Attorney general in Lincoln’s cabinet during the Civil War (1793–1869). Civil War–dated ALS signed “Edw. Bates,” one page, lightly-lined both sides, 5 x 7.75, February 17, 1864. Letter to a gentleman. In full: “I have just been favored with your note of Feb. 13, informing me that (for the benefit of the Sanitary Commission) it is proposed 'to have a sale of Autographs,' and asking for some of mine. I would not like to be thought churlish, & therefore dare not refuse so small a request. And I grant it the more cheerfully, because I am pleasantly surprised by the new idea of making a profit by the sale of my hand-writing. I thought that you Yorkers, especially about Albany, were a very shrewd & calculating people, not very likely to 'spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not.' But that is not my affair—let the buyers beware, if they wish to get the worth of their money, rather than give, to so holy a cause as that of the Sanitary Commission.” In very good condition, with intersecting folds (one with slight separation to edge), and scattered soiling. Accompanied by an unsigned original carte-de-visite portrait of Bates. RR Auction COA.
