President Calvin Coolidge, Famously Not Seeking Reelection, Has Surprisingly Given No Thought to What He Will Do When He Leaves the White House
by Calvin Coolidge
23/06/1928. “I do not choose to run” was a statement made by President Calvin Coolidge to the press on August 2, 1927, on his decision not to seek reelection in the 1928 presidential election. Upon Coolidge's announcement, the gathered media were stunned. The public, too, were shocked by the announcement. Many felt Coolidge could easily win a second full term, based on ""Coolidge Prosperity"", the booming economy, and a surplus of over $300 million. But Coolidge stuck to his... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
Calvin Coolidge Sends an Autograph to a Collector
by Calvin Coolidge
26/11/1932. Shortly after the 1932 election, Walter Carter of Cleveland sent a request to former President Coolidge for a signed photograph. Though he had no photograph to send, Coolidge responded with a handwritten letter.Autograph letter signed, on his letterhead, Northampton, Mass., November 26, 1932, to Walter Carter in Cleveland. “Please accept my thanks for your note with the interesting drawing. I am not able to provide photographs for general distribution, and not being skilled in making pictures, I can... Read More
Offered by The Raab Collection, LLC
The Last Will and Testament of Diplomat, Secretary of War and Treasury, and Presidential Adviser William H. Crawford
by William H. Crawford
1830. Acquired from the direct descendants of Crawford and has never been offered for sale previouslyWilliam H. Crawford was U.S. ambassador to France during the negotiations to end the War of 1812. During the those negotiations, he was responsible for superintending the American consuls in Europe and keeping them informed of developments. He was also an important negotiator from a distance. He was called home and appointed Secretary of War by President James Madison on August 1, 1815, succeeding... Read More
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The Unpublished Privateer Capture Log, Dated August 1812, for the Vessel of Future Navy Secretary Benjamin Crowninshield, Documenting One of the First Ever Privateer's Hauls of the War of 1812
by Benjamin Crowninshield
04/08/1812. Along with the rules of restitution in the hand of the District Court clerk in August 1812 The Act of Congress authorizing privateers was less than 40 days old at the time of the capture of the many vessels accounted for in this remarkably detailed log, measuring 20 pages of dense text Featured on the Inspired by History podcastThe Crowninshield family was historically prominent in shipbuilding and merchant shipping, political and military leadership, and the literary world. The family is... Read More
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Amidst the War of 1812, the U.S. Government Puts Humanitarian Considerations First and Protects Nova Scotia’s Sable Island Humane Establishment from American Ships
by James Monroe|Benjamin Crowninshield
07/11/1812. Sable Island, located off Nova Scotia, is a unique 42-km-long sand dune island known as the ""Graveyard of the Atlantic,"" with over 350 recorded shipwrecks since 1583. Famous for its wild horses—introduced in the 1700s—the island has a history of attempted settlement, lifesaving stations, lighthouse keeping, and now serves as a protected national park reserve.To combat the death toll of shipwrecks, the Sable Island Humane Establishment for rescuing sailors was established there in 1801. This was a pioneering,... Read More
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In the Lead-up to the Great Sioux War, Which Would End at Little Bighorn for Him, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer Readies His Troops and Conducts an Equipment Survey
by George Armstrong Custer
04/02/1875. Every member of this Company died, including both Custer men who signed this documentBy 1875, the U.S. government had decided—quietly but decisively—to seize the Black Hills, despite the protections guaranteed to the Lakota in the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868). The trigger was the discovery of gold in the Black Hills that started the Black Hills Gold Rush, which followed George Armstrong Custer’s 1874 expedition there.In April 1875, Custer and Brig. General Alfred Terry began preparing for war... Read More
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Codicil of John Cutt, First President of Colonial New Hampshire, Showing Him Trying to Promote Harmony Within His Family After His Death
by John Cutt
03/01/1681. Cutt, one of the wealthiest men in the Colony, was balancing between providing for his second wife, while satisfying his children, who were all by his first wifeJohn Cutt was born in the British Isles and emigrated to the colonies in 1646, He became a successful merchant and mill owner in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and acquired a large fortune, at the time of his death being rated as one of the wealthiest men in the province. He was... Read More
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Charles Darwin Uses the Language of Religion to Describe the Increasing Number of Scientists Adopting His Theory of Evolution: Converts
by Charles Darwin
04/11/1864. Darwin's work had profound implications for the relationship between science and religion and here he opposed anyone who would seek to profess religious over scientific faith Scientists, Darwin felt, should work in the spirit of seeking ""truth,"" with no preconceived notions The adoption of the Theory of Evolution by scientists is ""the real cream of the enjoyment to me; indeed it is to me worth far more than any medal."" Significantly, he hopes to continue his work in science One of the... Read More
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Charles Darwin Writes Naturalist John Jenner Weir, Thanking Him for Supplying Information on the Nesting Habits of Birds
by Charles Darwin
