Description:

Fillmore Millard

 

"The Poets of the Nineteenth Century" (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1858). Beveled brown boards with vibrant gilt titles and raised bands to the spine. Decorative gilt tooling to the inner edge. Boards lightly rubbed. Binding tight and square. Outer page block in full gilt. 7" x 9".

 

Presentation copy with the inscription in the hand of Millard Fillmore, who signed his wife's name to the front paste down as "Presented to Mrs. Millard Fillimore / By Ex Mayor Harper / New York, Nov 3, 1858". An additional inscription by Fillmore appears below, written 10 years later, of "Mr. Harper died March 27 1869- in consequence injuries received by being thrown from his carriage in N.Y."  (Millard Fillmore's inscription is effectually finding his signature within her name.) This book came from the Fillmore's library. President Fillmore, always the ardent book collector and reader since childhood, often presented Caroline with books, in addition to carefully cataloguing both her and his collection. As is evidenced here, he would sign her name on her behalf as establishing ownership and then catalogue her books. Having researched and reviewed other scarce books owned by President Fillmore, we find that there is most often a catalogue number identifier on the title page found at the top next to the signature which also may be in the hand of Millard Fillmore. This set was deaccessioned from the Buffalo and Erie County Historical library, the public library of which was co-founded by the Fillmores.

 

James Harper was the Harper of Harper-Collins, and mayor of New York in 1844. With corruption rampant in New York City politics, the newly formed American Republican Party convinced James Harper, one of the brothers who had founded J. & J. Harper in 1817, to run for mayor. According to "The New World" he was elected by “an overwhelming majority of the people” to the office in 1844. The public was looking for a distinguished citizen who could clean up the blatant corruption in the city at that time.

 

He was elected on the pledge of an efficient police force, economy in public expenditures, reduction of taxes, and cleaner streets. Harper won “a great and decided victory” and transitioned into the role of city reformer, aspiring to “the rescue of the city Government from the old Tammany.” James Harper served as the city’s first reform mayor and devoted his term of a year to carrying out the party’s pledges–but he did disappoint its leadership by refusing to take an anti-Catholic position regarding city employees. Although he was popular, he chose not to run again and in the next election Tammany Hall regained control of the city government.

 

And indeed Harper did in fact die of being thrown from a carriage. Harper's one passion, outside of his business, was driving his horses. He was enjoying his daily ride on the afternoon of Good Friday in 1869 when an accident caused the pole of the carriage to split. The horses became frightened and bolted. Both Harper and his daughter were ejected from the carriage, but his injuries were more serious than hers. He was taken to Knickerbocker Hospital, and died two days later, on March 27, 1869 in New York City. The City Hall flag flew at half-mast in his honor, and the New York papers ran lengthy obituaries.

 

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

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, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

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 5 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 Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

February 26, 2020 10:30 AM EST
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