Lot 234
1850 31st U.S. Congress Signatures. Two autograph books featuring 290 signatures from members of the landmark 31st Congress of the United States. Notable for the debate and passage of the Compromise of 1850, the first session of the Congress served for an unprecedented 10 months without a recess. An outstanding gathering of legislators from North and South, members (whose signatures appear here) included David R. Atchison (President for one day), James Buchanan, Jefferson Davis, Hannibal Hamlin, Stephen A. Douglas, Thaddeus Stevens, Horace Mann, Daniel Webster, Eldridge G. Spaulding, Andrew Johnson and among the signatures are several other gentlemen who became famous because of their involvement in the Civil War -- Confederate Generals Nathan Evans and Robert Toombs, Union General Edward Dickinson Baker, William Ashe (blockade runner) and Thomas Bocock (Confederate politician) among others. The Webster and Buchanan signatures have been clipped and are loose, the remainder appear in the books. There is scattered foxing and surface soil, the most notable flaws to the lot include age wear to the volumes themselves, there is some spine separation and the front cover of one album is loose (along with a handful of pages). Signature condition is good to very good, volume condition is fair to good.
This lot is accompanied by a folio size printed page with a seating chart of the 31st Congress House of Representatives Hall. A great piece, names and addressses are printed under the diagram. This lot in total provides a unique opportunity for the Congressional collector or scholar.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 6,000.
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| Realized $4,485 |
