American Historical Ephemera & Photography

An interesting array of letters spanning the 19th-century, including:

GRISWOLD, Nathaniel Lynde (1773-1846) and George (1777-1859). Copy of letter signed ("N.L. & G. Griswold") to a Captain Smith. New York, 7 April 1812. 1p, 8 x 10 in. Docketed on verso "Copy of Instruction to Captain Smith."  The letter details instructions related to the cargo, bill of lading, and crew. The interesting postscript at bottom reads: "You must sail immediately after getting the men..., do not delay one moment getting off the coast as there will be Cruisers after you." The house of N.L. & G. Griswold was well-known in the early 1800s for its shipping business including importation of sugar and rum. They later expanded into the China Trade.

A draft copy of a letter by unidentified author "To the Board of Supervising / Inspector of Steamboats." 7pp (appears to be incomplete), 5 x 8 in. (adhesive repairs, folds). Written in the wake of the burning of the sidewheel steamer Stonewall at Neely's Landing, Missouri, the letter proposes a "new life-saving apparatus" known as the "passenger pocket companion." The author, who is the inventor of the apparatus, then continues to describe the invention.

REYNOLDS, Robert J. (1838-1909). Letter signed ("Robert J Reynolds") as Governor of the State of Delaware. Addressed to William F. Gilchrest. Dover, Delaware, 23 October 1893. 1p, approx. 8 1/2 x 11 in. (toning, scattered pencil marks, creasing). Reynolds responds to Gilchrest's inquiry regarding the custom of setting apart "a particular day for prayer and giving thanks," indicating this is a custom which he thinks should be discarded. "Originally it was doubtless a commendable intent but our people have drifted so far away from this and geting [sic] further away each passing year until it has really become a day of feasting and frolic."

[With:] SEARS, 1st Lieutenant Clinton B. (1844-1912). Autograph letter signed ("Clinton B. Sears") as 1st Lieutenant Engineers. Addressed to William Morris Esquire. West Point, New York. 5 September 1869. 2pp, 7 3/4 x 10 in. (scattered spotting, some tears along folds, toning). Sears, a, 1867 graduate of West Point, discusses the sale of a horse.

[Also with:] WHETHAM, Arthur (c 1783-1853). Letter signed ("A. Whetham") as Major General in the British Army. Portsmouth [England], 5 April 1811. Whetham reports that the Commissioners for the Affairs of Barracks have ordered the Barracks at Radipole to be painted. -- A letter from "Maria Dominguez," in Spanish, 12 February 1816, addressed to Juan Laborde. -- Additional documents including an 1841 letter to the Secretary of the Navy, an 1827 letter signed by Maryland inventor George Fleming, and 5 other documents.

Together, 13 items.