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Autograph Manuscript Signed
2 pages
SMC 1264
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Typed Manuscript Signed
1 page
SMC 1209
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Following His Resignation, Former Secretary of War Woodring Writes A Curt Rebuttal To Roosevelt
June 30, 1940
Autograph Note Signed
1 page
SMC 1379
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Secretary of War Woodring's Handwritten Draft of His Controversial Resignation Letter to FDR
June 20, 1940
Autograph Manuscript
2 pages
SMC 1361
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Young John F. Kennedy Condemns Harry Truman's Reversal to Support the Partition of Palestine
April 4, 1948
Autograph Manuscript
2 pages
SMC 149
At a dinner of Jewish veterans, John F. Kennedy, then a congressman from Massachusetts, condemns Harry Truman's withdrawal of support for the partition of Palestine as "one of the most unfortunate reversals in American policy. Kennedy also called for the US to lift the arms embargo in order to give Israel a chance to protect herself in the ensuing war.
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Quintessential Reagan Speech: He's Sick About RFK's Assassination, About Lawlessness, About Blame
June, 1968
Typed Manuscript
19 pages
SMC 163
Ronald Reagan, speaking here after weeks of unrest at university campuses, the slaying of policemen, and finally, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, takes the current leadership to task for allowing the country to be torn apart.
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Autograph Manuscript Signed
1 page
SMC 167
Robert Frost expresses his identification with, and friendship for, the "brave… little" nation of Israel. He also recommends reading the story of Nehemiah, possibly as a prelude to the modern-day restoration of the Jews to Israel.
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Extraordinary Eyewitness Account of the Assassination of President McKinley-Dated One Day After
September 7, 1901
Typed Manuscript Signed
8 pages
SMC 183
De Benneville Randolph Keim, a Washington reporter, was standing right by McKinley when he was assassinated. He took an active role in responding, including carrying the mortally wounded president to an ambulance. This is his account of the assassination.
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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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Three Days Before He is Assassinated, Abraham Lincoln Orders the Discharge of a Sickly Boy from the Army
April 11, 1865
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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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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Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 252
Autographed quotation of famous "square deal" with accompanying letter to Richard Lee Fern. The square deal was Roosevelt's call for equal opportunities for every man and woman in the United States. Equality politically, socially, and in "matters industrial."
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Autograph Sentiment Signed
4 pages
SMC 257
Jerry Parr, who is credited with saving Ronald Reagan's life, gives his account of the assassination attempt. Everything that happened in the three seconds between the first pop of gunfire to the door of the presidential limo slamming shut, is broken down into slow-motion, from the moment Reagan leaves for his luncheon at the Washington Hilton, to his remarks prior to entering surgery.
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Autograph Quotation Signed
2 pages
SMC 284
Mark Twain signs the back of a menu for the The Willard Hotel in January of 1906. The aphorism: "On the whole, it is better to deserve honors & not have them, than to have them & not deserve them."
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Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 296
Frederick Douglass, who was asked by Abraham Lincoln himself what Douglas thought of his second inaugural speech, here autographs the famous Lincolnian quotation from that address.
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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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President Taft's Eulogy for his Aide, Archibald Butt, Who Went Down with the Titanic Just Days Before
April 19, 1912
Typed Manuscript Signed
1 page
SMC 366
President Taft mourns his aide and friend Archibald Butt, who went down on the Titanic. Butt was a gentleman and a soldier, and, Taft is certain, would have gallantly gone down with the ship, after seeing to the rescue of others. Butt was last seen standing on the sinking deck with John Jacob Astor.
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address "With Malice Toward None" Original Autographed Quote
March 4, 1865
Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 401
Lincoln writes and autographs the famous "with malice towards none" paragraph from his second inaugural address.
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Abraham Lincoln on Issachar Zacharie, His Mysterious Jewish Foot Doctor and Personal Spy
September 20, 1862
Autograph Manuscript Signed
1 page
SMC 407
Here, Lincoln describes Issachar Zacharie's removal of corns from the President's feet in order to alleviate "what plain people call back-ache." The two would meet frequently, though not for medical reasons. Zacharie served as a spie, and provided the President with valuable information about various aspects of the Confederacy.
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Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 442
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Abraham Lincoln Swears That He Shall Not Retract or Modify the Emancipation Proclamation
December 20, 1863
Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 455
At the request of Henry C. Wright of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, Lincoln vows to not retract or modify the Emancipation Proclamation.
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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
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
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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Lincoln Would be Glad to See General Milroy but knows "...He Wishes to Ask for What I Have Not to Give"
October 19, 1863
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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The Day He Dies, Lincoln Writes a Pass to Richmond for Wife of the Doctor Who Would Attend His Death-Bed
April 14, 1865
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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A Historic Memo: Harry Truman Salutes Dean Acheson's Crucial Role in Going to War With Korea
July 19, 1950
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
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
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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Autograph Note
7 pages
SMC 711
These notes, written by President Kennedy aboard Air Force One illustrate how the most important world events, like our mundane tasks, often begin with the same shorthand scrawlings.
