(1839-1902) Influential Speaker of the House of Representatives who authored the 'Reed Rules' which thwarted Democratic efforts to filibuster by not responding to roll call. A staunch anti-imperialist, he resigned at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Important grouping of 21 letters, mainly A.L.S.s dating between 1868 and 1902 to his confidant Judge Nathaniel Webb of Portland, Maine, writing on various political subjects as well as personal business matters. In small part: '[Feb. 4, 1878]...Keep that Attorneyship. You will embarrass everybody by continuing your refusal. Nobody knows where it will light if you do not stay...I want this letter to be strictly between us - The whole delegation feels as I do & know...talk with the President, Mr. Hamlin said he thought you would be the man...'. In several letters in 1880 and 1881, Reed writes Webb who then is acting as his council in a hotly-disputed election in which he narrowly defeated a Democratic-Greenback fusion candidate in 1880. In 1881 he was also considered for Speaker after his able performances rooting out cases of fraud in the Hays-Tilden election of 1876. On Feb. 19, 1881, he writes: '...I do not know whether the speakership is for me or not but it certainly looks so now...nevertheless there are many chances of failure...'. In another letter he confides to Webb: '[Mar. 24, 1884]...People listen to me when I speak and follow when I vote...all this is not unpleasant especially as I act myself and never turn aside to gain favor. On the other hand, I am a poor politician, have likes and dislikes and show them, and leave so little real interest in the stakes on the table that I hardly care who gets the money. Now to be real success here...one should play with people as with chess men. I keep looking at them like flesh and blood. Which is a mistake - Nevertheless I am thought to be cold blooded as anybody...[Apr. 7, 1884]...Our Docket is so frightful and we have so little power to act under our rules that I am much afraid we cannot get at the Senate Bill but I shall use very reasonable endeavor to aid its passage, but you have no idea of the frightfulness of the Rules. I have been thinking all the evening of the need of change and my duty to write a Magazine Article on the foolishness...Probably the only way to get a change would be to make a popular outcry against them or to have Sam Randall die...'. A very interesting grouping in very good condition, certainly worthy of further research.