American lawyer (1841–1882) who, frustrated in his attempt to secure an ambassadorship, assassinated President James Garfield in 1881. Notarized ADS, signed “Charles J. Guiteau,” and signed additionally in the text and again on the docketing panel, one lightly-lined page, 8 x 7, June 12, 1874. Legal document, headed at the top, “City and/County of New York,” reads, in part: “Charles J. Guiteau…that his plffs atty herein and that the allegations contained in the…Counterclaim herein are true of his own knowledge except as to the matter therein stated upon information and belief and as to the matter …as he has been so informed by said plffs and also by mail defend as to what is the reason…is not made by one of the plffs.” Lower left bears an endorsement and signature of notary William Sinclair. Reverse bears a docketing panel in a unknown hand which states “NY Supreme Court, Andrew Gluck and James K. Spratt ‘Copy’ Reply to answer and counterclaim…Red’d June 15th, 1874,” and is signed at the bottom, “Charles J. Guiteau Plffs Atty.” Small separation to one horizontal fold, paper loss to lower right corner, affecting nothing, and some light show-through from docketing on reverse, otherwise fine condition.
Unable to hold a job and struggling financially, Charles Guiteau moved from Illinois to New York and back again multiple times during the 1860s and 70s. After failing in his attempt at running a small legal firm in Chicago, angering clients with his outrageous fees and mediocre service, he and his wife moved to New York in 1874. Hoping to secure a job in the newspaper business but finding no open positions upon his arrival, he unhappily returned to law; this document, signed as a plaintiff’s attorney, marks one of his last legitimate positions. When his wife divorced him that same year, Guiteau grew increasingly despondent and erratic, shifting his focus from law to religion to politics, eventually deciding that he should receive an appointment in Washington, DC. When that appointment never came, the disgruntled office-seeker set out to assassinate newly elected President Garfield, firing the fatal shot in July of 1881. An interesting document from the tumultuous final years of a man in decline. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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