who had been in Paris when the Dreyfus affair struck, urgently seeks a detail of Dreyfus' degradation and abuse.

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Eisenhower's Trip to Ohrdruf Concentration Camp: "I Never Dreamed... It Was Horrible."

April 15, 1945

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 393

General Eisenhower writes to his wife, after seeing the Ohrdruf concentration camp, that he never dreamt that such cruelty could exist in this world. Poignantly, he mentions that many American soldiers do not seem to know what they are fighting for. Eisenhower ordered every unit not on the front lines to tour the camp, and writes here "now, at least, he will know what he is fighting against."

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November 19, 1935

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 618

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President Andrew Jackson's Big Cheese Tasting

February 4, 1837

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 399

President Andrew Jackson invites a friend to the most famous cheese tasting in American history. On Washington's birthday, March 3, 1837, the President opened the White House for the American public to consume a cheese wheel, four feet in diameter, and weighing 1400 lbs. It took citizens of all walks of life approximately two hours to consume the block of cheddar.

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September 27, 1861

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 984

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Joshua Chamberlain and William Seward Assist the Jaffa-Adams Colonists in 1867

September 7, 1867

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 985

Three weeks before many of the stranded colonists would leave Jaffa with Mark Twain on the Quaker City, Governor of Maine Joshua Chamberlain here passes on Secretary of State William Seward's interest in extending aide to 156 American Christian colonists in Jaffa.

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President James Buchanan Trusts Providence to Help Him Choose a Cabinet

November 25, 1856

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 986

President James Buchanan accepts a minister's advice to choose his cabinet slowly and wisely, and adds that he trusts "a kind Providence will bestow upon me wisdom from on high to enable to choose the proper men for the proper places."

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James Buchanan, Ill With Dysentry Before His Inauguration, Declines Jefferson Davis's Invitation to Dine

February 20, 1857

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 988

James Buchanan, suffering from dysentery, regrets to decline Jefferson Davis's invitation to dinner.

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President James Buchanan, Strained in the Summer of 1860, Writes He Hasn't Time for His Friends

July 14, 1860

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 989

President James Buchanan reassures his friend that although he scarcely has time for personal correspondence, he "cordially reciprocates" towards Theseus Apolion Chesney "the friendly feelings which dictated" his letter.

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The Eyewitness Account of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination by the Physician Who Treated Him at the Scene

May 28, 1865

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

8 pages

SMC 1004

Charles Leale, a surgeon and first responder to Lincoln's shooting, gives a detailed summary of the night of the assassination to a friend.

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Account of Execution of Deserters at Beverly Ford Mentions Rabbi Praying With One of the Condemned Men

August 29, 1863

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Autograph Letter Signed

5 pages

SMC 1026

Captain Jacob Winans writes to his father about the execution of deserters at Beverly Ford, mentioning the presence of a rabbi to pray with one of the convicted soldiers.

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Breathtaking Detailed Eyewitness Account of the Execution of Deserters at Beverly Ford

September 3, 1863

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1027

This eyewitness account details the chronology of events, or protocol of the execution of deserters at Beverly Ford. Those executed had with them the clergyman of their faith. They "were accompanied by a Catholic priest, a Jewish Rabbi and a Methodist preacher."

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John Tyler: His Cabinet Problems, Franklin Pierce’s Election, and Presidential Etiquette

November 25, 1852

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 1049

Though he expresses admiration for President-Elect Franklin Pierce, and claims he'd be willing to host him, President John Tyler refuses to congratulate Pierce, nor does he invite him over.

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James K. Polk Gives Orders for a Fireproof Celebration for the Battle of Cerro Gordo in Washington

May 8, 1847

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1052

Here Polk-mindful of the dangers of unattended candles and oil lamps-gives orders not to illuminate public offices in honor of General Scott’s victory at the Battle of Cerro Gordo.

