Fine ALS, one lightly lined (vertically) page, 6 x 8, June 28, 1888. Douglass writes to war journalist, lawyer, and politician Private [J. M.] Dalzell (1838–1924). In full: “I enclose herewith a post office order in your favor six doll[ar]s in payment for eleven copies of your book[.] I am just home from the National Republican Convention at Chicago and have not had time to read your Autobiography. One week in this Chicago business has damaged my health more than six months work would have done at home.” Also included: a first edition copy of the book to which Douglass refers in the letter, Private Dalzell: His Autobiography, Poems, and Comic War Papers, Sketch of John Gray, Washington’s Last Soldier, Etc. (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 1888). On page 197 of the book, Dalzell includes Douglass among a list of those he consulted in writing his biographical sketch of John Gray, then believed to be the last surviving American veteran of the Revolutionary War (though this claim is still a matter of some dispute). Plus; a souvenir manuscript, comprising a fair copy of Dalzell’s 1867 poem “The Blue and Gray” on two lightly lined 8.5 x 14 conjoined sheets, signed on both pages “J. M. Dalzell, Private Dalzell” and dated May 30, 1916. The Douglass letter is encapsulated in Mylar and is bright and fine, with light intersecting folds. Less than two weeks earlier, on June 19, Douglass was introduced as one of the featured speakers at the Republican National Convention at Chicago and delivered a stirring address to the delegation. While praising the Republicans, the party’s convention clearly taxed Douglass’s fortitude, based on his comment of how the stress of Chicago politics had damaged him more than the six months he spent in Washington, D.C. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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