RECONSTRUCTION ERA FAMILY LETTERS,
MACON, GEORGIA

A lot of Reconstruction era letters relating to Macon, Georgia resident Samuel Terry Bailey and his son George during a period of economic hardship for Southerners. The bulk of this lot consists of Reconstruction era letters written by Col. Samuel Terry Bailey (1796–1870) of Macon, Georgia to his son George.....

EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF BREWER, MAINE AND VICINITY

A substantial archive of manuscript documents and letters, many of which relate to the early development of the town of Brewer, Maine and the role of Samuel B. Stone as “father of the town,” with letters concerning the administration and development of land in nearby Eddington, etc.  The earliest.....

LINCOLN’S FRIEND AND ALLY MARK DELAHAY
ON KANSAS TERRITORY SURVEYING AND POLITICS

An interesting letter by the Kansas Territory politician and abolitionist Mark W. Delahay, an old friend and political ally of Abe Lincoln who appointed him to a handful of high-ranking governmental positions in Kansas.  Born in Maryland, Mark William Delahay (1828–1879) was a fellow lawyer of Abe Lincoln during.....

CONFEDERATE ASSISTANT SURGEON SEEKS PROMOTION

A multifaceted letter illuminating medical aspects of the Civil War.  Tazewell Howard, newly arrived assistant surgeon to George Paul Harrison’s training camp outside Savannah, Georgia, describes his new appointment and attempts to use his connections to secure a higher paying post. He reports a certain dissatisfaction with his lot.....

“THIS IS A PRITY HARD COUNTRY FOR A MAN TO LIVE”

A pair of letters written during the winter and spring seasons in gold rush era California, commenting on the steep costs of living and relating various forms of labor the writer has undertaken for modest pay.  These letters span a period of three months, January–March, 1857; each is addressed.....

WITH LETTERS FROM JACOB RIIS
TO AN IMMIGRATION DOCTOR

The autobiography of social reformer Jacob Riis, along with two letters from Riis to influential Ellis Island immigration doctor Victor Safford. First published in 1901, this is a 1902 printing. Riis’s autobiography begins with his youth in Denmark (including his initially one-sided bond with his beloved wife Elizabeth), and his.....

THE BIRDMAN ON CANARIES, DARWIN, AND MORE

A captivating letter by Robert Stroud—known as “the Birdman of Alcatraz”—to his friend Fred Daw, concerning Stroud’s research on canaries, his violent childhood, the forthcoming biopic on him, his projected multi-volume autobiography, his challenge to Darwin, and more.  Imprisoned at Alcatraz, Robert Stroud (1890–1963) here writes to his long-time.....

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS ATTEMPT TO SWAY SAM HOUSTON

An intriguing letter to Sam Houston as a U.S. Senator, from a party of Virginia democrats, docketed by Houston. This is an ostensibly routine invitation to a July 28th and 29th 1848 mass meeting at the Orange Co., Virginia Court House, written by several prominent Virginia Democrats. Though the real.....