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Confined for Two Years to the White House, President James K. Polk Tries to Plan an Out of Town Visit

May 24, 1847

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1053

President James K. Polk, in desperate need of a respite from the White House, politely declines his friend's invitation to stay at his house in New York, citing the inconvenience of having the President stay in a private home.

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Dark-Horse James K. Polk Expresses Surprise at His "Wholly Unexpected" Nomination

July 4, 1844

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1054

Here, James K. Polk repeats the astonishment he expressed in a June missive regarding his candidacy. He reitirates his pleasure in being the instrument for bringing unity to the Democratic party, and hopes to effect "so great a good."

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Polk, Surprised at His Candidacy, Declares the Presidency Too Important an Office to be Sought or Declined

June 8, 1844

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1055

James K. Polk, everyone's second choice, astonishingly won the Democratic nomination. Polk here is forthcoming that his candidacy was the result of a concession, adding that the office of the presidency is too important to be sought or declined.

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President-Elect James K. Polk Anxiously Queries His Tailor About New Clothes for His Inauguration

January 9, 1845

Preview

Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1056

President-Elect Polk anxiously queries his tailor about a cloak and suit of clothes – assumedly to be worn at his inauguration - that has yet to arrive. He asks that they be sent as soon as they are ready. He would leave for Washington less than three weeks later.

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A Millard Fillmore Letter Written on the Day of President Lincoln's Assassination

April 14, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1060

At the close of the Civil War, on the day that President Lincoln would be assassinated, Millard Fillmore writes to the Historical Society of Buffalo about sending them a historical sketch. A few weeks later, he would address the Society on the topic of Lincoln's assassination.

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Former President Millard Fillmore: Abraham Lincoln's Election Caused the War

March 12, 1862

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 1061

In this sometimes scathing letter mostly concerning Thurlow Weed, former President Millard Fillmore can say only one good thing about him: Weed was "the first among his friends to see and admit the danger to the country from Lincoln's election."

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President Fillmore Arranges to Attend Opening of the Railroad Line from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes

May 8, 1851

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1062

The railroad connecting the Atlantic to the Great Lakes was a cause for national celebration. It would extend the web of the railway network, contributing to the industrial boom in the United States, enlarging the markets while reducing shipping and production costs.

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President Fillmore Makes an Appointment to See Governor Gibbs

May 25, 1852

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1064

President Millard Fillmore writes he regrets not having seen Governor Gibbs the day before; looked for him that day; and will be happy to see him in the evening.

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Millard Fillmore On the Fugitive Slave and Kansas-Nebraska Acts: "You Can Not Reason With Fanaticism"

September 12, 1856

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1069

Though he detested slavery, Millard Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required citizens of Northern free states to return slaves to their Southern owners. He was denounced by politicians who four years later voted for the same rule of law to apply in the Kansas-Nebraska act. Here, he wishes to expose their hypocrisy.

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Millard Fillmore, Looks Forward, With Relief, To the End of the 1856 Election

October 29, 1856

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1070

Millard Fillmore tells a correspondent that the very probable prospect of him losing the election would bring relief and more leisure time.

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Having Ascended to the Presidency Just a Week Before, Millard Fillmore Orders a New Black Hat

July 18, 1850

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1071

Eight days after President Taylor died and Millard Fillmore went from being vice president to president, the latter, taking his new role seriously, orders a new hat.

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Millard Fillmore, Perusing "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in 1852, Prophesizes About Civil War

April 8, 1852

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 1072

Upon receiving a copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin, President Millard Fillmore reflects on the "vexing" problem of slavery, commenting almost prophetically, "Who can penetrate the dark future and say whether this ever disturbing subject may not send this Union asunder," and confesses that he "can not look without apprehension to the future."

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James Buchanan Defends His “Public Conduct” Prior to the Outbreak of the Civil War

December 1, 1862

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1075

James Buchanan, consistently ranked as one of the worst presidents, thanks a rare admirer for vindication.

