Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 18

Political & Judicial Leaders

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1291		Dawes, Charles G (1865-1951) Vice president under Calvin Coolidge; ambassador to Great Britain; winner of Nobel Peace Prize. Sepia-toned Photograph Inscribed and Signed "For my friend Jesse Lasky Jr from Charles G. Dawes Apr 17th 1928," as Vice President, in the lower border, 10" x 8". A dignified waist-up portrait by Eugene L Ray, Evanston, Ill. Mounted to board; some silvering at lower edges; otherwise, very fine. Also, a Photograph Signed in the narrow lower border, 8" x 10", n.p., n.d. The three-quarter portrait shows Dawes conversing with movie producer Adolph Zukor with Union leader Samuel Gompers and others in the background. Light soiling to borders; lower left tip is missing, else fine. Estimated Value $300 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1292		Stanton, Edwin (1814-69) Attorney General under Buchanan; Secretary of War under Lincoln and Johnson. On February 21, 1868, President Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who disagreed with Johnson's conciliatory policies toward the South. Stanton refused to accept the dismissal and eventually barricaded himself in the War Department, claiming job protection under the Tenure of Office Act, which had been voted into law in 1867 over Johnson's veto. The act stated that the President may not dismiss certain publicly elected officers without the consent of the Senate; Stanton had been appointed, not elected, but this was a moot point. Radical Republicans, led by Thaddeus Stevens, used Stanton's dismissal as the impetus for impeachment proceedings against Johnson, which began on March 30, 1868. Stanton remained barricaded until May 16, when the Senate voted against the President's removal. Stanton then resigned his office and returned to private practice. Part of the struggle between Congress and the President swirled around General Ulysses S. Grant's stewardship of southern pacification in Georgia, Louisiana, and elsewhere. The President wanted no such military overseeing governing constellation, preferring to restrict the powers of the military commanders in favor of state personnel. Stanton and the Congress believed that the Legislature and not the President was legally empowered to control the military administration of the South. The issue was to be joined in the Supreme Court. Our letter catches Stanton in the process of engaging a lawyer to defend Grant's and the Congress' position before the Supreme Court. Autograph Letter Signed as Secretary of War, three days after his dismissal by President Johnson, one page, quarto, Washington City, February 24, 1968. Written on War Department letterhead to Wayne McVeigh, Esq. In full: "Sir I desire to retain and employ your legal services for the United States in a threatened suit to be brought in the name of the state of Georgia very scarce. General Grant…in the Supreme Court of the United States, and a reasonable compensation for your retainer will be paid by this Department. Yours truly Edwin M. Stanton Secretary of War." There are a couple of contemporary ink smears in the text; otherwise, boldly penned and signed and in fine condition. Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,850. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $805
Lot 1293		Cabinet Officers. A huge collection of over 450 calling cards from U.S. Cabinet officers--too many to list the names. Many are signed, and there are numerous multiples. They include: approximately 40 cards from Secretaries of War or Defense, 60 from Secretaries of the Navy, 40 from Secretaries of State, 60 from Secretaries of the Treasury, 60 from the Department of the Interior, 50 from Postmasters General, 20 from Secretaries of Commerce or Labor, 24 from Agriculture, 30 from the Department of Justice; also, a group of 70 ambassadors, presidential advisors, assistants, under secretaries, etc. Most cards are toned with some soiling; some have glue remnants on verso. Condition varies from fair to fine. This lot absolutely should be seen in person. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $661
Lot 1294		Claire Boothe Luce (1903-1987) Ambassador, Playwright, Congresswoman. Two Cards Signed ("Claire"), one with an Autograph Note, the other with an Autograph Sentiment, small octavo, n.p., n.d. Both are addressed to "Phylliss." In the first, Luce thanks her friend for a key ring, and adds, "I have as many doors that need and use keys in this house as a medieval chatelaine…" and adds New Year's wishes. The second card contains Christmas wishes to Phyliss and her family. Both items very fine. Very Fine. Estimated Value $250 - 300. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1295		The Burger Court. Black and white Photograph Signed by all nine members: ("Thurgood Marshall," "Wm J. Brennan Jr," "Warren E. Burger," "Byron White," "Sandra O'Connor," "John Paul Stevens," "Lewis F. Powell Jr.," "William H. Rehnquist," and "Harry A. Blackmun," c. 1981, 8" x 10". Chief Justice Burger sits in the center of the front row, surrounded by the other justices, all of whom are dressed in their judicial robes. The signatures are all in black or blue ink, boldly signed except for John Paul Jones, whose signature is a little sketchy. Extremely fine. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $750 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,035
