Description:

James Garfield
[Washington, D.C.], April 1, 1881
James A. Garfield Signed Check as President, Only 1 of 2 Known PSA MINT 9, With Provenance from Son
DS
A check boldly signed by 20th U.S. President James A. Garfield (1831-1881) about one month into his presidency, as "J.A. Garfield" on the signature line. Garfield has additionally engrossed the check with the name of the payee and money amount. April 1, 1881. [Washington, D.C.] Check no. 16 directed cashiers at Riggs & Company to pay White House steward W.T. Crump in the amount of $65.38, with a memorandum explaining it was for "Incidental expenses and cook hire." The creditor W.T. Crump has endorsed the check verso. Encapsulated and PSA/DNA certified and graded MINT 9. Expected wear including flattened folds, with at least one chipped edge discretely restored. Else near fine. The check measures 7.5" x 2.875" while the slab measures 12.275" x 5.5." Accompanied by remarkable provenance from Garfield's son, James Rudolph Garfield.

The only other example of a Garfield check signed as President sold at Christie's in 1999 for around $10,000. That example did not have the wonderful provenance of having been presented from Garfield's son. This signed check has the added interest of its being dated just three months and one day from the date of Garfield's shooting on July 2, 1881.

William "Billy" T. Crump served as a White House steward from 1877-1882, during the Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur administrations. Crump, who was a private in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, had served as Rutherford B. Hayes's orderly during the Civil War. During this era, the steward was the most influential staff member of the Executive Mansion, fulfilling numerous important inward- and outward-facing roles: supervising domestic staff; overseeing housekeeping, cleaning, and maintenance; procuring food and supplies for the president's personal household; and greeting and directing guests there for appointments or social engagements. There were other unspecified duties as well; after Garfield's assassination, Crump kept many vigils at the bedside of the dying president. In White House doorkeeper Thomas F. Pendel's memoirs, "Thirty-Six Years In The White House" (1902), Crump recounted that, in the days following the shooting, he massaged Garfield's feet when the president complained of nerve pain.

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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    Provenance:
  • The President Garfield signed check is accompanied by a 1p typed letter signed by James Rudolph Garfield (1865-1950) as "James R. Garfield." November 1, 1937. [Cleveland, Ohio.] On watermarked stationery with "Law Offices of / Garfield, Cross, Daoust, Baldwin & Vrooman / Midland Building / Cleveland" letterhead. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, scattered partially rusted paper clip impressions, and isolated light foxing, else near fine. 8.375" x 10.875."

    In this letter to one Mr. T. Proud of London, England, James R. Garfield wrote in part: "It is always delightful to hear from those wo were interested, as you are, in my Father's life, and it gives me pleasure to be able to comply with your request for an autograph… I enclose a check dated April 1, 1881, signed by my Father, made payable to W.T. Crump, who was the Steward at the White House. You will notice on the face of the check it was to pay for 'Incidental Expenses and cook hire'…"
  • Dimensions:
  • slabbed: 12.275" x 5.5"
  • Artist Name:
  • James Garfield
  • Medium:
  • DS

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