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On His Last Day in Office, the Bibliophilic Millard Fillmore Sends Thanks for a Book

March 3, 1853

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1066

Here the bibliophilic Fillmore, whose time in the White House was best spent, by all accounts, building its library, thanks a prominent Albany publisher for “a copy of that indispensable ‘Manual’ to every New Yorker, ‘The Red Book,’” on his last day in office.

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Abraham Lincoln Recommends a Franklin Pierce White House Appointee to General Benjamin Butler

January 14, 1864

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1085

Here, for the second time, Abraham Lincoln endorses Thomas Stackpole, who had risen through the ranks as a White House staff member, from watchman, to doorman, to the more intimate steward. Lincoln had recommended Stackpole to General Wool as a fine businessman, and repeats the endorsement to General Benjamin Butler four years later.

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Hannibal Hamlin Calls for Making Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday a National Day of Observance

February 7, 1887

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1105

Hannibal Hamlin, who served as Abraham Lincoln's first Vice President, regretfully declines an invitation to speak at an event honoring the late president's birthday, but calls for it to be nationally recognized as a holiday, much like Washington's birthday.

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Oliver Wendell Holmes: At Fort Stevens, Abraham Lincoln Was Forced to Duck From Enemy Fire

June 14, 1922

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1106

Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes confirms that during the Civil War, when he was serving as a captain, President Abraham Lincoln came to visit the troops at Fort Stevens, during which they were fired upon. This was the only time in American history a sitting president has exposed himself to combat. President Lincoln was forced to duck from enemy fire.

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Robert Todd Lincoln is Gratified That His Father's Name is Still Current and His Memory Respected

December 24, 1883

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 1107

Robert Todd Lincoln is gratified to learn that a political club is named after his father. In this letter, he also declines to run for president.

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Abraham Lincoln Reacts to Attempted Jail-Break of Confederate POWs on Johnson Island

October 2, 1864

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1090

This note from Lincoln to the Naval Secretary Gideon Welles instructs him to get a firsthand report about the infamous attempted prison break of Confederate POWs on Johnson's Island.

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Statesman, Political Exile, Attorney, and Queen's Counsel, Judah Benjamin Arranges a Meeting

June 26, 1873

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1118

Judah P. Benjamin, the Jewish former statesman of different roles in the Confederacy, relocated to England and became a successful barrister there. Four years before he wrote this letter, he obtained the rank of Queen's Counsel, and in order to save his correspondent the trouble, offers to call on her at home, rather than in his offices at the Temple.

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Robert E. Lee, Charmingly, and Piously, Responds to a Young Girl's Gift of Socks in 1865

December 20, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1123

Robert E. Lee thanks a little girl for her letter and her gift of socks that he has received upon becoming president of Washington College.

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American Civil War Union General George B. McClellan's Antisemitic Letter

August, 1875

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 1124

Returning from Germany to the United States in the 1870s, General George McClellan speaks disparagingly of the Jewish people on board, and his success in distancing himself from the "children of Jacob."

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A Union Officer in the Field Describes the Reaction to News of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

April 20, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1128

Here, an Ohio lieutenant, serving in Alabama, describes how the troops there received, and took, "news of the shocking murder of our president."

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On His Penultimate Day in Office, President Ulysses S. Grant Announces His Intention to Travel the Globe

March 2, 1877

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1142

Just before setting off on a two-year world tour, Grant arranges for bank dividends to be sent to his son and namesake, U.S. Grant, Jr. so that the latter can manage his affairs during the world tour.

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Rutherford B. Hayes Announces He Will Attend Ulysses S. Grant's Funeral

July 24, 1885

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 1149

Hayes, in arranging for a visit at his home, announces he will be attending the funeral of the man he succeeded in the White House, Ulysses S. Grant, in New York City.

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Lucretia Garfield On How Her Husband's Portents at Chicago Convention Foreshadowed His "Fateful Ending"

November 19, 1881

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1150

Lucretia Garfield, President Garfield's widow, writes two months to the day after his death, still in disbelief. She shares with her correspondent that "the spirit of prophecy fell upon" her late husband, with many of his utterances now coming back to her as eerily foreshadowing his own demise.