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Autograph Note
1 page
SMC 744
Max Nordau expresses his gratitude for "an interesting article.
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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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President John F. Kennedy "On the Edge of the New Frontier," Wonders What The Next Four Years Will Bring
February, 1961
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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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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Autograph Telegram Signed
1 page
SMC 917
Immediately after returning to Washington from visiting the ailing Garret Hobart in New Jersey, McKinley wires him to inquire after his health. Less than three months later, heart disease would finally claim Hobart's life.
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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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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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Lincoln, Four Days After Son Willie's Death, Tells Charles Sumner Mary Lincoln Needs His Help - "Can You Come?"
February 24, 1862
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
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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Autograph Sentiment Signed
1 page
SMC 1068
Autograph from Millard Fillmore to an unknown recipient, Washington, February 20, 1851. The day after he delivered to Congress his report on the Fugitive Slave Law crisis.
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Typed Manuscript Signed
4 pages
SMC 1111
Manuscript of Vachel Lindsay's "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight" with an early letter from the poet to the Springfield Art Society. Lindsay had conceived of the idea to have a contest in order to design a flag for the city of Springfield. However, he makes it clear in this letter that he wants to have "no hand in the matter."
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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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Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 1202
President Rutherford B. Hayes quotes Abraham Lincoln, calling for all to have "an equal start and a fair chance in the race of life."
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Autograph Manuscript Signed
2 pages
SMC 119
Mark Twain's handwritten mockup of the title page and dedication of More Tramps Abroad with a note about Innocents Abroad.
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As Lee Surrenders, Abraham Lincoln Happily Grants a Favor to the Captain of the Riverboat Queen
April 9, 1865
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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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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Typed Manuscript
20 pages
SMC 1449
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Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 1551
Lincoln writes and autographs the famous "both sides deprecated war" passage from his second inaugural address.
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Autograph Note Signed
1 page
SMC 1602
A Lincoln card, submitted to his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton on April 20, 1863. This was a busy day for Lincoln, as he was dealing with admitting West Virginia into the Union, fighting in many southern states, and a large force patrolling central Tennessee. This is a small portion of what Lincoln had on his desk that day, and any number of these issues could have concerned Stanton.
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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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Autograph Sentiment Signed
1 page
SMC 1657
In this autographed sentiment signed, Herbert Hoover describes himself as "once of Washington D.C., now, fortunately elsewhere."
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From "Innocents Abroad," Mark Twain's Famous Soliloquy at the Tomb of Adam in the Holy Land
November, 1870
Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 1682
Mark Twain's handwritten irreverent soliloquy from the Tomb of Adam in the Holy Land from Innocents Abroad.
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Autograph Manuscript
4 pages
SMC 1706
In an unpublished article, Mark Twain excoriates Theodore Roosevelt for bullying a fifteen-year-old girl and for promoting a man who, it was well known, was "brutal" to a woman in a waiting room.
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Abraham Lincoln’s Final Hours, Death, and Autopsy Report Documented by Dr. Robert Stone
April 15, 1865
Autograph Manuscript
7 pages
SMC 1844
An account of Lincoln's death, written by his personal physician, Dr. Robert K. Stone. This seven-page narrative details Dr. Stone’s dramatic rush to the stricken president’s side, and, some eight hours later, Lincoln’s final minutes, decline, death, and autopsy. The report is stained with human blood; it is, very likely, Lincoln’s.
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Lincoln's Second Testimonial for Issachar Zacharie, His Mysterious Jewish Chiropodist - And Personal Spy
September 22, 1862
Autograph Testimonial Signed
1 page
SMC 1906
In the midst of a hectic schedule, President Lincoln finds the time to endorse Issachar Zacharie, his Jewish chiropodist and spy: the same week as the bloody Battle of Antietam, and the same day Lincoln read his Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet.
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Autograph Manuscript
4 pages
SMC 1921
Rabbi Isaac Leeser reviews the American Zionist Warder Cresson's book The Key of David. Leeser explictly states that he does not "wish to be considered as endorsing all Mr. C. advances." Nor does he regularly read his work. However, he continues, it makes for enjoyable reading to those who are "fond of high-seasoned polemical writings."
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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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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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Autograph Manuscript Signed
1 page
SMC 2233
His education, Lincoln said, was deficient: it lasted, formally, but a year. At 16 years old, Lincoln created a personal notebook, known then as a sum book. Here, amid arithmetical calculations, he also writes a piece of doggerel, daydreaming about his future.
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