Description:

Hamilton Fish, "Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States", Presentation Copy to U.S. Grant, From His Personal Library

[Ulysses. S. Grant]. Hamilton Fish. "Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States Transmitted to Congress with the Annual Message of the President," December 4, 1871, Preceded by a Synoptical List of Papers and Followed by an Alphabetical Index of Persons and Subjects. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1871. First edition. Presentation binding, with Grant's name stamped in gilt on the front cover. 4to; full red morocco stamped in gilt; six spine compartments; gilt edges. Boards show chipping, scuffing, peeling and soiling. Light wear to pages. Prints Grant's July 4, 1871, Proclamation and his December 4, 1871, annual message to Congress.

Hamilton Fish (1808-1893), the most distinguished and effective of Grant's ministers, was not the president's first choice for the senior Cabinet post. Originally a Whig, Fish served in the House of Representatives briefly in the 1840s before winning the governorship of New York. In 1850 he was elected to the Senate and voted with anti-slavery colleagues William Seward and Charles Sumner. During the war he served on the Union Defense Committee, and helped negotiate prisoner exchanges with the Confederacy.

Fish had a rare (for Washington) combination of talent, energy, discretion and loyalty. He disapproved of Grant's plans for annexing the Dominican Republic, but ably fought on behalf of the policy against the spite-filled opposition of his former colleague from Massachusetts, and indeed Fish's loyalty to Grant cost him Sumner's friendship. Fish supervised the thorny problem of the Alabama claims with great skill, and easily met Grant's instructions to resolve the dispute by the 1876 election. Fish mixed strength with diplomatic tact when he threatened war with Spain in 1873 over American support for Cuban revolutionaries. This was, in fact, another episode over which Grant and Fish disagreed: the president wanted to grant belligerent status to the revolutionaries while Fish wanted to maintain neutrality. But when the Spanish government executed fifty-three people, many of them Americans, caught trying to smuggle guns and supplies to the rebels, Fish issued an ultimatum. The Spanish agreed to negotiate a settlement to the crisis and war was averted. American-Spanish relations improved notably when Fish and Grant named Caleb Cushing as U.S. ambassador to Madrid.

Grant and Fish, in spite of the differences in their backgrounds, developed a close friendship. They had their strained moments, especially over Grant's loyalty to corrupt cronies such as Orville Babcock and William Belknap. Fish found it increasingly necessary to be a stern voice of conscience in the face of the president's willful blindness during the second term, and he urged his chief, with mixed success, to separate himself from his wayward subordinates.

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.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

October 18, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000