The Washington herald., 1912-05-08
VIRgNIh CHARGE
MAY HALT SALE
Governor Says 0ne-third Of
LOSING Manuscripts Be-
long to State.
1AKENAFTER CIVIL WAR


New York. Nay 7.-Fonowing sensa-
Of Americana from the HbraAy Of the
late Benson John Losing. artist. author
ana historian. scheduled to begin on
Thursday. afternoon at the Anderson
galleries, may be halted The sale. an
nounced as zone OF the most notable
OF recent years has. attracted the at
tention Of bibliophlles all over the coun-
The Anderson Auction Company Is In
receipt OF a letter from the Governor
Of virginia in which he states that about
one-third Of the 800 items composing
part one Of the sale are fthe property Of
the State Of Virginia
DISPATCHES from Richmond state that
the manuscripts, which include the rarest
specimens OF handwriting and autographs
OF famous men and women, were taken
from the State Library OF Virginia Il
Is thought that they were abstracted
during the Civil War. following the
evacuation Of the capital Of the Con-
federaey. For years Virginia authori-
ties have been searching for them.
A dispatch from Richmond states that
an assistant attorney general and the
state librarian are on their way to New
York to take legal action Tor the recovery
Of the rarities.
- Artist visited Virginia.
In a statement issued to-day the An
derson Company says; ~
I'VE have received letter from the
Governor of Virginia stating that he has
reason 10 believe that about one-thlrd OF
the 800 items composing the sale are, or
may have been. the property OF the
State OF Virginia In his letter the Gov
ernor gives no reasons for this belief.
which. Is apparently based, upon the in
ternal evidences AFFORDED by fbe letters
themselves. many OF which were ad-
dressed To the Governor of the. State Of
Virginia.
It Is known that Mr.. Losing visited
Virginia about the time OF the close OF
fhesCfViT War for the purpose OF acquir-
ing historical information. He was the
bearer Of letters from Gen Grant and
.4he Secretaries OF the War and Navy
Departmspts. The letter from Gen. Grant
bore an Endorsement from President Lin
colin These letters conferred authority
10 pass the military lines, and directed
al officers to render all due assistance
70 Mr. Losing in the pursuit OF his mis-
sion.
This company has invited the Governor
of Virginia TO send representative here 4
and disctss the matter Of ownership 4
with tho representatives. Of the estate.
~
csnsignor. and cannot determine what
It's course in the matter VIII be until afs
tsr-thS visit Of the representative OF the
Governor
Collector Died in 1891.
Dr., Losing, who was the son Of
Quaker parents, spent the last years Of
his life In the little home called The !
Ridge which he built in the beautiful
hills Of Dutchess County. neafJ Dover
Plains. y. y. Here he died. June 3, 1891. |
3 thS .agesef seventy- y-eight--His IibEary /
q Tare books quaint DOCUMENTS. and
pEieeless autographs and relics he. left |
to. his WIDOW and his children.
Hrs LOSING died at The Ridge" a |
year ago., For twenty years the old /
scholars books and papers had laid in
the little library while the dust slowly /
formed a canopy over priceless literarX |
treasures. Three months ago his heirs |
and executors determined to rescue the |
treasures from oblivion. and Arthur /
Swami. the Anderson Compsny's expert |
on books and manuscript was called In.
Mr.. Swami found that much Of the |
ton. For example, one. Of the items
claimed by the State OF Virginia was
found buried IN a stack of. old news 1
papers. This proved to be the most |
valuable document IN the collection II /
consisted Of two faded pieces OF pager 1
covered with the handwriting OF wash
ington. The. memoranda they bore were l
measurements Of Weshfngtor's estate 1
at Mount Vernon.
Among the rarities claimed by Virginia
are most Of the twenty-five documents
and letters OF Washington. including
the original manuscript Of the circular
letter OF twenty-oTie pages which WASH
ington wrote to Gov Benjamin Harrison. |
of Virginia, on taking leave Of the army. |
June y 17s5; hye papers bearing the
signature Of Queen Anne OF England; |
one that bears the signature of George |
score in the hand Of the debonair fght- /
er and courteous cavalier. the Marquis
de Lafayette, es-l