RARE DOUBLE ALBUM SIGNATURE – JOHN NICOLAY AND JOHN HAY, LINCOLN’S SECRETARIES AND BIOGRAPHERS

RARE DOUBLE ALBUM SIGNATURE – JOHN NICOLAY AND JOHN HAY, LINCOLN’S SECRETARIES AND BIOGRAPHERS

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$850.00 ON HOLD

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 297-29

The square cut portion of an autograph/signature album features two important signatures – and to have them paired likely makes this item truly unique.  The first signature is that of John Nicolay, with the written title of “Priv. Sec” and the second is that of John Hay, with the written title of “Major, A.A.G.”.  The signature paper is mounted to a heavy white card with penciled mounting guides at each corner. The paper is in good condition with only very light staining across the top border and no other notable damage or wear. The paper measures 3.5” x 3.9”, while the card measures 3.9” x 4.4”.  The card’s reverse side shows the remnants of album mounting in the form of trace brown paper, and a penciled notation reads “1 ½ x 2 ½”.

John George Nicolay was a journalist, clerk and private secretary to President Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1865. The future president came into contact with Nicolay when the younger man was clerking for the secretary of state in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln was impressed with Nicolay's abilities and professional conduct, and when Lincoln was nominated for the presidency, Nicolay was retained as his secretary.  Nicolay was involved in Lincoln's most intimate personal affairs during the Civil War and became one of the President's most trusted aides. On a day-to-day basis, he and the president's assistant secretary, John M. Hay, were responsible for receiving and screening visitors, writing and editing letters, and delivering and receiving messages, among other duties. After Lincoln's death, Nicolay served as American Consul in Paris and then Marshall of the Supreme Court. Nicolay and Hay published a ten-volume biography of Lincoln in 1890 and Nicolay published a collection of Lincoln's writings in 1894.

Mr. Lincoln called his youngest assistant “John” rather than by his last name, “Hay.” Mr. Lincoln had known Hay’s father, Dr. Charles Hay, his grandfather, merchant John Hay, and his uncle, lawyer Milton Hay. Hay was only a few years older than Mr. Lincoln’s son, Robert and like him the product of a New England college – in Hay’s case, Brown University. His humor, his loving of learning and good writing, and his moodiness matched President Lincoln’s character. Historian Michael Burlingame has observed that the relationship between Mr. Lincoln and Hay was that of father and son. Sharing that conclusion, he noted were two “recent scholars have maintained that ‘John Hay’s relationship with Abraham Lincoln was a paramount influence over his life. For Hay, Lincoln proved to be a father figure who combined the values and personalities of both John’s father and uncle.'”

After Lincoln’s death, he married into a wealthy family and developed a successful literary and investment career. In 1879, he joined the State Department and later became Secretary under presidents McKinley and Roosevelt. He negotiated many important treaties including those related to building the Panama Canal. Later in life, his health deteriorated with symptoms of angina pectoris and heart failure. Limited medical understanding of these matters at the time were of little benefit. Probably his most effective therapy was rest during weeks of carbonated baths at Bad Nauheim. Hay died suddenly, shortly after arriving home from the last of these trips.

A fascinating piece of Lincoln, Civil War, and American History.  [cm][ph:L]

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