Lot 180
Lee, Robert E. - Autograph Letter Signed as President of Washington College. Two separate pages, 9¾ x 7¾", Lexington (Virginia), Dec. 23, 1868. To H.I. Furber, Vice President of the Universal Life Insurance Company, declining an offer to establish a branch of the company in Richmond. In part: "…The proper attention to the business of the Company, the investment of its funds accruing from Southern business, subjects altogether new to me, would require more time than I could devote to it in my present position, and I am unwilling to undertake what I do not feel confident I could properly perform. I consider Life Insurance trusts the most sacred of all deposits. To risk the loss of the property of the dead confided to your care, & which has been accumulated by the labour & self denial of the father & husband for the maintenance of their bereaved families, is the worst of all crimes….I therefore feel constrained respectfully to decline your offer…."
Fine condition. Beautifully scripted and signed by the legendary Confederate general. Part of General Lee's legend is based on the fact that although impoverished after the war, he maintained his integrity and turned down many offers which would have exploited his name and made him wealthy. Estimate Value $3,000 - 5,000
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| Realized $2,750 |
