Robert E. Lee, CDV with Rare War-Date Signature, Plus 

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
  Robert E. Lee, CDV with Rare War-Date Signature, Plus 
  
  Lot of 3, including 2 CDVs of Robert E. Lee, one autographed, and a photographic facsimile (ca 1900-1920s) of an 1869 letter written by Robert E. Lee to young Bessie Johnston from the White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia. 
  
  Featuring a rarely encountered, unmarked CDV with wartime R.E. Lee Genl signature on front and illegible note or inscription on reverse. Lee did not write "Genl" when signing his name after the Civil War ended, making this a remarkable find. The portrait is one of the Vannerson "blockade" portraits. Early in 1864, Lee sat in Julian Vannerson's gallery for a series of photographic portraits to be sent through the blockade to Virginia sculptor, Edward V. Valentine, then studying in Berlin. Valentine was to make a small statue of General Lee for sale at a Liverpool bazaar for the benefit of disabled Confederate veterans. The exact date of taking is unknown, though Valentine received the photos on May 5, 1864.
  
  Second carte provides a standing view of CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee marked on the reverse by Lumpkin & Thomas, Richmond, VA, with an inscription from a previous owner reading, Lee, our spotless Southern Knight without reproach or fear The son of 'Light-Horse Harry' --Of gallant Harry Lee.
  
  Accompanied by a photographic facsimile of a letter written to Bessie Johnston in which Lee states that he was enclosing a photograph of himself to Bessie (whom Lee had apparently met during an earlier visit to the Springs). The photo Lee mentions in this letter may not be the signed wardate CDV from Bessie's album offered in this lot, but the copied letter shows that indeed: "During her girlhood Miss Johnston was acquainted with many Southern generals and received from them letters, PHOTOGRAPHS, and autographs ..."
  
  The photographic facsimile of the letter reads: 
  
  White Sulpher Springs, Va
  23 Aug 1869
  
  My Dear Miss Bessie
  
  I send a stereoscopic view of the Springs, the only one I could get. I hope it may serve to recall sometimes a spot to the insides of which you have given so much pleasure.
  
  I also enclose a photographic picture of an old man who will think often of you and whom I do not wish you to forget.
  
  Most truely,
  
  R.E. Lee
  
  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

  Some scattered foxing on the signed CDV. Signature on CDV is light. Inscription on back of signed CDV has worn away. It is perhaps interesting to speculate just what was written on the reverse of this cdv, whether it was in the hand of Lee, and whether it has just faded or was purposely erased.
• 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