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James Fenimore Cooper

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,500.00 USD
James Fenimore Cooper

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Auction Date:2017 Oct 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Terrific ALS signed “J. Fenimore Cooper,” one page, 7.75 x 8.25, October 16, 1840. Written aboard the U.S.S. Macedonia off the Battery of New York, a letter to his publishers, Lea and Blanchard of Philadelphia, in full: "I sail for New York to-morrow in this ship. We shall probably get in on Monday, and I hope to be in Philadelphia by the 20th, when I wish to finish printing Mercedes, without delay. I write that the printers may be in readiness, as I desire to return home by the 3d prox. In order to assist in making Martin Van Buren, President of the U. States of America." The letter has been tipped into a slightly larger sheet, with the original mailing envelope, addressed in Cooper's own hand, professionally inlaid behind the letter. In fine condition, with light toning and trimmed edges. Written while aboard the Macedonian, an active 36-gun Navy frigate assigned to the West Indies, this letter relates to both Cooper's naval past and his prolific career as a writer. Cooper had served in the Navy and dedicated much of his life to recording its history; the year prior he published his History of the Navy of the United States of America and a book on the USS Constitution, and a few months prior to writing this letter, Cooper published the final installment of his Leatherstockings series, The Pathfinder. Mercedes of Castile, the book Cooper references, tells the story of Christopher Columbus as he prepares to journey westward. In spite of Cooper's campaigning, William Henry Harrison proved victorious in the 1840 presidential election. An exceptionally content-rich missive.