Very Rare Oversize Signed Photograph of President Chester A. Arthur, Circa 1882 and Thus During His Term as President

Chester A. Arthur unexpectedly became President when James Garfield was assassinated, and once in office confounded all expectations. He saw his duty as no longer limited to party or supporters, but expanded to encompass what he sincerely thought was best for the country. He surprised everyone, as he was expected to oppose civil service reform, but instead became a firm champion of it. In 1883, he saw through Congress the Pendleton Act, which established that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation. It established a bipartisan Civil Service Commission, forbade levying political assessments against officeholders, and provided for a classified system that made certain government positions obtainable only through competitive written examinations. The system also protected employees against removal for political reasons. Arthur’s achievement was extraordinary, as this was the greatest measure of governmental self-regulation passed up to that date. Publisher Alexander K. McClure recalled, “No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired…more generally respected.”

A large photograph showing Arthur in a portrait pose, boldly signed by him, almost surely as president. We have found other unsigned copies of this image with a date circa 1882. Arthur was not a major public figure prior to his elevation to the vice presidency in 1881, and had few if any requests for autographed photographs prior to then. He died of Bright’s disease just months after his term as president ended, and signed but little during his last illness.

During his years in the Oval Office, 1881-1885, he tended to sign engravings of the White House when he signed pictures at all. Perhaps for these reasons, signed photographs of Arthur are among the rarest of those of any president who is known to have signed photographs. This one is our first signed photo of Arthur in 24 years.