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Chester A. Arthur Laments the "Never Ending and Still Beginning Pressure" of the Presidency

August 9, 1882

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 1151

President Chester A. Arthur apologizes for his delay in sending an autograph, attributing it to the "never ending and still beginning pressure" of the presidency.

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Vice President-Elect Chester A. Arthur Accepts Congratulations on Winning His First and Last Election

November 10, 1880

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 1155

Chester A. Arthur accepts congratulations on having won his first, and last, election: that of Vice-President of the United States. Arthur would be Vice President for six months before assuming the presidency on the occasion of Garfield's assassination in 1881.

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About to Marry, President Grover Cleveland Longs to Live Away from the White House "Like Other People"

December 13, 1885

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 1162

President Cleveland writes to his fiance Frances Folsom about many overwhelming social aspects of being in the White House, and longs to live away from it with her in a "small house" like normal people.

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T.E. Lawrence on Palestine: No One Trusts the British for More Than Two Minutes

August 19, 1922

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 110

Primarily discussing his book "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom," T.E. Lawrence confides in Brig. General Sir Gilbert Falkingham Clayton that no person of any "race or creed" living in Palestine trusts the British for "more than two minutes." If they would, he ruefully comments, "things would be more stable there."

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T.E. Lawrence Wants to "Clear Up" The "Jewish Section" of Palestine in 1917

September 7, 1917

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 111

T.E. Lawrence writes to his superior at the Arab Bureau, General Clayton, to ask if he should send a letter he wrote to Sir Mark Sykes, the man responsible for divvying up the Middle East between the English and the French. Here, Lawrence mentions to Clayton that the "Jewish section" should be cleared up, and when they fight the French, the French section will fall into English hands, as well.

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General Charles "Chinese" Gordon Discusses His Discovery of "Calvary in Jerusalem"

August 14, 1883

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 112

Here, Charles Gordon, writing to friend and fellow explorer, Sir Samuel Baker, is positive of the location of not only Calvary, but of other archaeological sites purporting to be of biblical significance, though disputed, by his own admission.

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General Charles "Chinese" Gordon Reveals He is Going to Palestine

December 11, 1882

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 113

Charles Gordon reveals that he will be going to Palestine. There, he will fulfill a cherished ambition, searching to establish authoritatively the locations of the site of the crucifixion, the line of division between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, the identification of Gibeon, and the whereabouts of Christ’s tomb.

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Horatio Nelson Rejoices at the Raising of the Siege of Acre - And Napoleon's Fleeing

July 23, 1799

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 108

Nelson jubilantly reports that the French are being pushed back from Acre and from Zante (Greece), pleased at Napoleon "the villain's" ignominious end.

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Mark Twain Names His Lecture Tour About Holy Land Trip: "The American Vandal Abroad"

October 7, 1868

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 117

Twain's use of the title, The American Vandal Abroad – a play on The Innocents Abroad - suggests that perhaps American tourists to the Holy Land weren't always so innocent. Twain recorded, aghast, how these religious pilgrims sliced off souvenirs from venerable biblical sites in Palestine.

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Mark Twain to French Jewish Writer Marcel Schwob: "I Do Commit Crimes, But They Are Not of This Grade"

November 4, 1888

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 118

Here Twain denounces a French translation of a story he did not write, pronouncing it a "singularly unpleasant production." He assures Schwob that he has been deceived: "I do commit crimes," he writes, "but they are not of this grade."

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"The American Historian of Joan of Arc Makes His Best Compliments," But Unable to Meet French Ambassador

October 23, 1902

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 120

Samuel Clemens, speaking in third person, referring to himself as "the American historian of Joan of Arc," regretfully declines an invitation to meet the French ambassador. He signs the letter as "Mark," though he also refers to himself as Clemens.

