Description:

John Quincy Adams, Louisa Catherine Adams, & 25+ Family & Friends Sign Teenager's Friendship Album

A friendship album signed by John Quincy Adams, Louisa Catherine Adams, Thomas Boylston Adams, Ann Adams, and 20+ other family members and friends of Elizabeth Coombs Adams (1809-1903), the paternal granddaughter of 2nd U.S. President John Adams (1735-1826). We count approximately 28 different signers, who have either signed using their full names, initials, or relationship with the album owner (ex. "Father.") The majority of the autographs date from the period ranging from September 1822 to April 1824, with a few sparse later entries dating from 1827 and 1838. Various places are represented, such as Boston, Quincy, Haverhill, Hingham, and Scituate, Massachusetts. Provenance: Property of a New York Collector; Sotheby's New York, June 21, 2007.

*This album originally contained a letter signed by John Adams, which is Lot 1 in the current sale.

The friendship album, which consists of poems, literary excerpts, letters, advice, and thoughtful personal reflections on growing up and living a good life, was compiled by Elizabeth Coombs Adams, the second child of Thomas Boylston Adams (1772-1832), John Adams's fifth of six children and youngest son. We count more than 70 manuscript pages (unpaginated) contained within a composition book bound with marbled boards and red leather three-quarter binding. An engraved portrait of John Adams has been affixed to the front pastedown endpaper, with Elizabeth Coombs Adams's inscription reading, "placed here by my uncle JQA." Expected wear including shelf rubbing, and scattered minor professional repairs throughout. The watermarked pages show traces of cropping, isolated wormholes, and darkened or chipped edges. A few of the pages are blank or have been removed. Else near fine and very legible. The album measures 8.25" x 10.125" x .5."

Highlights include:

John Quincy Adams

1. A 1p autograph poem signed in full by John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), Elizabeth Coombs Adams's paternal uncle, as "John Quincy Adams." September 7, 1823. Quincy, Massachusetts. John Quincy Adams, the future 6th U.S. President, was serving as U.S. Secretary of State when he penned this original four-stanza poem. Located on pg. 47.

He dedicated it at top "To my dear Niece, Elizabeth C. Adams." The poem begins: "When thou in distant days shalt look / Beloved Maid, this Volume through, / And on the pages of thy Book / Fair Friendship's Record shalt review; / There, when the future shall be past / May bliss untemper'd cheer thy brow, / While thy reverting mind shall cast / A thought on him who greets thee now," and concludes: "In Pain and Gladness, let thy Mind / See but thy maker's varied power: / To dark affliction's hour resign'd, / Grateful for Pleasure's fleeting hour: / Let Time and Chance then o'er thy days / Shed gloom, or radiance, smile or frown, / Thy setting Sun's expiring rays / In cloudless Splendour shall go down."

We know by consulting the Online Adams Catalog maintained by the Massachusetts Historical Society that John Quincy Adams dedicated two similar poems to two other nieces, Abigail S. Adams and Susan B. Clark, in September 1823.

Louisa Catherine Adams

2. A 1p autograph poem signed by Louisa Catherine Adams (1775-1852), wife of John Quincy Adams and future First Lady as well as Elizabeth Coombs Adams's aunt by marriage, as "L.C. Adams" in the third person. N.d., n.p. Located on pg. 51.

Louisa Catherine Adams writes a humorous, self-deprecating disclaimer at the top of an original three-stanza poem: "A little nonsense from the pen of L.C. Adams to her Niece Elizabeth C. Adams. Bad, but the best she has to offer." The poem begins "In your Album you ask me to write, / But tis only to blot the clear page; / For the lives which my pen can indite, / Little humour will yield to the age…"

Thomas Boylston Adams

3. A 2pp autograph letter signed by Thomas Boylston Adams, Elizabeth Coombs Adams's father, as "Father" at its conclusion. N.d., n.p. Located on pp. 1-2. Adams outlines a future course of study for his daughter including the study of Latin, French, literature, and the Classics, for, "Your age, my Daughter, your abilities, and capacity for improvement should admonish you of the value of time. It is a Jewel in possession far above Rubies, or Diamonds…"

Ann Adams née Harrod

4. A 3pp autograph letter signed by Ann Adams née Harrod (1774-1845), Elizabeth Coombs Adams's mother, as "A.A." N.d., n.p. Located on pp. 5-7.

Ann Adams urges her daughter to be independent and proactive, writing in part, "A young lady may be surround[ed] by affluence, but if she has lived that listless, inactive kind of life that shrinks from exertion, and has never been accustomed to help herself, her wealth loses half its value, as she is dependant [sic] upon the whims of others to move her about…"

Elizabeth Coombs Adams herself has added numerous annotations and postscripts throughout the album; her handwriting is recognizable by its generous use of underlining. Other signers include uncles, cousins, friends, and other well-wishers.

Elizabeth Coombs Adams may have relied on this album containing wisdom during the illness and drug addiction of her father, Thomas Boylston Adams. A Harvard graduate, and capable scholar, secretary, lawyer, and chief justice of Massachusetts, Thomas became an alcoholic and prone to depressive episodes in later life. Happily, Elizabeth Coombs Adams had a more stable influence in her life: her paternal uncle, John Quincy Adams. Elizabeth has been described as living the life of a Washington, D.C. belle during her uncle's presidency, though she never married. She was the oldest living resident of Quincy, Massachusetts when she died at the age of 95 in 1903.

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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