Description:

"All Honor To President Lincoln": Beautiful Invitation Celebrating Chase's Recent SC Appointment & Also Lincoln's Birthday

An invitation to an exclusive Providence, Rhode Island supper ball on February 16, 1865, marking the recent appointment of Salmon P. Chase (1808-1873) as 6th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The party also probably celebrated the 56th birthday of sitting president Abraham Lincoln earlier in the week, on February 12, 1865. The 24 lines of text are printed in red and green on cream bifold paper in a variety of fonts, sizes, and typographical styles. A 2" x 1.25" vignette at top center depicts couples contra-dancing. Blank within. Expected minor wear including gentle folds and wrinkles, with isolated ghost ink impressions where the invitation was folded. Else near fine and charming. 5" x 8."

The Union Club of Providence, Rhode Island announced a "Grand Ball in honor of the appointment of Hon. Salmon P. Chase, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, on Thursday Evening, February 16, 1865, in Pratt's Hall…" Dancing and supper would be provided, with musical accompaniment by local quintet Herrick's Full Quadrille Band. The venue, Pratt's Hall, was located on Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, about .3 miles west of the Providence River. During this era, Pratt's Hall frequently hosted musical, choral, and theatrical events.

The Union Club of Providence was in all likelihood a private gentleman's club. In an application for incorporation in 1886, club members described its mission as the pursuit of "social and literary culture." The five-person committee of event managers hailed from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York, so the group could have been regionally affiliated with the Union Club of the City of New York, established in 1836, or the Union Club of Boston, broken off from the Somerset Club in 1863.

Salmon P. Chase, a dedicated abolitionist and a former U.S. Senator from Ohio, had vied for the 1860 presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention against Abraham Lincoln. Chase supported Lincoln after his own defeat, and the future president promptly returned the favor by appointing Chase as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, a post Chase held from March 1861 to June 1864. Chase's tenure as Treasury Secretary was overall very productive, yet his repeated threats to resign caused constant stress and were mostly misplaced attempts at political maneuvering. Chase's last such power play backfired in June 1864 when Lincoln unexpectedly accepted Chase's fourth proffered resignation.

Lincoln, always shrewd and conciliatory, nominated Chase as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court six months later, on December 6, 1864, following the death of 5th Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Chase was confirmed and sworn in as Chief Justice on December 15, 1864; he would serve in this capacity until his death in 1873.

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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February 1, 2023 11:00 AM EST
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