Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 30

Manuscript and Collectibles Auction

U.S. Presidents' Wives

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1078		Coolidge, Grace (1879-1957) First Lady. Typed Letter Signed on personal stationery, Northampton, Massachusetts, February 2, 1938, 1 p., 8½ x 6 in. Regretting that she has no autographs of President Coolidge to sent. In part: "… there have been none available since his death. The only signatures which I have were those attached to personal letters and, naturally, I do not care to part with any of those." One paper clip mark at top center, else fine. Estimated Value $150 - 200. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1079		Eisenhower, Mamie Doud (1896-1979) First Lady. Photograph Signed and Inscribed, "For Rosalind Russel 'Auntie Mame' with my affectionate regard. Mamie Doud Eisenhower," as First Lady, on the lower mount (New York, mid 1050s), 13¼ x 10¾ inches (image is 9½ x 7¾ in.). The First Lady, wearing a bracelet with a large "IKE" charm, visits backstage with actress Rosalind Russell, who was starring in the hit, "Auntie Mame." A charming photograph. Estimated Value $150 - 200. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $86
Lot 1080		Eisenhower, Mamie Doud (1896-1979) First Lady. Autograph Letter Signed on "President's House / Columbia University" stationery, New York, November 4, 1950, 3 pp. octavo. A chatty letter to Mrs. Robert (Polly) Guggenheim in Washington, D.C. thanking her for a wonderful visit. "We are distressed that the 'shoot' has to be postponed due to our unsettled life…." With transmittal envelope. Very fine. Estimated Value $100 - 150. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1081		Harrison, Anna Tuthill Symmes (1775-1864) First Lady (1841); the only woman to be wife of one President (William Henry Harrison) and grandmother of another (Benjamin Harrison). She never occupied the White House because she had remained in Ohio to pack; her husband died 31 days after taking office. Autograph Letter Signed ("A. Harrison") as a widow, Northland, Dec. 27, 1844, 2pp. quarto (joined). Free franked ("Anna Harrison") on the address leaf. Three years after President Harrison's death, she writes to her cousin, Mrs. Phebe R. Reeve, on Long Island, N.Y. A personal letter, discussing family and friends and asking that her cousin write soon. In part: "I will send you an autograph of my dear husband….I have to cut them out of Books, having been obliged too often for them….I have had applications from almost, & I do not know but from every part of the nation for them….I carry on the business of my farm, with the assistance of my son, he lives five miles from me….Oh how good was God to spare me one son to be a comfort to me in my old age…." Boldly penned and signed. Address panel bears a manuscript "29" beside the red "WASH DC" stamped postmark. Partial fold separations; negligible paper loss from seal tear; overall light wear. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from the late autograph expert Charles Hamilton. Of the Harrison's ten children, only John Scott Harrison, father of future president Benjamin Harrison, was alive at the time of this letter. Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,200
Lot 1082		Lincoln, Mary Todd (1818-1882) Wife of President Abraham Lincoln. Autograph Letter Signed twice "M.L.," once at the end of the letter, the last paragraph of which is written over page 1, and after a postscript written over page 2, on mourning-bordered stationery, St. Charles (Illinois), Nov. 14 (1871), 4 pp+ (2 sheets) octavo. A grief-filled, emotional letter written a few months after the death of Tad (Thomas) on July 15, 1871, to Mrs. Lincoln's good friend Rhoda White, wife of an immigrant Irishman who had risen to become a justice of the New York Superior Court. Mrs. White, who had lost several children and her husband by this time, was a great source of help and advice to Mrs. Lincoln. According to Justin G. Turner and Linda Levitt Turner in Mary Todd Lincoln, Her Life and Letters, "Letters written by Mary Lincoln in the period between 1871 and 1876 are today the rarest of items." Linda Turner, in a 3 page typed letter written in 1973 (copy included) specifically discussing this letter, notes: "This letter is particularly valuable.There are no more than a dozen known letters written by Mrs. Lincoln between the time of Tad's death and her last trip to Europe following her release from the sanitarium at Batavis in 1875. Interestingly enough, though it bears evidence of deep grief, it is not the letter of a mentally ill person." An exceptional letter, in fine condition. In full: St. Charles / Nov. 14th / My Dear Mrs. White: Many thanks for your kind attention, regarding the steamer. I feel that there is no end, to the trouble, I give you, dear, dear friend. In consideration of the bad feeling in the South towards the North & the eve of a Presidential election pending, with the name of Lincoln, I scarcely think it would be safe to venture. So for the present, I decline the trip. The truth I am so wretched in my mind, so utterly cast down by my fearful bereavement, I have not the energy left to do anything. My friends have thought, change of scene might benefit, but it will only be the final & great change, that restores me to my idolised ones, that will ever cause me to be myself again. Just as I had in a measure returned to my natural cheerfulness - with a worshipped son, by my side, who could not bear me out of his sight when I was feeling that once more, I had something to live for, who was my pride, my fond delight, to have this precious one, snatched from my arms. I sometimes think that the glories of the Hereafter will scarcely compensate, for the sorrows of this life - yet I soften, when I think of the blessed reunion. Lovingly, your friend. M.L. Please address me care of my son - 16 Congress St. Chicago. M.L. Estimated Value $5,000 - 10,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $6,325
Lot 1083		Taft, Helen Herron (1861-1943) First Lady. Postal Cover Free Franked "Helen H. Taft / Free" in black ink in upper right corner, postmarked Charleston, S.C., April 9, 1936. The envelope is addressed in another hand to W. Sproule Boyd in New York. Fine condition. Estimated Value $100 - 150. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $138