HAMILTON FISH, 1876, Card Signed As Secretary

PoliticalHamilton Fish Signs As Secretary of State

HAMILTON FISH.
July 29, 1876, Card Signed, "Hamilton Fish," 2.5" x 4," Choice Mint. Grant's cabinet member, Hamilton Fish, has inscribed and signed (with a 3.5" signature) this card: "Respectfully yours - Hamilton Fish - Secy. of State - July 29 /76." This card, sent to early autograph collector Edward P. Lord, is in pristine condition because it has been kept in its original envelope (included in this lot) for more than a hundred years. The envelope used for this is a Stamped Envelope Entire with the U.S. Centennial 3 cent red stamp (Scott U218). This envelope catalogs $50.00 in the 2005 Scott Specialized Catalog, and features a "socked on the nose" cancellation. This envelope suffered some as it passed through the mail system, receiving some smudges and soiling, and now has toned somewhat around the edges. Nevertheless it is in nice condition. A very nice Hamilton Fish autograph, signed while he was Secretary of State, and with an established provenance and rare envelope. (2 items).

Hamilton Fish (1808–1893) was an American politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York (1843–1845), Governor of New York (1849–1850), U.S. Senator (1851–1857), and United States Secretary of State (1869–1877) in President Ulysses S. Grant's administration. During 1861 and 1862 he was associated with John A. Dix, William M. Evarts, William E. Dodge, A.T. Stewart, John Jacob Astor and other New York men on the Union Defence Committee, which from April 22, 1861 to April 30, 1862, cooperated with the New York City government in the raising and equipping troops, and disbursed more than a million dollars for the relief of New York volunteers and their families.