The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-04-20
pREslr znTJAL AUTOGRAPHS.
Andrew Johnson's the Rarest, Washing.
toms Next and Taylor's Third.

Andrew Johnson's the Rarest, Washing.
toms Next and Taylor's Third.
When an American starts in to make
a collection of autograph letters he IS
very apt to begin with the Presidents
of the United States. A set of tile
Presidents Is very desirable and each
year it is becoming more difficult tc
form one. An amateur will know lit
tie of the comparative value and va
riety of the different Presidents and
unless he is informed, he will miss
golden chances of picking up rare
specimens. or pay too dearly for COM
mon ones.
Washington naturally leads the list
in desirability. though Andrew john
son is the rarest and most expensive
Full letters of Washington are scarce.
and their price varies from S25 up
wards according to their size. condi-
ton and subject matter Letters dated
during the revolution are the most in
teresting, rs they are apt TO contain
references 10 the war.
Letters signed only by Washington
are fairly common but always in good
demand ut prices varying from SIP up
wards Those written By his secretary.
Alexander Hamilton, are perhaps the
best Hamilton was a master of the
English language, and his sentences
flow rs smoothly as those of Addison
Washington letters will never become
cheaper. as there is a steady demand
from outside By people who want only
2 Washington. The most exaggerated
idea of the value prevails in Europe,
where 800 is sometimes asked for one.
Andrew johnson seldom wrote let
ters- His right arm was injured by a
musket ball and it was painful for him
to use il He coufned himself to very
snort notes-generally in peneil-or
had his letters written by his SON The
latter frequently signed his fathers
name for him. This signing by proxy
has sometimes escaped notice. and at
the Cist sale last spring one of the let
ters sold for SIS. Collectors have
grown very suspicious of the name aud
at the Richmond sale last month a
signed document sold for the low price
of s.. A genuine signature is worth
that alone. Another reason why john
son wrote little was because he made
mistakes in grammar and spelling and
he disliked 10 expose himself to crit
icism.
Washington is second in rareness
and Zachary Taylor third The old
soldier was handler with the sword
than with the pen. He wrote a villain
Gus hand and was generous of bIots A
=
and it is very poor specimen that is
not valued ut less than s.. a number
of forged signatures of Taylor are in
circulation aud should be looked cut
for. They are on a large-sized card,
and may be detected BY the regularity
of the writing.
Abraham Lincoln ranks fourth in
point of rareness. He wrote short
notes-coyering on the average about
half a s:,eet. and his writing is RS plain
and homespun as his character He
wrote straight to the point and wasted
no words. The prices of his letters
range from S12 to $50. 1t is safe to
say that these prices will be greatly in
creased in the near future.
The letters of General Grant are
high-priced. not so much because OF
their rarity as because of the great
reputation of the writer. They range
in price from $40 to $50, and there is a
large and steaIy demand for them.
Grants book had a tremendous sale,
and many people like to insert letter
in the book. as it materially increases
the interest.
John Adams and John Quincy Adams
bring good prices Monroe. Madison,
Harrison. Jsckson. jefferson. Tyler
and Polk run close together at from s.
to So each. buchanan. Hayes, Pierce,
Van Buren, and Fillmore are lower
priced.
Arthur is decidedly scarce. 1t is
often SO soon after mans death. 1t
takes time for letters to find their way
into the hands of strangers. Twenty
years hence Arthur's letters will be
commoner than they are at present
The Collector.