Photographic Album of the Constitutional Convention of the State of New York (Albany: Churchill & Denison, 1867). Leather-bound hardcover, 9 x 11. The album comprises approximately 176 original CDV-sized albumen photos, affixed four to a decoratively printed single-sided page. All but three of the subjects have signed in ink beneath their respective photos, several including the city or other identifying information. In addition to the delegates (whose numbers include such prominent figures as Horace Greeley and Samuel J. Tilden), several officers and reporters are also included. The president of the convention, William Wheeler, is featured in a large-format frontis photo which has been similarly signed by him. (Later in the year, Wheeler was elected as Rutherford B. Hayes’ vice president in the most bitter electoral dispute prior to the 2000 presidential debacle.) A list of the politicians represented is available at rrauction.com. The covers are worn and, though detached from the text block, are well within the means of restoration. The contents have been beautifully preserved (aided by a protective guard sheet for each page), and, save for a hint of mild rippling to the pages, minor brushes to a few signatures, and a chip to one corner of Wheeler’s page, are in fine, bright condition. R&R COA.
