Description:

Livingston Edward

1pp cream lined paper sheet inscribed overall and signed by lawyer and politician Edward Livingston (1764-1836) as “I am my Dear Sir Yours truly EdwLivingston” in the bottom right corner.  7.875" x 9" ALS hinged at left, with address leaf fragment tipped into larger cream-colored sheet measuring 7” x 10.875” underneath. Letter is in very good to near fine condition. Expected paper folds along with sharp vertical crease to right paper edge. Overall toning. Livingston’s signature is elegant despite the fact that he ran out of ink towards the end.

Edward Livingston penned this letter to “W.P. Farrand Esq., Harrisburgh [sic] Penna.” on August 14, 1829 from Red Hook, New York. Livingston was five months into his new post as a U.S. Senator from Louisiana in the summer of 1829. He was making the trip North to manage his southeastern Pennsylvania land holdings.

Livingston expected to arrive in Harrisburg shortly, “by which time [Farrand was instructed to] be so good as to make memoranda of the subjects more most immediately necessary for our joint attention as I shall not have it in my power to remain long with you”. The two men had much to discuss, including a missing Northumberland County land mortgage deed from 1797, the falling retail price of land, and preparing for an impending lawsuit.

Of especial interest is Livingston’s reference to Pennsylvania lawyer and future congressman Horace Binney (1780-1875). “Binney and Fisher who are appointed by the Commissioners of the Bank to treat with me have written to know wherever deed for the lands mortgaged to the bank is recorded”. Just four years later the two would face off in court. Livingston was named as a plaintiff in a Supreme Court case involving over $100,000 of unclaimed Pennsylvania revenue (Livingston’s Lessee vs. Moore). Livingston and other plaintiffs alleged that former Pennsylvania Comptroller-General John Nicholson had improperly performed his land recording and debt collection duties between 1782-1794. (Indeed, Nicholson was later impeached and resigned). Binney, one of Pennsylvania’s leading barristers, represented the defendants in the trial. It seems that Binney and Livingston would always be at odds. Livingston later served as 11th U.S. Secretary of State to 7th U.S. President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), who famously hated centralized banks; Binney would defend the Bank of United States against Jackson in court.

Livingston continued with bad investment news. “Kelly gives but a discouraging acct of the price of lands he says the best will not bring more than 2 dolls to sellers I wish particularly that you would put the mortgage for 86000 Dolls that you speak of on the 200000 acres in such a state that we may close / on it if we find it convenient while I am with you. I am anxious also not to fail in bringing the suit against Cresson for which purpose I could wish to have a description of the lands claimed by him to be prepared”.

A lengthy ALS penned by important early nineteenth-century statesman Edward Livingston!

Provenance: This item was recently discovered in an extra illustrated volume of “History of the City of New York” by Mary L. Booth, New York, W. R. C. Clark, 1867. The monumental task of expanding the original two volumes to twenty-one volumes was given to Emery E. Childs, Esq. of New York City. A lovely india ink drawing of Mary L. Booth labeled “presented by her to E.E.C.” in pencil appears in the first volume of this work. Next to the title page we find an original letter of Booth to Childs dated April 4, 1872: “I am in receipt of your favor of the 4th inst., and am grateful to hear that you are taking the trouble to illustrate my History of the City of New York in the manner you describe. I shall be happy to see you, should you favor me with a call as I am usually in my office during business hours and should be pleased to facilitate your Enterprise by any means in my power”.

 

It is assumed that the book took several years to assemble, at which point, presumably through Childs, it made its way to Senator Charles B. Farwell of Chicago (who took the seat of John A. Logan in 1887). Farwell had an extensive library in his Lakeside home that survived the great Chicago fire in 1871. In the American Bibliopolist of November 1871, there is an article about the devastation to libraries caused by the tragedy: “Mr. C. B. Farwell’s library is also fortunately far out from the city, at his country house, and is safe. The same remark will also apply to the extensive collection of books and curiosities belonging to Mr. E. E. Childs.” This establishes the Chicago connection between Childs and Farwell.

 

These items were preserved for over 140 years and have never been on the market. The mostly pristine state of preservation of the items is due from their being wedged in these volumes.

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