Description:

Douglass Frederick 1817 - 1895 Frederick Douglass's signature on card.

Plain white card inscribed and signed recto by Thomas A. Doyle, and with Frederick Douglass's signature on lined paper affixed verso. Both signatures in very fine and bright condition. Several minor smudges found at the end of Doyle's signature do not detract from the beautifully controlled script. The card, with some paper wavering, measures 6.5" x 3.75".

Two paper fragments have been affixed to the card back, the beige one inscribed "Washington, April 23" and the blue-lined slip signed "Very truly yours, Fredk. Douglass".

Frederick Douglass (c. 1819-1895) was born a slave in Maryland. At the age of twenty, he escaped to New York masquerading as a sailor, and later relocated to the thriving free black community of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Douglass's early education and natural eloquence enabled him to easily express his ideas about slavery, suffrage, and civil rights in both expository and oral form. Encouraged by seminal abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), Douglass wrote two autobiographies and gave lectures. After the publication of his first work, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave", the best-selling author was the most well-known free black man in America. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson asked Douglass for advice regarding black soldiers and voters. By the late 1870s, Douglass had accepted several political positions, serving as President of the Freedman's Savings Bank, charge d'affaires to the Dominican Republic, and United States Marshal. The signature is believed to date from around 1883, when Douglass was Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia.

Doyle's elegant and striking signature appears on the front of this card as "Thos. A Doyle, Mayor". "Mayor's Office, Providence, Dec 27. 1875, The handwriting of ... " is inscribed above his signature. Thomas A. Doyle (1827-1886) served as Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island for eighteen non-consecutive years between 1864-1886. During Doyle's tenure, the city increased in population and wealth. Doyle advocated for urban and infrastructural improvements, like the construction of the City Hall and the renovation of the railroad.

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