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Lot 290
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Alexander Stephens ALS Just Days Before his Mission with President Lincoln
Alexander Stephens ALS Just Days Before his Mission with President Lincoln
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Description:

Alexander Stephens ALS Just Days Before his Mission with President Lincoln

Single page ALS on light blue paper, 4.75" x 7.5" inlaid to a larger sheet, Crawfordville, June 28, 1863. Signed by Alexander Stephens while Confederate VP as "Alexander H. Stephens". Faint staining and handling marks, else near Fine. 

Stephens writes only a week before leaving on a boat to Washington to meet with President Lincoln in an attempt to reach a peace agreement and exchange prisoners, and only days before the Battle of Gettysburg. By this point in time, the Civil War had been raging for four years and the Union had been struggling to hold itself together. This letter was written in the middle of a series of climactic battles between the North and South, and specifically addressed the funding for a statue commemorating Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who had just died of wounds in battle.

The Battle of Gettysburg was eminent, fought July 1-3, with Confederate President Jefferson Davis expecting a victory. His strategy was to have the Army of Northern Virginia approach Washington from the North, with Vice President Stephens approaching from the South, and if the timing was right, they might both arrive at the same time in one heralded moment of victory. President Lincoln would then have to make a choice, a lose-lose for the Union, and discuss peace negotiations with Stephens. This historical moment did not unfold as Davis planned. In fact, the Confederates had lost militarily and also politically.

Stephens' journey to meet with President Lincoln only took him as far as Newport News, Virginia, where, following the crucial Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, he was informed that the U.S. government would not consider opening negotiations with him. This stalling measure was also in large part because Lincoln was attempting to bring the 13th amendment to a vote, and it was believed that it would be derailed by rumors of the South attempting to establish a peace agreement.  

Although Alexander Stephens' letter addresses the death of "Stonewall" Jackson, which has been called "the greatest personal loss suffered by the Confederacy", it was just a first step in the turning point of the war. Like a domino effect, the next two weeks saw the ensuing Battle of Gettysburg, Stephens' ill-fated and thwarted attempt to negotiate with Lincoln, and the ultimate passing of the 13th Amendment. Plans and conditions for the South's surrender were underway. A phenomenal period of history, written with the intent of raising funds for Jackson's statue, only to be shortly blindsided by battle and politics. 

This scarce letter to the Treasurer of the Jackson Statue Fund, in Richmond, VA, in full, "Your letter of the 5th inst. inviting me to act as one of the Executive Committee of the Jackson Statue Fund has been received yesterday - humbly allow me to say that my consent so to act is hereby granted. When the other members of the committee are selected you would please me tender their names and the time and place of their meeting."

From the library of John Augustin Daly (1838-1899), one of the most important figures in 19th Century American theater. He worked as a critic, manager, playwright and stage director. At the time of his death, he owned two major theaters, one in New York and the other in London. Daly is considered personally responsible for the careers of such acting greats as John Drew Jr., Maurice Barrymore, Fanny Davenport, Maude Adams, Sara Jewett, Isadora Duncan, Tyrone Power, Sr., and many others.

Daly was also an avid book lover and collector, amassing an enormous library of books and original manuscripts. That collection was dispersed in an epic, two week auction at the American Art Association in New York in March 1900. The present letter was part of an extra-illustrated volume, described in the catalog as a "Unique copy, with autograph letters of all the Presidents inserted..." Walter Benjamin, writing in The Collector, described the sale as a "blaze of glory, due to the total having reached nearly $200,000." Benjamin attributed the sale's incredible success to "a small bookseller on 42d street, who appeared at the sale with apparently unlimited cash, and was soon the master of the situation." That "small bookseller" was George D. Smith (d. 1920), who, up until that time, had been an obscure and unsuccessful book dealer who began his career in 1883 with Dodd & Mead. Smith would dominate the market for the next two decades, working as an agent for some of the wealthiest collectors in the country. The extra-illustrated volume of presidents from which this piece derives fetched $850, nearly four times above the going rate for presidential sets at the time. According to Walter Benjamin, Smith quickly resold the volume for $1,000. The collection did not surface again until it appeared in a minor auction in early 2016. (The Collector, New York, May 1900, 1-2)

Provenance: John Augustin Daly; American Art Association, New York, March 19, 1900, Lot 3122; George D. Smith, New York.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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