Search Results: Illinois from Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts, ABAA

Illinois senator (1913-21) and politician. Humorous ALS, 1p, 7¼" X 10½", Springfield, IL, 1922 September 29. Addressed to Waldo C. Moore. Very good. Responding to a request for "my autographed Check for one cent...The chemical basis of all roughage for animals in the framework is cellulose. This sheet of paper contains more of the basic material for the boss animal of our party than a Check and may be used accordingly." Weird but amusing.

Early resident of this important Illinois lead-mining town, which for a time produced a high percentage of the world's lead ("Galena" is Latin for lead) and was supposed to become the great hub of the Midwest before Chicago's natural geographic advantage supplanted it; today's Galena is remembered as the adopted hometown of Ulysses S. Grant. ALS, 2pp (single leaf), 5" X 8", Galena, IL, 1857 January 1. Addressed to Miss Marcia Floyd of Courville, Maine. Writing on pale pink lined stationery, McDaniel pens her friend this chatty missive. She describes Illinois: "Well it is a large and fertile state, abounding in vast prairies, the principle production is wheat, maize, etc. There are numerous salt springs." Of Galena, she notes: "The inhabitants in the vicinity are chiefly farmers and are intelligent and enterprising. Most of them live in log houses. I am attending school at present and like it here very much..." Oddly, she signs off "Peter Fling… Read More

This Cleveland merchant became well-known as an abolitionist, reformer and occasional publisher; among his writings are "The Sabbath" (1840), "The Immigrant's Good Samaritan" (1848), "Law and Government" (1849), "Thoughts on the Fugitive Slave Law and Nebraska Bill" (1955), "The Great Law Book" (1857), "Word of Christ" (1857) and "The Slavery Question Settled" (1862). ALS, 1p + integral address leaf, 7 3/4" X 9 3/4", Chicago, IL, 1847 January 26. Addressed to Philip C. Johnson (Illinois secretary of state). Very good. Mildly but evenly age toned; small separations along original folds neatly and archivally repaired on blank verso. Opens, oddly, with a discussion of the price of dried peaches -- Kingsbury was a merchant, after all! "Mr. Grubbs informed me yesterday that he had just rec'd a letter from the Digings, saying that Dormody had just left there for the east -- perhaps Chicago... having sold about all his stock -- that he had not succeeded very well. I am extremely anxious to see him, as, if I… Read More

Fascinating archive of student papers from a University of Illinois engineering undergraduate, dated between 16 January 1894 and 20 March 1896. Consists of 109 "themes" (rectos only) on 130 ruled leaves, each 8" X 10½", each signed and dated on the verso by Fergus. Overall very good. Each bears a strong vertical fold running down center (as turned in), but not weakened; a few show bits of edgewear and the occasional stray stain, one bears a large corner chip (not affecting text) and several multi-page themes are held together with 2-prong brass clasps. Most are quite neatly and legibly penned in ink, a smaller number in pencil. Fergus was a bright young engineering student, apparently a Chicagoan, assigned to the required rhetoric course of "Mr. Clark" -- Thomas Arkle Clark (1862-1932), who began teaching in the Rhetoric Department this same year, became department head in 1899 and was named acting dean in 1900. Needing to write a single-page theme every few days, the resulting mass of text is in… Read More

This colorful and legendary steamboat captain pioneered steamboating on the upper Mississippi River in the mid-19th century; he was first president of the Galena, Dubuque and Minnesota Packet Company and founded the city of Winona, Minnesota. Partly-printed DS, 1p, 8" X 10", Chicago, IL, 1871 January 1. Very good. Faint age toning; paper loss (approx. 3½" X 2") at upper left corner, affecting portion of printed text but not holograph portion. Printed "Judgment Note" (promissory note) acknowledging that Smith owes Nathan Corwith five thousand dollars at ten percent annual interest. Signed boldly, twice, by Smith. Verso bears docket penned and signed WILLIAM R. ROWLEY (1824-86), one of Galena's famous nine generals and at this date the circuit clerk; this native New Yorker enlisted as a first lieutenant in Company D of the 45th Illinois Volunteers in 1861, promoted to captain in 1862 and lieutenant colonel in 1864 and finally named brevet general; he fought at… Read More

This colonel was a diplomat and government official active in the International Railway Congress (made president of the Allied Railway Commission 1919) and served as a technical advisor to President Hoover for Austria; he's best known, though, as the assistant commissioner for the Chicago "Century of Progress International Exposition" under former Postmaster-General Harry S. New as commissioner. Large, bold "WB Causey / Asst. U.S. Commissioner / A Century of Progress / July 8/1934" in brown ink on a 4¼" X 2½" slip. Very good. Mildly age toned. A not-often-seen Century of Progess signature.

This Illinois businessman and Republican politician served three terms as a highy-regarded U.S. Senator (1967-85). Bold signature in blue fountain pen, heavy stock 5" X 3" card, n.p., n.y. Near fine. Percy signs at left, while a small (1¼" X 1 3/4") printed portrait of Percy has been affixed at right, making it in effect a signed photograph.

This Illinois attorney and politician served in Congress as a Democrat from 1875 to 1895, later serving as United States judge for the northern district of Indian Territory and as chief justice of the United States Court of Appeals of Indian Territory. Large, bold signature and "Springfield / Ill. / Aprill 18, 1878" on a 5" X 3" slip. Fine. A superb example, accompanied by a modern reproduction of a head-and-shoulders engraved portrait of a young Springer.

The powerful Republican senator from Illinois (1967-85) was often considered presidential timber. Bold signature in black ink (dated "2/26/68" in his hand at upper right) on a special heavy stock 5" X 3" card, n.p. Near fine. Single staple hole at upper left. Accompanied by a very good unsigned 8" X 10" glossy photograph, an informal closeupt of a smiling young Percy in suit and tie. (Signature at upper right is Autopen.) A nice example of a signature that's surprisingly uncommon, for Percy's office used the Autopen extensively -- this early example, though, signed soon after taking office and before Autopen use took over much of his routine signing and correspondence! With original transmittal envelope.

U.S. Grant's confidante and right-hand man John Rawlins (1831-69) was a fellow Galena, Illinois resident and served as his chief of staff throughout the Civil War and rose to the rank of brevet major general; Grant appointed him Secretary of War, but he served only six months before dying at age 38. His younger brother Lemmon (1834-95) was one of his many siblings. One of these dozen documents notes John Rawlins and three of them note Lemmon Rawlins -- as follows:. 1) DS in unknown hand (NOT Rawlins'), 8" X 12", 4pp lined lettersheet, Guilford, IL, 1857. Very good. Mild age toning, soiling and edgewear. New roads were being built in this remote rural area west of Galena and taxes were being assessed to land owners of Guilford. This document gives their name and property location. Opening statement records, "A list of the Lands in Road District No 4 in the Town of Guilford at Which a Road tax is assessed for the year AD 1858 by the Commissioners of Highways...." Four full pages of names follow with… Read More

Noted Chicago medical figure -- as Chicago's long-time coroner was the chief investigator into the St. Valentine's Day massacre (February 14, 1929) and was on the scene within a half hour of the slaughter; he later served as the president of the Chicago Board of Health. TLS, 1p, 8½" X 11", Chicago, IL, 1958 January 14. Addressed to Warren A. Reeder. Near fine. On Board of Health letterhead, Bundesen declines an invitation to speak before the Hammond (Indiana) Board of Realtors: "...we are so short of personnel in the Department and I have so many commitments, due to the pressure of time I will have to deprive myself of this privilege..." Large, full signature in blue ballpoint. Rather uncommon.