14/02/1876. John Jenner Weir was an English amateur entomologist and ornithologist, as well as being a civil servant. He studied the relation between insects and birds, and is best known today for being one of the naturalists who corresponded with and provided important data to both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.[video width=""1920"" height=""1080"" mp4=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204125938/Darwin.mp4""][/video]The 13th annual exhibition of canaries and British and foreign cage birds took place at the Crystal Palace from February 18-23, 1876. There were 1500 birds... Read More
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Charles Darwin Carte de Visite Signed, With Likely Provenance of the Darwin Family
by Charles Darwin
1870. Our first Darwin signed photograph in all these yearsCharles Darwin, English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation of modern biology and evolutionary studies. Darwin's explanation for the great unfolding of life through time - evolution by natural selection - transformed our understanding of the living world, and focused attention on the cumulative inherited change in a population of organisms through time leading to the appearance of new forms: the process by which... Read More
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Pre-War Letter of Jefferson Davis to the Confederacy’s Most Famous Spy, Rose O’Neal Greenhow
by Jefferson Davis
27/12/1855. Rose O’Neal Greenhow was born into obscurity, but became one of the most powerful women in Washington, D.C. and in time became a famous Confederate spy._ Arriving in Washington at the age of fourteen, she became fascinated with the Washington socialite scene and attempted to gain acceptance by the well-to-do Washingtonians. Even though she was mocked for her low birth, she eventually caught the eye of Dr. Robert Greenhow, a federal librarian and translator with medical and law degrees.... Read More
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A Very Young Jefferson Davis, Serving in the 1st U.S. Dragoons, Who Later Presided Over a Divided Country with Seceding States, is Interested in Michigan Statehood and Organization of the Territory of Wisconsin
by Jefferson Davis
17/01/1834. Davis, 26 years old, also seeks an appointment in the U.S. Dragoons for a colleague “It would I hope be superfluous to assure you of my desire to be associated thus with you. Should this however not be the case and should Michigan pass into a state government, I will look with interest to the organization of the Territory of Wisconsin in which you must appear conspicuously.”At the start of his career, Jefferson Davis was assigned to the 1st... Read More
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Jefferson Davis Writes President Fillmore, Recommending for Promotion Future Major General David Hunter, On Whose Head He Would Later Place a Bounty
by Millard Fillmore|Jefferson Davis
14/09/1850. A country torn apart, brought home to Jefferson Davis; A rare letter from Davis to a sitting president; Ex-Sang CollectionDavid Hunter followed the course of many successful antebellum military careers. He went to West Point, served in the Mexican War with General Taylor, and received a recommendation for advancement after success there. In 1850, he approached a military superior with whom he had served, Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, to recommend him to fill a military position being... Read More
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Charles Dickens, on Behalf of One of His Charitable Committees, Asks a Potential Participant for a Financial Contribution
by Charles Dickens
28/07/1843. Dickens actively used his celebrity and cash to aid charitable institutions. In 1843, Charles Dickens was involved in charitable and professional committees, most notably forming a committee to raise funds for orphaned children. Late in the year, he worked on “A Christmas Carol”, which was published in December 1843.Autograph letter signed, from his home at 1 Devonshire Terrace, July 28, 1843, to J.F. Rogers, thanking him for his interest in one of the organizations with which Dickens was... Read More
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An Autograph Album Signed by Walt Disney and Two of His Foremost Artists/designers, with a Drawing of Donald Duck by One
by Walt Disney
3/3/56. The father of the boy who secured the autographs - and who signed for his son - was Philip S. Hench of the Mayo Clinic, who won the 1950 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for developing cortisone The boy's uncle John Hench was a Disney illustratorThe autographs album of twelve year old John B. Hench, 6"" x 4 3/4"" maroon cloth, taken on a family trip to California in early 1956. Young Hench has signed, dated it March... Read More
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A Medieval 12th Century Depiction of a Saint, Likely Created in Southern France
by Medieval Art|Before 1300|All Medieval Historical Documents
1100. Records of the sale of this piece date back to the 1940s at a sale at Parke Bernet in New York, which noted its rarityAcross Europe, holy wells dot the landscape, often renamed and repurposed from pre-Christian sites of worship. Relics of finger bones and tunics are carefully and reverently shrouded in the churches. Pilgrims walk the same paths year after year to atone for their sins and contemplate God. Effigies or symbols are carried around for specific... Read More
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A Prayer for the Traveler, the Sailor and the Carolingian Bishop in the 9th Century, the Text Likely Used to Pray for Charlemagne and his Descendants and Referencing the Parting of the Red Sea
by Theology and Scripture|Before 1300|All Medieval Historical Documents
01/01/1025. It is fascinating to think that the men and women who said this prayer lived early enough to have perhaps lived concurrently with Charlemagne himself, who died in 814, but almost ertainly with his son Louis, who lived into the 840s. Documents of any import or interest from this early era are very uncommon The Rise of CharlemagneThe late eighth century saw a new power rising in Europe in the form of the empire of Charlemagne (747-814). Originally from the... Read More
