American lawyer and politician (1833-1911) who served as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court; his role as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases (1883) and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) led to his nickname of 'The Great Dissenter.' Exceptional ALS, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.75 x 7.75, July 4, 1910. Letter written to fellow Supreme Court Justice [Horace H. Lurton] only hours after the death of Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville Fuller, informing Lurton of his death, his shock at the news, and speculating who would replace him. In full: “Inst after mailing my letter to you, I received a telegram from Sorrento, Maine, that the Chief Justice died there suddenly this morning. The news stunned me for when the court adjourned he was apparently in good health & full of hope. I have no details. We shall miss the Chief more than we may be now aware. He was one of the best men I ever knew. Clear-minded, kind-hearted, gentle & lovable. I had great affection for him. Who will succeed him? My guess is that it will be Hughes. It looks as if our court is to have no end of trouble. I do not yet know when the remains of the Chief Justice will be buried. I hope the family will conclude not to remove them to Chicago until the last of September. In which event, all of us, I take it, must attend the funeral. I will endeavor to keep the Justices informed." In fine condition, with light edge toning. Consignor notes that the letter derives from the estate of Judge Lurton’s law clerk.
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