Nathaniel P. Banks to George S. Boutwell: A Word in the President's Ear
A signed letter from Nathaniel P. Banks urging George S. Boutwell to accept a presidential appointment to the office held by Judge Lowell, plus the modern letter of authenticity that traveled with it.
TranscriptionThe letter
March 7 '84. Boston 7th March 1884. My Dear Sir, If the President comes to Massachusetts for an appointment to fill the office now held by Judge Lowell, when his resignation takes effect, I hope you will accept it. In addition to a healthy & generous administration of the laws, it will largely benefit other important public interests, that much need change and improvement. It will gratify the people & strengthen the administration. Very Truly Yours N. P. Banks Honorable Geo. S. Boutwell.
Handwritten docket, versoJ.P. Bau[illegible]
TranscriptionThe letter of authenticity
Letter of Authenticity Wednesday, September 14, 2011 Certification: P76030 To Whom It May Concern: This letter will serve as a certificate of authenticity for a/an Nathaniel P. Banks signed letter, which we thoroughly examined. The signature(s) is/are consistent considering slant, flow, pen pressure, letter size, and other characteristics that are typical of the other exemplars that we have examined in our hobby and professional career. This item has been examined by one or more PSA/DNA experts. On behalf of Collectors Universe, it is our considered opinion that the signature(s) is/are genuine. Your authenticated item has been permanently marked with an invisible DNA daub that will fluoresce under a patented laser lamp. Yours in Signatures, On behalf of the PSA/DNA Autograph Authentication Team Kevin Low, Brian Sobrero, Zach Rullo, Steve Grad, John Reznikoff, Bob Eaton, Bob Zafian, James Camner, Rich Consola, Kevin Keating P.O. Box 6180, Newport Beach, CA 92658 - 800-325-1121 - [email protected] - www.psacard.com
The story on the paper
In March 1884 Banks, back in private life in Boston, sat down to write to George S. Boutwell about a job. The President, Banks hoped, would "come to Massachusetts" to fill an office about to be vacated by Judge Lowell, and Banks wanted his friend to take it. The office itself is left unnamed; the wording, with its talk of "a healthy & generous administration of the laws," suggests a judgeship or a legal post, and Banks argued that filling it well would "gratify the people & strengthen the administration."
The two correspondents were giants of Massachusetts public life. Banks, the Waltham bobbin boy, had been Speaker of the House, Governor, and a Civil War general. Boutwell had been Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of the Treasury under Ulysses S. Grant. In March 1884 the President was Chester A. Arthur, in the final months of a term that would end with the election of Grover Cleveland that November.
There is a curious echo in the folder. The letter of authenticity that came with this piece, issued by PSA/DNA in 2011, carries a photograph of a Banks letter to Boutwell with almost the same wording, dated March 7, 1864, written when Lincoln was president and Banks was still in the field. Banks evidently made the same request of Boutwell twice, twenty years apart. Whether the certificate's 1864 letter is a separate piece or the same letter misdated, the handwriting that survived is the one on this page, and it reads 1884.
The people named in it
Nathaniel P. Banks (1816-1894)
Waltham-born politician, soldier, and serial officeholder: mill hand, lawyer, congressman, Speaker of the House, Governor of Massachusetts, Major General, and congressman again. In 1884 he was in his final decade in public life.
George S. Boutwell (1818-1905)
Massachusetts Governor, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, U.S. Representative, Senator, and Secretary of the Treasury under Grant, where he prosecuted the Whiskey Ring. One of the founding figures of the Republican Party in Massachusetts.
- Type
- Autograph letter signed
- Date
- Boston, March 7, 1884
- Place
- Boston, Massachusetts