Auction Date:2010 Dec 08 @ 19:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, 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
Extremely rare partly-printed DS as president, one page, 18.75 x 15, May 20, 1881. President Garfield appoints Stewart L. Woodford of New York “Attorney of the United States in & for the Southern District of New York.” Boldly signed at the conclusion by Garfield, and countersigned by Secretary of State James Blaine. In fine condition, with several moderate intersecting folds, one slightly affecting Garfield’s middle initial, a hint of toning at the extreme edges, scattered light creases, and light show-through from a red seal and clerk’s endorsement on the reverse confirming that the oath of office for Woodford had been filed. The white paper seal is intact and the document also bears a Department of Justice stamp to top left.
This incredibly scarce document dates to Garfield’s brief time in office—and relates to the historically important and infamous appointment of Woodford. During his tenure in the White House, the president was faced with an evenly split US Senate and a Republican Party further splintered into two separate groups—which devolved into a combative politic scene involving patronage and political appointments. In a meeting with Senator Roscoe Conkling, the head of one GOP faction, Garfield said he would reward those New Yorkers who helped nominate him with certain positions—a political reality the senator accepted. This specific presidential appointment of Woodford, however, irritated Blaine, who threatened to resign. Following a dizzying array of wrangling, Garfield withdrew nearly all of his nominations—but obviously acquiesced on Woodford. Woodford would later serve as colonel of the 103rd Colored Infantry and several years after this appointment left his post as Minister of Spain on the day Spain severed ties with the US, leading to America’s declaration of war on the nation. In that position, Woodford had tried to end a colonial war in Cuba. Ironically, Charles J. Guiteau, a disgruntled and unsuccessful patrongage-seeker, murdered the president over the topic of appointments less than two months after this document was signed.
Auction Location:
5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
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