American statesman and lawyer (1810-1883) who served as Attorney General and Secretary of State under President James Buchanan. ALS in pencil signed “J. S. Black,” one page, 7.75 x 9.75, June 4, 1812. Letter to Colonel Donn Piatt, a Union officer in the Civil war and a founder of the weekly Capitol newspaper, in full: "Returning from the west this morning I found yr. letter in the Tribune. You are the greatest man alive when you express your own sentiments but you miss it a little when you go for mine. If I reply it will be for your paper and after a fair talk. I will see you some time before long. I wish you would not say anything about Lamon's Life of Lincoln until you learn the inside history of it. It is not the book that was written. The falsification of the text, the additions and suppressions are a big swindle." In fine condition.
