ALS in pencil, one page, 4.75 x 7.5, September 20, 1866. Addressed from Coffeyville, Mississippi, a handwritten letter from Longstreet to New York City tailors Spence and Thompson, in full: "Please have me a nice suit of clothes for office and street business, made and sent to the care of Longstreet Owen & Co. No. 37 Union Street, New Orleans. I should like them to reach New Orleans by the 20th of October. I don't wish a very expensive article but nice and tasty material, and serviceable." Docketing across the center of the letter in ink, "Answ'd Sept. 29/66." Matted with an engraved portrait to an overall size of 14 x 11. In fine condition.
Following the war, former Confederate General James Longstreet settled in New Orleans, where, in 1866, he entered into partnership with Edward and William Owen in a cotton brokerage. Two years earlier, in 1864, Longstreet was shot in the neck and arm, a victim of friendly fire. As a consequence, he lost the use of his right arm and had to learn to write with his left. This letter is an excellent example of his early left-hand writing, which he cautiously executed in graphite.
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