Lot 1296		Holmes, Oliver Wendell (1841-1935) Associate justice, U.S. Supreme (1902-32), known for vigorous, lucid arguments, often in dissent; he promulgated the "clear and present danger" test for freedom of speech; author of The Common Law (1881). Scarce Autograph Quotation Signed, on a 3 x 5¼ in. card, no place, June 12, 1901. Written as chief justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts, in recognition of American Revolutionary War patriots, and especially of the contributions of John Marshall, who was the principal founder of the American system of constitutional law and chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1801-35. The quotation undoubtedly rings with special resonance today, but when the words were uttered, they may have been in response to a contemporary story of questionable accuracy: It was said that some protesting strikers had wrapped a baby in an American flag and threatened to place it on railroad tracks in front of an approaching train. "The flag is but a bit of bunting to one who insists on prose. Yet, thanks to Marshall and to the men of his generation - and for this above all we celebrate him and them - its red is our life-blood, its stars our world, its blue our heaven. It owns our land. At will it throws away our lives. Oliver Wendell Holmes / June 12, 1901." Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1297		Supreme Court Justices. A collection of approximately 130 calling cards from Supreme Court Justices, many signed and many in multiples: Included are: Potter Stewart (13), John Paul Stevens (34), Earl Warren (2), John M. Harlan (4), William J. Brennan, Jr. (12), Charles E. Hughes (5), Owen J. Roberts (2), Pierce Butler, Wiley Rutledge, Joseph P. Bradley, Abe Fortas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Byron R. White (4), Harry A. Blackmun (3), Thurgood Marshall (2), Sandra Day O'Connor, Hugo L. Black (3), Stanley Reed (5), Harold A. Burton (2), Lewis F. Powell (4), Stephen J. Field (3) Melville W. Fuller (9), George Sutherland (2), Joseph McKenna (5), Louis Nizer, William H. Rehnquist (3), Sherman Minton (2), Edward D. White (2), Noah H. Swayne, Charles E. Whittaker, and Benjamin Mendozo. Condition ranges from fair to fine. Should be seen. Estimated Value $500 - 750. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $575
Lot 1298		Governors, Senators, Members of Congress. A huge collection of approximately 600 business cards, most of them signed, by U.S. governors, senators, members of Congress, American diplomats, and some prominent businessmen. Most are 20th century; several have multiples. Among the 385 governors, who often signed on cards embossed with their state seal, or Executive Mansion cards, are: William B. Sprague (also a Civil War general), Fiorello LaGuardia, Thomas Dewey, Afred Smith, Herbert Lehman, Averell Harriman, Mario Cuomo, John Sherman, Jimmie H. Davis, Adlai Stevenson, Bruce Babbit, Edmund Brown, Harry Byrd, and Spiro Agnew. Among the group of approximately 100 senators are J. William Fulbright, Margaret Chase Smith, Eugene McCarthy, Albert Gore (Sr.), Estes Kefauver, Dan Rostenkowski, Bob Dole, and Chauncey Depew. Members of Congress include Geraldine Ferraro, Clare Boothe Luce, John Bell, Tip O'Neill, and Wilbur Mills. A group of 15 mayors includes Fernando Wood (Civil War mayor of NY), Richard Daley, and James J. Walker. Other famous names are Nobel Prize winners Ralph J. Bunche and Frank B. Kellogg, and William Randolph Hearst. Some of the older cards are toned; a few have pasting remnants on verso. Condition ranges from fair to extremely fine. Should be seen. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $575
Lot 1299		Politicians. Nine photographs signed and inscribed to Gerry Burg, all 8" x 10" except one. They include Jesse Jackson (in earlier days, with an Afro), former Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley (2), former New York mayor John Lindsay, the late perpetual presidential candidate Pat Paulsen, two of former Georgia governor Lester Maddox (strange bedfellows!), and two Los Angeles local officials. All fine or better. Estimated Value $100 - 200. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold