LETTER WRITTEN ON BEHALF OF PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON DECLINING A DINNER INVITATION JUST ONE MONTH AFTER HE SURVIVED IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: “I LOVE GREATLY TO PAY TRIBUTE TO A SELF MADE MAN – A SELF MADE MAN MYSELF HAVING RISEN FROM THE POSITION OF AN ALDERMAN IN MY NATIVE VILLAGE THROUGH THE VARIOUS GRADES OF STATE LEGISLATOR GOVERNOR OF MY NATIVE STATE, REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS, SENATOR, VICE PRESIDENT TO THE HUMBLE POSITION I NOW HOLD AS PRESIDENT OF A GREAT AND GLORIOUS REPUBLIC”

ANDREW JOHNSON (1808-1875). Johnson was the Seventeenth President.

Letter. 2 pg. 8” x 10”. July 28. 1868. Washington, D.C. A letter written on behalf of “A. Johnson” to “Gentlemen” declining an invitation to a banquet celebrating the birthday of a mutual friend.  As Johnson disdained handwriting, this is in the handwriting of a secretary.  In giving the reason for declining the invitation, President Johnson cites “I regret exceedingly that my labors on behalf of an imperiled constitution will deprive me of the pleasure of paying due honors to your distinguished guest”. For Johnson, going to the banquet would be gratifying since he and the guest are self-made men: “I love greatly to pay tribute to a self made man – a self made man myself having risen from the position of an alderman in my native village through the various grades of state legislator Governor of my native state, representatives in Congress, Senator, Vice President to the humble position I now hold as President of a great and glorious republic…Permit me to thank you gentlemen, for your kind invitation and the opportunity it thus affords me to pay my humble tribute to a self-man made”. Johnson then concludes the letter by returning to his theme of an imperiled country: “Believe me, that pressing official duties alone prevent me from meeting around your festive band and raising my humble voice in offering a toast to that sacred and much violated instrument, the great work of our revolution of sires, a record which we are all bound to love and obey – the Constitution”. That year, President Johnson survived removal by the United States Senate by one vote over violations of the Tenure of Office Act, the culmination of a running feud with Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction and civil rights for blacks. A list of the gentlemen addressed in the letter is given on the left side of the first page. The letter is in fine condition and an excellent example of Andrew Johnson’s mindset.

A BRIEF HANDWRITTEN NOTE BY ANDREW JOHNSON

 
ANDREW JOHNSON (1808-1875). Johnson was the Seventeenth President of the United States, attaining the position after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Johnson was a controversial President due to his Reconstruction-era policies, and he escaped impeachment by the narrow margin of a single vote.

 
ADS. 1pg. 6 ½” x 2 ½”. No date. No place.  An autograph document signed “Andrew Johnson” probably from his pre-Presidential days.  He wrote on a small slip of paper: Will Col  Edwards have this man replied to, and much Andrew Johnson”.  Johnson is one of the rarest Presidents in fully handwritten materials, such as this.  There is a small remnant of a wax seal at the bottom center and it is in fine condition overall with dark ink.

PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON ENDORSES A CHECK RELATED TO LOANS MADE WHEN HE WAS MILITARY GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE IN 1862; IT HAS RARE PRESIDENTIAL HANDWRITING

ANDREW JOHNSON (1808-1875).  Johnson was the Seventeenth President, becoming President upon Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.  He was also the first President impeached.

DS. 2pg. 3 3/8” x 8”. October 31, 1866. Washington, DC.  A partly printed check endorsed “Executive Mansion Nov 5^th 1866 Please pay first National Bank Andrew Johnson” on the back.  The front of the check is signed by Michael Burns, a Tennessee businessman and politician.  It is from Nashville, dated October 31, 1866, and was for the stunning amount of $14,600, payable to Dempsey Weaver.  The money was most likely for loans Johnson made when Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862.  This was signed just days before the 1866 Congressional midterm elections that affected the direction of Reconstruction.  There is a tax stamp, vignettes, a cancellation cut and light creasing.  Johnson handwritten materials as President, of any sort, is extremely rare.  While there are some Johnson Presidential checks on the market, I’ve never seen this format before.

THE 1968 FEDERAL BUDGET BOOK SIGNED BY LBJ AS PRESIDENT

LYNDON B. JOHNSON (1908-1973). Johnson served as the 36^th President.

Signed book. 475 pages. 1967. Washington. The 1968 budget signed “Lyndon B. Johnson” as President. Officially entitled The Budget of the United States Government For The Fiscal Year Ending June 30 1968 and published by the Government Printing Office, the budget is bound in three-quarter green leather with marbled-paper sides.  President Johnson signs his name on page 38 at the end of “Part 1 The Budget Message of the President”, and before the actual budget is presented. In this annual budget message, delivered on January 24, 1967, Johnson claims that “This budget for fiscal year 1968 reflects three basic considerations: In Vietnam, as throughout the world, we seek peace but will provide all the resources needed to combat aggression. In our urgent domestic programs we will continue to press ahead, at a controlled and reasoned pace. In our domestic economy we seek to achieve a 7th year of uninterrupted growth, adopting the fiscal measures needed to finance our expenditures responsibly, permit lower interest rates, and achieve a more balanced economy”. Referring to “hard choices” made in constructing the budget, it, for example, calls for a $21.9 billion military funding bill to Congress that would have brought the cost of the war to $46.2 billion. When the Defense appropriations were finally approved on September 20^th of that year, Congress reduced such spending by $1.6 billion. Given that Congress has not passed an annual budget by its mandated deadline since 1997, this document is a fascinating window into Federal finances at the twilight of the Johnson administration and a relic of a bygone congressional process. It is in excellent condition and a rare book signed by Johnson as the Commander In Chief.

A LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF JFK

JOHN F. KENNEDY (1917-1963). Kennedy was the Thirty-Fifth President.

Lithograph. 9 ½” x 13 ½”. No date. No place. A lithographic portrait of President John F. Kennedy by artist Robert Rogers. It is in fine condition.

A MASS CARD FROM A KENNEDY MEMORIAL SERVICE

JOHN F. KENNEDY (1917-1963).  Kennedy was the Thirty-Fifth President.

WILLIAM BLAIR (1916-2015).  Blair was President Kennedy’s Ambassador to Denmark and President Johnson’s Ambassador to the Philippines.  He was also law partner with Adlai Stevenson.

Document. 3 ½” x 4 ½”. No date {November 1963]. No place.  A small Mass card from a memorial service for President Kennedy.  The front has a black and white portrait of the President.  The back has three paragraphs, ending with “knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”  There is a small tape strip at the top of the verso but it is in fine condition otherwise.