The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-10-25
THE PRESIDENTS LETTERS.
WHAT A FULL SET COSTS A
COLLECTOR.
WashinEton's, $75- Tay1or's, Linz
coins and Johnson's, $40 Each
Others Range as Low as 81.

1t Is novel yet indeed a valuable col
lection that has just been presented the
Millicent library, Fairhaven, by H. H.
Rogers. 1t is a collection OF autograph
letters by seventeen of our long line of
presidents of the United States.
These letters were collected by Mr..
William E. Benjamin, son-in-law of Mr..
Rogers. and a connoisseur in such things
as autograph letters.
These particular letters are each we'll
authenticated, single-page specimens.
and are framed, each in a handsome oak
frame with a steel engraving of the
writer. At present only seventeen have
been secured on account Of the difficulty
of obtaining single-page specimens, but
as soon as secured the others will be
added.
1t would be hard to collect full line
of presidential letters written in the
white house, and such a collection would
be worth not far from $1,000. This col
lection is not such a one, but two and
half years were occupied in gathering
it.
The rarest Of these letters, and the
most difficult to secure, was that Of as
recent a president as Andrew Johnson,
because Of his well-known illiteracy. 1t
is stated that Johnson could not even
write his name till after his marriage,
and that then his tutelage was impaired
by his wife.
On account of this inability to talk
f1uently on paper, Johnson seldom wrote
much.
Another president who seldom COM
mitted his thoughts to paper was Zach
airy Taylor-old Rough and Ready
a man more powerful with the sword
than with the pen. His letters are few,
and mostly are in possession OF col
lectors.
One would think perhaps that Wash
ington's letters would be particularly
hard to find, but as a matter of fact
his are about third in point Of rarity.
Fourth in the list is Abraham Lincoln,
whose letters, while by no means Jew in
number, have always been so popular
among collectors, that only a limited
supply now exists.
One popularity Of Lincoln's letters
and characteristic of the man, it is, too
is that he seldom wrote line without
saying something. Single page speci-
mems are more plentiful than longer
ones.
Among the rarest letters collectors are
looking for are those written by William
Henry Harrison while he was president.
AS his term occupied but one month he
wrote very few letters. The commercial
value of one of these is about SIS to
500.
Speaking of commercial values of
autograph letters, it is interesting to
not what incidents will radically affect
them For instance, Polk was verbose
writer, seldom covering less than two
pages. Till recently Folks letters were
worth Sc each, but suddenly some me
found a barrel of them, and the market
value is now only about $3.50.
Any incident of historical or biographi-
cal moment referred to in a letter Will
greatly enhance it's value. AS an in
stance Of this. take Gen. Grants letters,
which are usually worth SO to SIS.
One letter from him to friend written
when he was seventeen or eighteen years
of age. a cadet at West Point, is inter
esting in that it is signed u. H. Grant.
His name was Ulysses Hiram. This is
worth about seventy-five dollars.
Another of his letters is valued at $35
because it refers to Gen. Logan as a -
old blackguard," and indicates unpleas-
antness between these two noted SOL
diers and statesmen and generally stanch
friends.
The letters in this collection are valued
as follows: