LS signed “R. E. Lee,” one lightly lined page, 4.75 x 6.75, May 16, 1868. Lee writes from Washington College, Virginia to Wm. M. Tate in Swoopes Depot. In full: “The Final Examinations of Canidates [sic] for Degrees begin to day, and will continue until the 8th prox. at which time the general Examinations of under-graduates will commence continuing until 15th June. I shall be grateful if you can find it convenient to attend.” Tate, a onetime Major in the Confederate Army, former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and an 1833 graduate of Washington College, had been a member of the Board of Trustees of Washington College since 1856, continuing on the board when the school was renamed Washington and Lee University after Lee’s death in 1870. Matted and framed with a portrait to an overall size of 24.75 x 16. In good condition, with wrinkling and rippling (letter evidently affixed to another sheet), scattered staining and smudging, scattered small Liquid Paper–like touch-ups, pencil line just touching signature, and a few tears and abrasions. The signature itself is generally unaffected and rates as near fine. JSA/John Reznikoff Auction LOA and RRAuction COA. Oversized.
