Antebellum Album of U.S. Senators & Congressmen Incl. VPs, Cabinet Members, Govs, Ministers, 260+ Signers: Cass, Chase, Douglas, Hamlin, King, Stephens, Stevens, Toombs, Yulee & More!

An autograph album containing the signatures of approximately 262 U.S. Senators and Congressmen, ca. 1830-1861, whose political terms mostly appear to coincide with the 29th - 34th U.S. Congresses (1845-1857). There are two dates found within the album, one 1843 (in the later pages) and one 1850 (page 13), but otherwise n.d. It may have belonged to one "Hugo Jackman" from Chicago, Illinois who signed his name on one of the later pages, otherwise n.p. The album consists of watermarked blue-lined inner pages, and leather covers with marbled pastedown endpapers. Expected wear to the binding including isolated surface wear and loss to the spine, and scuffed covers. Some of the inner pages are loose or detached, with scattered minor stains or ink smears. Else very good to near fine. The album measures about 6.375" x 7.875" x .75" overall.

The autograph album provides a remarkable picture of American political life on the cusp of the Civil War. The eventuality of such a catastrophic conflict--just a few years in the future--makes it especially poignant to see the signers/politicians from different geographical regions still working together in a national legislature.

Each signer typically includes his name and state, and in some cases his hometown or district, and very rarely, a date. The autographs appear in groups of 4-6 per page, with some exceptions. It is not known if the album was signed in accordance with political affiliation, or in order of seating arrangement in congressional chambers, if any. The album is organized into two sections, the first group being U.S. Senators, and the second group being U.S. Congressmen, with a small section of blank leaves separating the two sections for ease of reference. We found many notable names listed within of individuals who either had been, or soon would be, cabinet members, vice presidents, governors, and military officers, both Union and Confederate. But, who knows how many we missed! Definitely deserving of hours of further research.

The first part of the album is reserved for the signatures of U.S. Senators, of which we count 46 from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Some highlights of the U.S. Senators category include, in alphabetical order:

- John Bell, U.S. Secretary of War, as "Jno: Bell / of Tennessee" on page 6

- Lewis Cass, U.S. Secretary of State, as "Lewis Cass" on page 2

- Salmon P. Chase, U.S. Secretary of Treasury and Supreme Court Chief Justice, as "S.P. Chase / Ohio" on page 1

- Thomas Corwin, U.S. Secretary of Treasury, as "Tho Corwin / Lebanon / Ohio" on page 1

- Hannibal Hamlin, U.S. Vice President, U.S. Minister to Spain, and Governor of Maine, as "H. Hamlin / Maine" on page 3

- Robert M.T. Hunter, Confederate Secretary of State, as "R M T Hunter / Virginia" on page 4

- William R. King, U.S. Vice President, as "William R. King / of Alabama" on page 1

With U.S. Senators of other historical importance being, in alphabetical order:

- Roger Sherman Baldwin, Governor of Connecticut, as "Roger Sherman Baldwin / of Connecticut" on page 8

- Thomas Hart Benton, U.S. Senator from Missouri from 1821-1851, as "Thomas H. Benton / U.S. Senate / Mri." on page 3

- Andrew P. Butler, co-author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, as "A.P. Butler / of South Carolina" on page 4

- James Cooper, Union General, as "James Cooper / Penna." on page 5

- William L. Dayton, U.S. Minister to France, as "Wm. L. Dayton / Trenton, N. Jersey" on page 7

- Augustus Dodge, U.S. Ambassador to Spain, as "A.C. Dodge / Iowa" on page 8

- Henry Dodge, Governor of Wisconsin Territory, as "Henry Dodge / Wisconsin" on page 2

- Stephen A. Douglas, who defeated Abraham Lincoln for Senator, as " S.A. Douglas / Chicago / Illinois" on page 6

- Alpheus Felch, Governor of Michigan, as "Alpheus Felch / Michigan" on page 2

- Henry S. Foote, Governor of Mississippi, as "HS Foote / Miss" on page 7

- John P. Hale, U.S. Minister to Spain, as "John P. Hale / Dover N.H." on page 8

- George W. Jones, U.S. Minister to New Grenada, as "Geo. W. Jones / S.U.S. / Dubuque / Iowa" on page 1

- Thomas G. Pratt, Governor of Maryland, as "Thomas G. Pratt / Maryland" on page 1

- Pierre Soulé, U.S. Minister to Spain, as "Pierre Soulé" on page 7

- James Whitcomb, Indiana Governor, as "Jas. Whitcomb / Indiana" on page 2

- David Levy Yulee, the first elected U.S. Senator of Jewish ancestry, as "D.L. Yulee / Florida" on page 3

The second section contains the autographs of 216 U.S. Congressmen from Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Featured signers among the U.S. Congressmen include:

- Albert Gallatin Brown, Governor of Mississippi, Confederate Senator from Mississippi, page 28

- Howell Cobb, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of Georgia, President of Provisional Confederate States Congress, page 9

- Winfield S. Featherston, Confederate Brigadier General, page 32

- Isham G. Harris, Governor of Tennessee, page 15

- David S. Kaufman, 1st U.S. Congressman from Texas from 1846-1851, page 24

- Humphrey Marshall, Confederate Brigadier General, U.S. Minister to Qing Empire, page 31

- Lafayette McMullen, Governor of Washington Territory, page 49

- Charles S. Morehead, Governor of Kentucky, page 30

- James Lawrence Orr, Governor of South Carolina, Confederate Senator from South Carolina, U.S. Ambassador to Russia, page 24

- Frederick P. Stanton, Acting Governor of Kansas Territory, page 33

- Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of Confederacy from 1862-1865, Governor of Georgia, page 35

- Thaddeus Stevens, the well-known Radical Republican, page 40

- Robert Toombs, Confederate Secretary of State, page 53

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.

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