Bessie Johnston Gresham, Collection Featuring Items Relative to the South & the Confederacy 

About Auction

Live

American History

By Cowan's Auctions

Jun 10, 2016 - Jun 11, 2016

Set Reminder 2016-06-10 10:00:00 2016-06-11 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American History https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-history-1497
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

View Full Catalog (351)

• Lot Description
  Bessie Johnston Gresham, Collection Featuring Items Relative to the South & the Confederacy 
  
  Lot of approx. 28 items collected by Bessie Johnston Gresham, consisting of: 3 x 3.5 in photograph of Stonewall Jackson bust by CSA sculptor Frederick Volck, accompanied by 2pp letter signed by CSA Cartoonist and brother to Frederick, A.J. Volck; 7pp letter concerning Richmond, VA photographer Wm. W. Davies with details concerning Richmond, photographers and Confederate-related photography including negatives of the Grand Jury who tried Jefferson Davis, a composite photograph of Confederate Generals, and jewelry made from buttons off various Confederate General’s uniform coats; a printed biography, J.E.B. STUART: a Character Sketch by Hampden Harrison Smith. Ashland, VA., 1932; material relating to "Maryland, My Maryland" composer James Ryder Randall, including ALS by noted Populist Politician "Tom" Watson; modern copies of a dozen letters from Mrs. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson; TLS by Julia Jackson Preston, "Stonewall" Jackson's Granddaughter; 11pp of ca 1950s correspondence with The Stonewall Jackson House, Lexington, Virginia; 7pp, 1859 Valentine verses on the Maryland Club of Baltimore; a few snapshots and papers from Bessie Johnston Gresham's childhood; and “Over Yonder: A novelette; translated from the German of E. Marlitt," Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott and Co., n.d.[1869], approx. 5.75 x 8.5 in.
  
  For a more detailed look at the contents of the lot, refer to: http://www.historybroker.com/collection/gresham/papers/1bessie/bessie.htm.
  
  Bessie E. Johnston Gresham Collection of Confederate Manuscripts, Photographs, & Relics
  
  Lots 89-115
  
  Bessie E. Johnston Gresham was born in Baltimore, MD in 1848 in a home sympathetic to the Southern cause. Union forces imprisoned one of her brothers for aiding the South, and her brother Elliott was a Confederate officer who lost a leg at the battle of Antietam. She became an ardent and unreconstructed Confederate, and, in 1887, she married Thomas Baxter Gresham, a Confederate veteran from Macon, GA. She was actively involved in the Baltimore chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and amassed a notable collection of Confederate manuscripts, photographs, and relics at the Gresham home at 815 Park Avenue in Baltimore. Most of her items were left to the Museum of the Confederacy, the Maryland Historical Society, and other institutions. This important collection of Johnston-Gresham family and Confederate-related material, was passed down through Bessie Johnston Gresham’s step-son, Leroy Gresham, before it was acquired by the consignor.
  
  The collection features over 50 CDVs accumulated by Bessie and Thomas Gresham, offered as Lots 89-100. Some are wardate, and others were apparently acquired in Baltimore soon after the war's end. Some CDVs include patriotic inscriptions and quotations written by Bessie on reverse, which showcase her deep feeling of love and devotion to the Southern Cause.
  
  In a June 1862 letter delivered through the Union blockade, Elliott Johnston, serving as aide-de-camp to CSA General Richard B. Garnett, mentioned collecting photos of CSA generals for his then 14-year-old sister Bessie.
  
  In a 1926 issue of Confederate Veteran magazine, a memorial essay described Bessie's girlhood during the war:
  
  "One of her brothers, who was on General Ewell’s staff, suffered the loss of a leg at the battle of Sharpsburg; her two other brothers were active Southern sympathizers and were under constant surveillance by Federal authorities for giving all possible aid to the Confederacy; her home was a center from which radiated help. “
  
  "Reared in this atmosphere of deep love for our ‘cause,’ she became an ardent and unreconstructed Confederate. "
  
  During her girlhood, Bessie was acquainted with many Southern generals and received from them letters, photographs, and autographs, as well as a number of gifts. 

  Condition

  Most of the items are in good condition.
• Shipping Info

  • SHIPPING. At the request of the buyer, Cowan's will authorize the shipment of purchased items. Shipments usually occur within two weeks after payment has been received. Shipment is generally made via UPS Ground service. Unless buyer gives special instructions, the shipping method shall be at the sole discretion of Cowan's Auctions, Inc.. Cowan's is in no way responsible for the acts or omissions of independent handlers, packers or shippers of purchased items or for any loss, damage or delay from the packing or shipping of any property.

• Buyer's Premium

  • Hammer Price	Premium (%)
    $0	28.00
    $250,001	23.00
    $3,000,001	15.00