Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2006 Issue
Signed Documents of The South from Joe Rubinfine
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We have only touched the surface. There are many more documents available, including those from both generals and ordinary foot soldiers in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. There is a letter from President Thomas Jefferson looking forward to his retirement and return to farming ("...to retire altogether from public affairs, and to indulge myself in those pursuits more delightful to me...). There is a letter from an aged former President James Madison to Jefferson's nephew. A letter of recommendation sent to President Polk (with the President's handwritten notation) includes the signatures of four Southern leaders from 1848, John Calhoun, Jefferson Davis, South Carolina Senator A.P. Butler and Mississippi Senator H.S. Foote. A note about his family genealogy comes from President Zachary Taylor, who survived only a little more than a year in office. There is a touching letter from Davis to his 8-year-old son in the closing days of the Civil War. There is a message from Booker T. Washington explaining that Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt had to cancel his visit to Tuskegee because the assassination of President McKinley had suddenly thrust him into the role of Chief of State. To inquire about these and the many other items in Joe Rubinfine's The South (List 155), he may be reached at 561-659-7077 (West Palm Beach, Florida) or via email at Joerubinfine@mindspring.com.
