The greatest archive of early American historical documents, fresh to the market, sold by a direct descendant of an important political figure, to come up for sale in at least a generation; it includes many great American treasures
The Raab Collection has accquired and will be offering for sale spectacular historical documents passed down from generation to generation in the family of one of the great American figures of the early 1800s. This is the most significant, never-before-offered group of documents to reach the market in decades at least.
Provenance: The papers of William H. Crawford, descended through to his great, great, great, great grand-son. Crawford was an adviser to successive Presidents, minister to France during the rules of both Napoleon Bonaparte and King Louis XVIII, councilor to U.S. ambassadors and Ghent negotiators, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Treasury for nearly a decade, and defender of the national bank.
The archive contains many of what are considered today great American treasures, including:
– Thomas Jefferson's reaction on first learning of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent (above); – Thomas Jefferson's letter on secession and Alexander Hamilton;
"If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation with the first alternative, to a continuance in union without it, I have no hesitation in saying, ‘Let us separate.’" – Jefferson to Crawford, June 20, 1816
– The Articles of the Treaty of Ghent in the Hands of the American Peace Negotiators, Along with Their Original Instructions to End the War of 1812
– Coded, confidential reports sent from Ghent by John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin and others;
– Diplomatic reports from the seat of negotiations, signed by all the negotiators, the only such documents ever to reach the market;
– An original, unpublished, and important opinion on the role of the 2nd Bank of the US Treasury entirely in the hand of Chief Justice John Marshall;
– Important documents from his time as Secretary of the Treasury, including the earliest Treasury appointments ever offered for sale;
-Pieces relating to Crawford's term as Secretary of War, including his appointment and letter from President Madison offering the position (perhaps the earliest presidentially signed appointment to ever reach the market), as well as correspondence relating to West Point;
– The Complete Loan Package of the United States Government, Seeking Funds in Paris to Save the War Effort, 1814; Sent by Ghent Negotiators John Quincy Adams and Albert Gallatin to the U.S. Ambassador in France, William H. Crawford;
