American Historical Ephemera & Photography Online

7 13/16 x 10 7/16 in., creasing, with some repaired separations to creases and small holes to crease intersections, toning. On "No. 233 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia" letterhead. 

In part: "I have your note in relation to the Expedition, and do not suppose it is necessary for you to go down before Friday night. When you go, you can draw on me for the $4000=, making two drafts, one on your own account, and one on a/c of James P. Scott's subscription. You are mistaken about the purchase of land. No land has been purchased, simply land certificates of the State of Texas, that will be located by the Expedition..."

[With:] 3 13/16 x 5 3/8 in. albumen photograph mounted on paper (toning, spotting, wear to edges and corners). N.p., ca 1872. Pencil inscription beneath image reads, "1872 [indecipherable] Texas & Mexico." Unknown subject (possibly Scott, though not a strong resemblance to known portraits) sits on a studio prop rock before a painted landscape backdrop, wearing tall boots and holding a hat down between his legs. 

Thomas A. Scott was appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary of War at the outset of the Civil War, and owing to his prior work and expertise in railroads, he was tasked with building a railroad through Washington, DC. After the war, he continued to be influential in politics during Reconstruction by developing the "Scott Plan," which became part of the famous Compromise of 1877 settling the 1876 election. He also served as the 4th president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, from 1874 to 1880 (during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, for which he was labelled a "robber baron").