Original Listing Description

*****See my other auctions for more great historic & related items!*****1853 Abolitionist JOHN BROWN Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) BOSTON Exchange Coffee House ~ A RARE BEAUTY Estimated Auction House Value: $6-7KResearch Update: Gilbert Hubbard shows up in the famous John Brown bankruptcy court trial records!***SEE BELOW FOR HISTORY OF GILBERT HUBBARD Description:Rare ALS autograph letter signed (Perkins & Brown) by and entirely in the hand of profoundly influential American abolitionist, John Brown to famous Chicago business magnate Gilbert Hubbard regarding his business partnership with Simon Perkins of Akron, Ohio. Two pages on original & exceedingly rare historic vignetted Boston Exchange Coffee House stationery, folded the letter reads in part: “We have waited since yesterday morning in order to see you, & pay you for coming here..... Can you not make it convenient to call on us at Akron?.....(on front) If not taken within one week - Please forward by mail to Chicago". The docketing at upper left corner assumedly in the hand of the recipient Gilbert Hubbard.John Brown, working as a Wool merchant/broker during a visit to Boston in 1853, was trying to do business with Gilbert Hubbard who later became a famous major source of U.S. Army military supplies (twines, cordage, tents, tarpaulins, horse & wagon covers, etc.) during the Civil War. Interestingly, this letter marks about the time that Hubbard indeed relocated & established his business in Chicago. Brown obviously knew this, as he directs the letter to Chicago if it is not picked up at the Exchange Coffee House, where he & Gilbert were probably staying. This gorgeous example helps fill some blanks as to John Brown's doings, interactions, & whereabouts during his lead-up to famously dropping the Wool business to fight in "Bleeding" Kansas in 1855. It also makes one wonder what Gilbert Hubbard may have known (or later known) in regards to John Browns' long & ongoing plans as a radical abolitionist. Excellent overall condition, still intact sturdy solid short (about 1") minor closed fold split at center right edge, some minor expected age wear such as old light wrinkles & stains but nothing to take away eye appeal. On original blue paper business stationery with beautiful finely detailed Boston Exchange Coffee House engraving at upper left corner. Comes with the handsome photo quality copy print of the famous John Brown daguerreotype as-shown in the first scan - worthy of framing! Note: the scanner & camera makes the discolorations look more "yellowish" & bold than they actually are. The letter paper still looks overall blue, with some light stains, but they don't catch the eye so much as the uploaded images appear. ***Letter will be securely packaged with tracking & signature confirmation, shipped open & flat.*** Please see high resolution scans for exact condition!! Payment must be made within 3 days of purchase. Please see attached pics & make all inquiries prior to purchasing HISTORY OF GILBERT HUBBARD of CHICAGO(below ad for historical reference only)Despite Chicago’s rapid growth during this period, there were still numerous obstacles on the horizon. During the Civil War, the firm had to switch over to filling orders for the Union Army, including making tents for military camps. Then came the double-whammy of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Great Panic of 1873, which turned the old Hubbard warehouse to ash, then, once rebuilt (directly across the street at 202 South Water St.), saddled it with an economic depression.The company survived largely by broadening its horizons, as Carpenter and Hubbard used their fortunes and connections to entice a clientele beyond the shipyards, selling bulk hardware and supplies to mining companies, mills, and the predominant new form of industrial mass transport: the railroads.John Brown's business partner General Simon Perkins, was an American businessman and early settler of the Western Reserve of Connecticut, which would later become northeast Ohio. Perkins co-founded the city of Akron, Ohio and established several banks in Warren, Painesville and Norwalk, eventually becoming one of the largest landowners in the state. Before leaving for the Kansas Territory to take up arms against the proponents of slavery, Brown managed a number of Perkins’ flocks of sheep and sold their wool. American abolitionist John Brown escalated the tensions that led to the American Civil War "to a degree that no other American did… he had an impact on the course of national events matched by few in American history" (Reynolds, ix-x). Dissatisfied with the pacifism of the organized abolitionist movement, Brown advocated armed insurrection as the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. The 1859, Brown led the historic raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia with the intention of arming slaves with weapons from the arsenal. The attack ultimately failed; Brown was imprisoned and found guilty of treason and executed after a two week trial, however, its impact on the course of American history were significant. "{The Harpers Ferry raid] sent tremors of horror throughout the South and gave secessionists a persuasive symbol of northern hostility. It hardened positions over slavery everywhere. It helped to discredit Stephen A. Douglas' compromise policy of popular sovereignty and to divide the Democratic party, thus ensuring the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860" (Condition: Pre-Owned)

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