Autographs
Autograph by VP Andrew Johnson With His 2nd Signature
ANDREW JOHNSON (1808-1875). Seventeenth President of the United States (1865-1869).
Scarce Autograph Note Signed, “Andrew Johnson” (Twice) as Vice-President, in pencil, with a 2nd Additional Large Bold Brown Ink Signature on the opposite side, measuring 2” x 4.5”, Crisp Very Fine. Here, Johnson responds to a request for President Lincoln's autograph! He writes on one side, in pencil:

“I regret that I cannot furnish you with the autograph of President Lincoln. -- Andrew Johnson.” Signature measures 3.5” long. Additionally, Signed in vivid deep bold brown ink upon the verso 180 degree opposite, “Andrew Johnson --- Greenville -- Tenn.”

As part of the plot to Assassinate President Lincoln in April 1865, co-conspirator George Atzerodt was assigned the task of murdering Vice President Andrew Johnson. He stalked Johnson for a time, but his courage failed at the last minute. Johnson, awakened from a sound sleep and told that Lincoln had been shot, rushed to Lincoln's bedside to see for himself that he was beyond recovery. On the morning of April 15, 1865, Johnson was sworn in as President by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, at the Kirkwood House at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, where he had been residing. Andrew Johnson thus became the first Vice President to succeed to the U.S. Presidency upon the assassination of a President, and only the third to succeed upon the death of a President.

Actual original Hand Signed signatures by Johnson are rare. Most of his signatures were stamped with a steel-engraved facsimile signature. That became necessary after he sustained an injury to his right arm in a Georgia railroad accident in early 1857. In that accident, Johnson's right arm was crushed, and his right elbow was dislocated. He traveled to Nashville, where four surgeons worked to repair the arm, resetting it. However, it never healed properly (due to its having been reset in a swollen condition), and he had to have it broken again - unsuccessfully. The arm continued to give him trouble throughout his Presidency and for the rest of his life.
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was 17th President of the U.S. (1865-1869). He was Vice President (March-April, 1865) under Abraham Lincoln, succeeding to the Presidency on Lincoln's death by assassination on April 14, 1865. Sworn in on April 15, 1865.

Previous to his Presidency, was a Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1835-37, 1839-41), Tennessee State Senator (1841-43), and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1843-53). Also served as Governor of Tennessee (1853-57), U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1857-62), and Military Governor of Tennessee (March 4, 1862 - March 3, 1865).

During his administration, Alaska was purchased from Russia (1867). Differences between Congress and the President with regard to reconstruction policies led to Impeachment proceedings (l 868). However, the vote for Impeachment did not carry (May, 1868). After his Presidency, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate (1869) and for the U.S. House of Representatives (1872), then served again as a U.S. Senator (1875).