October 2017 Auction Ends Thursday, October 26th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/26/2017
Lucretia Garfield lot of signed items, both before and after her brief tenure as First Lady, as President Garfield was assassinated six months into his time as President. Lot includes (1) List of school supplies signed ''Mrs. Garfield'', written sometime between her November 1858 marriage and the July 1860 birth of her first child. Mrs. Garfield became one of the earliest presidential spouses to continue working after her wedding, in her case as a school teacher. Single page measures 5'' x 7.25''. Archival tape on verso, overall very good condition; (2) Autograph letter signed ''Lucretia R. Garfield'', dated 14 June 1880, six days after her husband was named the Republican nominee for President. In part, ''Many thanks...for your kind congratulation. To be remembered by our friends is better than any honor that place can give.'' Measures 4.5'' x 7''. Folds, else near fine; (3) Check signed ''Lucretia R. Garfield'', from what looks to be 1887. By this time, Mrs. Garfield had become a wealthy woman, with an income from an annual $5,000 presidential widow's pension and a $360,000 trust fund raised by industrialist Cyrus Field to cover the education of her five children. Measures 7.25'' x 3'' in very good condition; (4) Poignant autograph letter signed ''Lucretia R. Garfield'' reflecting upon her husband's death and her children: ''...so you see I no longer have children, but young men; and in their growth and development I find happiness, and in their lives sweet companionship. Through them their Father speaks to me again, and together we share the precious memories left to us. Does not life grow richer as the years go on? Even our losses link us to the great unknown, and lead us into wider fields, and to nobler thoughts...'' Four page letter on black-bordered, monogrammed card-style stationery measures 4'' x 6.25''. Tape remnants and single fold; overall in very good condition.
First Lady Lucretia Garfield Lot of Signed items -- Two Autograph Letters Signed, Check Signed & Signed List of School Supplies -- ''...Through them their Father speaks to me again...''
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