Lot 101
Fillmore, Millard. Autograph letter signed as the Whig nominee for Vice President, 1 page, 9¾ x 7¾ in., Albany, N.Y., Aug. 3, 1848. Light toning; soiling to verso of integral leaf. Fillmore, who was Comptroller of New York State when he received the nomination, writes to John Harris, thanking him for congratulations on Fillmore' vice presidential nomination. In part: "Please accept my grateful thanks for your kind congratulations at my nomination for the Vice Presidency. It was unlooked for at this time, though I had some faint hopes when you so generously volunteered for me in 1844. Be assured that kindness is not forgotten. The free soil question is giving us some trouble, but yet we are confident of carrying this state. Whigs will see that the only question is between [Democratic nominee] Cass & [Whig nominee] Taylor, and they will never throw away their votes to secure the election of Cass."
In the 1848 presidential election, former President Martin Van Buren ran as the candidate of the Free Soil Party, whose members were composed of anti-slavery members of the Whig and Democratic parties. Van Buren did not even carry his native New York but drew encough votes away from Lewis Cass to assure the victory of Zachary Taylor. After just sixteen months in office, Taylor died from cholera morbus, a gastrointestinal condition encountered where poor sanitation renders eating raw fruits and vegetables dangerous; Taylor had eaten a large bowl of cherries and drunk a pitcher of ice milk in Washington's July heat. Fillmore acceded to the presidency but was not chosen as his party's candidate in the presidential election of 1852.
Estimated Value $900 - 1,200.
Christie's New York, Oct 8, 1996, lot 510.
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| Realized $1,140 |
