William Reese Company

Wonderfully-Illustrated Autograph Album of Washington, D.C. Notables

[AUTOGRAPH ALBUM OF TURN-OF-THE-20th-CENTURY AMERICAN POLITICAL FIGURES, ASSEMBLED BY MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER ALEXANDER SCOTT, WITH EACH SIGNATURE ACCOMPANIED BY AN INK PORTRAIT BY THE AWARD-WINNING POLITICAL CARTOONIST, CLIFFORD BERRYMAN].

[Berryman, Clifford]: [Scott, Alexander]:

[Washington, D.C. ca. 1898-1916]. Fifty-two leaves, each containing an autograph and a pen-and-ink portrait. Oblong small octavo. Original limp calf, gilt stamping on front cover, a.e.g. Wear to extremities, front board starting to separate from pastedown, rear board with vertical crease and cracked pastedown. A few spots of light soiling. Ownership inscriptions on front and rear free endpapers. Binding worn, but internally near fine. Item #WRCAM56572

A fascinating autograph album assembled by Alexander Scott, Civil War Medal of Honor recipient and later Assistant Chief in the Draughtsman's Division of the U.S. Patent Office. Virtually every autograph is accompanied by a wonderful portrait drawn by the talented Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist, Clifford Berryman. Featured among the portraits and autographs are such notables of the time as Grover Cleveland; four vice presidents - Garrett A. Hobart, Charles Fairbanks, James S. Sherman, and Thomas R. Marshall; Secretary of War Elihu Root; Secretary of State John Hay; American Red Cross President Clara Barton; and Admiral George Dewey.

Alexander Scott took advantage of life in Washington to assemble a wide range of autographs. The majority in this volume are dated 1898 but run to 1916, providing a fine visual and autograph record of notables in the William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft administrations. The signers include: Ohio senators Mark Hanna and John Sherman (brother of W.T. Sherman, and author of the Sherman Antitrust Act); Sanford B. Dole, President of Hawaii, along with Hawaiian ministers Lorrin A. Thurston and Francis M. Hatch; Clement M. Butler, Chaplain of the Senate; Major General Nelson A. Miles, Commanding General of the U.S. Army; former Confederate General Joseph Wheeler, who had a long post-war career in the U.S. Army; Wu Tingfang, the Qing imperial minister to the U.S., Spain, and Peru; Secretary of State John Hay; Peruvian minister to the U.S., Manuel Álvarez-Calderón Roldán; Elihu Root, Secretary of War; Clara Barton, founder and president of the Red Cross; President Grover Cleveland (signature pasted in); as well as numerous senators, congressmen, and other prominent military and administration officials. The signature of Vice President Garrett A. Hobart is dated May 24, 1898, just a year before he died and was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt. Each signature is accompanied by an elegant portrait of the signer done in ink by Clifford Berryman. The final portrait is of Berryman himself, with a charming poem stating that he included himself only at Scott's request: "Yes, you think it queer / That I am here - / Please think it not / 'Tis the wish of Scott."

Clifford Berryman (1869-1949) began his career as a draftsman in the U.S. Patent Office, which is likely where he and Scott first became acquainted. While at the Patent Office, Berryman submitted sketches to THE WASHINGTON POST, and in 1891 he became an understudy to the POST's political cartoonist, George Y. Coffin. After Coffin died in 1896, Berryman took over his position. Berryman moved to the WASHINGTON STAR in 1907, where he remained until his death in 1949. He is particularly remembered for two illustrations: the first, published by the POST in 1898 during the Spanish- American War, was "And Boys, Remember the Maine!," depicting an angry Uncle Sam addressing sailors as the U.S.S. Maine sinks in the background. The title became America's battle cry during the war. The second, "Drawing the Line in Mississippi," was published in 1902 and portrays President Theodore Roosevelt showing compassion for a small bear cub at the end of an unsuccessful hunting trip in Mississippi. The cartoon inspired New York store owner Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose, to create a new toy: having received permission to use Roosevelt's name, Michtom made a plush bear after Berryman's drawing, put it on display, and called it "Teddy's Bear." The bear was such a success that the Michtoms created the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in 1907, which became the largest doll-making company in the U.S.

A truly unique collection of text and images notable not only for its contents, but for its owner and creator as well.

Price: $9,250.00