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Ulysses S. Grant Says Mark Twain Has Offered Him "More Favorable Terms" To Publish His Memoirs

November 23, 1884

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 121

Here, Grant reports to his friend and advisor, George Childs, that he’s soured on the Century deal, and is being wooed by Twain’s own publishing firm, Charles L. Webster & Co.

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Rutherford B. Hayes Responds to Lincoln's Assassination: Now He is "The Darling of History"

April 15, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 124

On the day Lincoln died, General Rutherford B. Hayes wrote that Abraham Lincoln would ever be remembered as the "darling of history."

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Custer: "Libbie Bacon is the Fortunate, or Unfortunate Person...Who Will Unite Her Destinies With Mine."

December 19, 1863

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 126

General Custer writes to his friend, Judge Christiancy, to share with him a secret: He will be returning to Monroe, Michigan in a few months to be married. Inadvertently foreshadowing his death and Libbie's misfortune, Custer jokingly tells Christiancy that Libbie, who would "unite her destinies" with Custer's, is "fortunate, or unfortunate."

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"Doomed to the Gallows" By Public Opinion, James Buchanan Says History Will Vindicate Him

May 8, 1863

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 127

Despite being condemned by the Chief Justice and public opinion, Buchanan, unwaveringly trusts in the words of his Secretary of War, James Holt, who wrote that Buchanan's "labors will yet be crowned by the glory that belongs to an enlightened Statesmanship & to an unsullied patriotism."

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Former President William Howard Taft Rejoices in Averting Another Run: "I Have Served My Time"

November 19, 1919

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 134

William Howard Taft is relieved to finally be a private citizen and does not seek to be reelected to the office of the presidency.

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In 1851, Rabbi Gotthelf's Louisville Congregation Votes to Send $100 Per Year for Jerusalem's Poor

July 17, 1851

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 137

Rabbi Gotthelf, the first spiritual leader of the Louisville synagogue of Adas Israel, tells Isaac Leeser, the editor of The Occident, that his congregation has pledged to donate $100 a year to Jerusalem's poor.

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Abraham Lincoln: He'll Speak Where it will do Good - Not as a Compliment to Himself

October 29, 1854

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 141

Abraham Lincoln, determined to speak out against slavery wherever helpful, instructs the editor of the Carlinville Whig paper not to introduce Lincoln as "merely a compliment to me," for he'd rather save everyone the bother, unless "it promises some good."

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John Wilkes Booth Letter, Written Eight Weeks Before Lincoln's Assassination, Mentions Ford's Theatre

February 9, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 142

John Wilkes Booth writes to his friend to request that he send his card photographs to an address in New York City. After that, he shall collect his mail at Ford's Theatre. Ironically, the cards that Booth has sent for, his "favorite" photo of himself, later became the image on the wanted poster associated with the assassination of President Lincoln.

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On the Day of President McKinley's Death, Asst. Secretary of State Cridler Writes of His Horror and Fury

September 14, 1901

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Autograph Letter Signed

4 pages

SMC 143

Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Wilbur Cridler expresses his anguish at President McKinley's death, and his rage at the assassin. Cridler, as a religious Christian, expresses difficulty conceiving of why God would allow this tragedy to happen.

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At the behest of President Lincoln, General Grant Decline's Lee's Suggestion of Armistice Negotiations

March 4, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 147

General Grant obediently replies to Secretary of War Edward Stanton with repeated crossed out protestations that he was not trying to usurp any authority. He had previously written to Stanton to ask if he could accept General Lee's invitation to negotiate an armistice, and had received a rebuke from President Lincoln himself.

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Benjamin Mordecai, Jewish Benefactor of Confederate Cause Honored by the Famed Palmetto Riflemen

January 12, 1861

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 148

Benjamin Mordecai graciously responds to the soldiers of the Palmetto Riflemen, who had thanked him for his donation.

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August 20, 1863

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 190

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Theodor Herzl, Hurt and Frustrated, Considers Quitting-in 1896, the First Year of the Zionist Movement

October 19, 1896

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 195

Herzl requests from the Lemberg Zionists a copy of a letter in which he reputedly said that an English millionaire was willing to sacrifice 150 million guilders – a "gross distortion or silly misunderstanding" of what he actually said. He is also hurt by the tone in which he was discussed in this connection - so much so, in fact, that he is considering resigning from the Zionist movement.

