Description:

Cobb Howell

 

Howell Cobb as Secretary of the Treasury

 

Howell Cobb, manuscript letter signed, to C. W. Churchman & Co., October 13, 1857, Washington, D.C. 1 p. with docketing panel, 7.75" x 10". Expected folds; very good.

 

Secretary of the Treasury Howell Cobb signs this response to a Philadelphia company that protested the duty charged on their import of “bleaching powders.” Bleaching powders were usually composed of chlorinated calcium hydroxide and were used for bleaching and disinfecting.

 

According to the 1846 tariff, “bleaching powders” were subject to a 10 percent ad valorem duty on import. The 1861 tariff reduced the duty on “bleaching powders” to fifteen cents per one hundred pounds.

 

Excerpt

 

“You are respectfully referred to the Collector of Customs at Philadelphia for the decision of this Department on your application of 10 Inst. for return of duty alleged to have been illegally exacted, on an importation of ‘bleaching powders.’”

 

Howell Cobb (1815-1868) was born in Georgia and attended the University of Georgia. He married Mary Ann Lamar in 1835, and they had eleven children over the next twenty-six years. Cobb was admitted to the bar in 1836, and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1843 to 1851, the last sixteen months as Speaker of the House. He served as Governor of Georgia from 1851 to 1853, then returned to Congress from 1855 to 1857. From March 1857 to December 1860, he served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President James Buchanan. A leader of the secession movement, Cobb resigned his position as Secretary of the Treasury and helped draft the Confederate Constitution. He joined the Confederate Army as a colonel and rose to the rank of major general. He surrendered at Macon, Georgia in April 1865, returned home, and resumed his law practice.

 

C. W. Churchman and Company was an import company in Philadelphia, owned by Charles West Churchman (1802-1868). The firm specialized in the import of heavy chemicals from England.

 

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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