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Two leaves from William of Moerbeke’s crucial translation of Aristotle’s Politics from Greek into Latin, an important step in the recovery of this rare text by Western European society
by Before 1300|Ancient Philosophers|All Medieval Historical Documents
01/01/1275. William of Moerbeke, Politica, in Latin, decorated manuscript on vellum; France (probably south), or perhaps Spain, second half of the thirteenth centuryThe Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC.) stands like a colossus at the gates of medieval (and modern) thought. The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle were made in the wake of the Crusades, and their various translations into Latin made from Arabic copies of the texts, often through Hebrew intermediary versions, and to a lesser extent... Read More
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Rare Book from the Library of the New World Missionary School in Portugal, Signed by Its Rector and Educator to these Explorers, Just Decades After Columbus Crossed the Atlantic
by Americana|All Medieval Historical Documents
1536. This was the same university where Francisco Suarez would, a generation later, study and teach; he would have had access to and may have used this very book Coimbra was the jumping off for many of the men who went as missionaries around the expanding globe We do not recall having seen a book from such a library before on the market; From an American collectionUnder the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494 between the Spanish and... Read More
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Surviving Pieces from the Great Choirbook Owned and Commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella
by Ferdinand & Isabella|All Medieval Historical Documents
1482. Other fragments of these are now in collections at the Morgan Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (MS. 293 a-b), and the Museo Arqueológico in MadridWhen Isabella’s half-brother Henry died in 1474, she asserted her claim to the throne of Castille, which was contested by thirteen-year-old Joanna, who was connected to Portuguese royalty. Joanna sought the aid of her husband (who was also her uncle), Afonso V of Portugal, to claim the throne. This dispute between rival claimants... Read More
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A Rare Medieval Computational Cipher, a Computus Text, Along with a Poetic Device to Aid in Its Use, Employed by a 15th Century Clergyman in the Calculation of Easter
by Theology and Scripture|All Medieval Historical Documents
01/01/1450. Records show only a small number of such mathematical devices having reached the public market The manuscript bears markings of subsequent owners, including a poem from the 16th century to Saint Basil, normally associated with the East[video width=""1920"" height=""1080"" mp4=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204130536/Computus-Youtube-Template-1.mp4""][/video] Prior to 1420, devotional books such as Books of Hours or Breviaries were made to order and reflected the particular interests of the patron. A breviary, usually formatted in a writing block of two columns (as opposed to its single... Read More
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Peter Lombard's Sentences: Five 13th Century Leaves from the Textbook for the Divine
by Before 1300|All Medieval Historical Documents
1200. The “Sentences” were the most commented on piece of Christian literature of the era for four centuries, through the Reformation, and were lectured on by Martin Luther himself We found no record of another example of such early commentaries on Lombard using the text of Marchesinus.Often, we have the assumption that the great men of the Middle Ages came from royal families or important lines. The French romances, from which our modern pop culture derives so much, offer stories... Read More
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The Words of Saint Ambrose, Written from Southern Italy, Montecassino, in the 11th Century
by Theology and Scripture|Before 1300|All Medieval Historical Documents
1075. This document survives in part because it was later used as a binding from another book; a handful of other segments of this manuscript appear in book bindings now at the National Library of Naples""Rightly then is the soul restored thither, since He has come who will undo the treacherous knot, and reestablish righteousness.""The 1000s AD was a period of great tumult and transformation in Europe. In England, the Norman Invasion took place, resulting in the crowning of... Read More
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From the Sermons of Pope Gregory the Great, Who Brought Post-Roman Christianity to the British Isles, Written in 11th Century Italy
by Pope Gregory I|Theology and Scripture|All Medieval Historical Documents
1050. The important messages Gregory spoke nearly 500 years before the manuscript was made—that he spoke during the aftermath of a plague and collapse of an empire—were still relevant to the scribe who carefully copied out the homilies“Earthly substance compared to heavenly happiness is a weight, not a support.”Modernity’s view of Pope Gregory the Great derives from his own words and from an imaging of the zeitgeist of the 6th century that the saint navigated. One early 20th century... Read More
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The European Rediscovery of Aristotle: Oxford, 13th Century
by Ancient Philosophers|Before 1300|All Medieval Historical Documents
1200. Almost certainly used by a scholar at Oxford University in England ""The parts of the soul, if the powers that divide and separate (and are very many), are vegetable, sensible, appetitive, intellectual, deliberate, and also desirable. These differ very much, but to one another are very desirable and deliberative."" The long history of scholarship plays out on precious fragments from a thirteenth century English manuscript. These two half-leaves present the story of the transmission of knowledge from Ancient Greece to... Read More
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