Description:

Major General W. S. Hancock ALS

Autograph Letter Signed, "Maj. W. S. Hancock", as Brigadier General, 1p, on lightly lined paper, 7.75" x 5.5", inlaid to a larger sheet measuring 9.25" x 6.75", April 22, 1862.  Near fine with slight ink smudges. Accompanied by a lovely engraved portrait measuring 7" x 10.75". 

Hancock pens this letter days before the Battle of Williamsburg to Mr. S.A. Miller, Esq. in Harrisburg, PA. In part, "Your brother has been released from arrest - or rather his arrest has been suspended until the promulgation of the proceedings in his case. The matter of final disposition is with Gen. McClellan. If the original proceedings have been lost, the Judge Advocate can furnish a duplicate."

Winfield Scott Hancock (1824-1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican–American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. Known to his Army colleagues as "Hancock the Superb", he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the Army's presence at the Western frontier.

Provenance: This item was recently discovered in an extra-illustrated volume of “History of the City of New York” by Mary L. Booth, New York W. R. C. Clark, 1867. Originally two volumes, the monumental task of expanding the work to 21 volumes by none other than Emery E. Childs esquire of New York City. In volume 1 of this work exists a lovely India ink Drawing of Mary L. Booth along with a notation ”presented by her to E E C” in pencil. Next to the title page, we find an original letter of Booth to Childs dated April 4, 1872, “I am in receipt of your favor of the 4th inst., and am grateful to hear that you are taking the trouble to illustrate my History of the City of New York in the manner you describe. I shall be happy to see you, should you favor me with a call as I am usually in my office during business hours and should be pleased to facilitate your Enterprise by any means in my power”.

It is assumed that the book took several years to assemble, at which point, assumedly through Childs, it made its way to Senator Charles B. Farwell of Chicago who took the seat of John A. Logan in 1887. Farwell had an extensive library that fortunately survived The Great Chicago Fire in 1871, having been housed in his Lakeside home. In the American Bibliopolist of November 1871 there is an article about the devastation to libraries caused by the tragedy, “Mr C. B. Farwell’s library is also fortunately far out from the city, at his country house, and is safe. The same remark will also apply to the extensive collection of books and curiosities belonging to Mr. E. E. Childs.” This establishes the Chicago connection between Childs and Farwell. That these letters were preserved for over 140 years and have never been on the market for that period is remarkable on many levels. It is the state of being wedged in these volumes that also accounts for what is mostly the pristine state of preservation.

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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