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Lot 1000
Antique Vignette Broadside Signed By 21 Presidents. Presidential Vignette Broadside titled "The Presidents of the United States," picturing every American President from George Washington through Grover Cleveland and Signed by every President from Grover Cleveland through George W. Bush. This antique broadside, which is 22 inches in height and 28 inches in width, was copyrighted by Kurz & Allison in 1888. It features steel engravings of the first 23 Presidents, with Grover Cleveland in the center as the incumbent President. In each corner is a vignette of a battle from one of the wars in which the United States had been involved: "Bunker Hill - 1775" is at upper left; "Gettysburg - 1863" is at lower right; "New Orleans - 1815" is at upper right; and "Buena Vista - 1847" is at lower left.
What makes this piece unique is the fact that the 21 men who served as President of the United States from 1885 until the present have all signed it, some as President, some as ex-President. With George W. Bush's second term ending in 2009, the signatures will cover a span of 124 years. The signatures are along the lower margin and in the lower portion of the side margins, except for Grover Cleveland, who signed beneath his engraving. The broadside is lightly toned overall with minor dampstains in the upper margins; one small stain at lower edge lightly affects President Clinton's signature; otherwise, the broadside is in very good to fine condition.
We know that eleven men signed while in office, either because they dated their signatures or because they died in office. William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy all died in office, so we know that they signed as President, even though McKinley and Harding did not date their signatures. For those who did not date their signatures, we cannot determine whether they signed during their administrations or after leaving office. Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke during his second term (1919) and never functioned normally thereafter, making it probable that he signed as President. Ronald Reagan was the only man to sign as President -Elect.
The signatures are as follows:
Grover Cleveland signed and dated "1905" as ex-President, in brown fountain pen.
Benjamin Harrison signed, n.d., in brown fountain pen.
William McKinley signed as President, n.d. (c. 1897-1901), in blue fountain pen.
Theodore Roosevelt signed, n.d., in black fountain pen.
William H. Taft signed, n.d., in blue fountain pen.
Woodrow Wilson signed, probably as President, in blue fountain pen.
Warren G. Harding signed as President, c. 1921-23, in light blue fountain pen.
Calvin Coolidge signed, n.d., in pencil.
Herbert Hoover signed, n.d., in pencil.
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed as President and dated, "May 13 - 1940," in black fountain pen.
Harry S Truman, signed as ex-President and dated "1-8-68," in black ballpoint pen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower signed, n.d., in black ballpoint pen.
John F. Kennedy signed as President and dated "May 21, 1961," in blue ballpoint pen.
Lyndon B. Johnson signed as President and dated "Jan. 2, 1965," in pencil.
Richard Nixon signed as President and dated "1971," in black ballpoint pen.
Gerald R. Ford signed as President and dated "8-17-74," in black ballpoint pen.
Jimmy Carter signed as President and dated "3-11-79," in black ballpoint pen.
Ronald Reagan signed as President-Elect and dated "Jan. 10, 1981," in red pencil.
George H.W. Bush signed as President and dated "11-2-90," in red ballpoint pen.
Bill Clinton signed as President and dated "11/96," in blue ballpoint pen.
George W. Bush signed as President and dated "2001," in black ballpoint pen.
We have never heard of one item being signed by more than thirteen Presidents. This piece stands in a class by itself and can never be duplicated.
Estimated Value $300,000 - 350,000.
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