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Abraham Lincoln Biographer Ida Tarbell Praises Isaac Markens's "Abraham Lincoln and the Jews"

March 24, 1913

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 198

Here, Ida Tarbell, renowned for her biography of Abraham Lincoln, salutes Isaac Markens, whose seminal study of Lincoln and the Jews pioneered the genre in Lincoln literature.

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Abraham Lincoln Analyzes Stephen Douglas's Position, and Maneuvering, on the Temperance Issue in Illinois

1858

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 213

Abraham Lincoln writes this letter mostly in what he imagines to be Stephen Douglas's inner monologue. Lincoln minces no words in accusing Douglas of stirring up a debate on the subject of temperance in Illinois in order to divide the Republican party and get himself elected to the state Senate.

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Mary Todd Lincoln Issues 1865 Invitation to Presidential Box At Ford's Theatre

February, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 229

Two months before Lincoln's assassination, Mary Todd Lincoln invites some of Washington's most famous socialites to Ford's Theatre to watch the brother-in-law of John Wilkes Booth perform.

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Hugh McCulloch Confides That He Would Reluctantly Accept an Appointment as Treasury Secretary

February 16, 1865

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 231

Hugh McCullough confides in House Speaker Schuyler Colfax that should President Lincoln offer him the position of Treasury Secretary, he'd accept with "extreme reluctance." Ironically, McCullough wasn't Lincoln's first choice, either. Sadly, McCullough shone in the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination by stabilizing the markets.

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Heartsick, Max Nordau Writes About the Death of Theodor Herzl

July 26, 1904

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 235

Max Nordau co-founded the World Zionist Congress with Theodor Herzl, and was his psychiatrist and friend. Here, still reeling from Herzl's death, thanks an American journalist for not only writing an article about Herzl, but also for his kind depiction of Nordau in the article.

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Polk, Exhausted, Says He's Feeling Better Now That He's Out of Office, Then Dies a Month Later

May 9, 1849

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 244

Polk writes to say he's been given the respite he needed after the presidency and is feeling much better, only to die less than a month after writing this letter, in October of 1849.

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Rare William Howard Taft Autograph Letter as President: He's Happy to Meet After His Daily (Golf) Game

December 3, 1911

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Autograph Letter Signed

1 page

SMC 262

With this rare autograph letter as President, Taft announces he will play golf with his beloved military aide, Archie Butt, in the morning, and will be glad to meet with his correspondent, just after lunch.

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Mark Twain On His House "Innocence At Home," President Grover Cleveland, and God

June 19, 1908

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Autograph Letter Signed

3 pages

SMC 281

Samuel Clemens writes to his daughter Jean about the new house, "Innocence at Home," President Grover Cleveland's morality and abilities, and the doctor's orders for her epilepsy.

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Mark Twain, on the Heroic Writing, and Fantastic Success, of Ulysses S. Grant's Memoirs

February 3, 1887

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Autograph Letter Signed

6 pages

SMC 282

Samuel Clemens encloses a copy of General Grant's memoirs, calling them "the most admirably simple, direct, and unpretentious story that was ever put on paper by a supremely great man."

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Twain: Monuments Disappear, But Great Cities - and Reputations - Survive

August 11, 1885

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Autograph Letter Signed

2 pages

SMC 283

Writing shortly after the death of his friend, General Grant, Twain muses on the nature of legacy. He agrees with his correspondent that monuments to Grant will one day crumble though his reputation will live on. Twain then moves on to discuss the longevity of cities, and even touches on the issue of the origin debates, still being hotly debated in that year, 1885.

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Hundreds of Historic Manuscripts. Thousands More Being Digitized.

Collection

Topic

Human Aspect

Type

Attribute

Manuscripts (654)