Description:

William H. Taft Signed Military Appointment for Patton's West Point Classmate

A military appointment signed by 27th U.S. President William H. Taft (1857-1930), as "Wm H Taft" at center right. Issued from Washington, D.C. on July 1, 1909. Partly handwritten and partly printed on a large sheet of parchment. Also co-signed by U.S. Acting Secretary of War Robert Shaw Oliver (1847-1935), as "Robert Shaw Oliver" at center. Docket stamped and signed by an Adjutant-General's Department official in the upper left corner. A blind embossed "Department of War" seal is found in the lower left corner. Expected surface wear including isolated edge darkening and minor chipped edges mostly confined to the left and bottom. A small hole is located near the bottom margin. Isolated stains, else near fine. 15.125" x 18.875."

President William H. Taft conferred the rank of "Second Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps" upon Henry Horace Malven, Jr. (1885-1938), a recent graduate of the United States Military Academy. Malven's classmate in the Class of 1909 was George S. Patton, Jr. (1885-1945), future 4-star general of the U.S. Army. In fact, Patton is listed directly before Malven (as cadet numbers 4795 and 4796 respectively) in the 1920 edition of the "Biographical Registry of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York Since Its Establishment in 1802," Supplement, Volume VI-B, 1910-1920. Malven's promotion to Second Lieutenant became effective after June 11, 1909.

Henry Horace Malven, Jr. was embarking on what would prove a solid, life-long career in military service, first in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps, and then in the U.S. Army and the Adjutant-General's Department. The Coast Artillery Corps, active between 1901-1950, was responsible for the defense of coastlines, rivers, and harbors in the United States and its overseas possessions. Malven served at various bases in the United States, in France during World War I, and in the Philippines during the interwar period. The highest rank Malven achieved in the U.S. armed forces was as a Lieutenant Colonel.He died at age 52 at Walter Reed Hospital and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

William H. Taft served as president between 1909 and 1913. Oliver served as Assistant Secretary of War between 1903-1913; Taft's official Secretary of War from mid-March 1909 to late May 1911 was Jacob M. Dickinson (1851-1928).

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

Unless otherwise indicated, 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. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

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

March 30, 2022 10:30 AM EDT
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