The Rare Collection Contains Original and Important Historical Documents Signed by George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt
In anticipation of Presidents’ Day, The Raab Collection announced today that it is offering for sale The Presidential Collection, a curated and valuable collection of original historical documents honoring the enduring legacies of five presidents. The collection is priced at $300,000.
General George Washington: “A storm will burst soon…”
Before he took office as the first President of the United States, George Washington led the scrappy Continental Army to victory against the British. His leadership on the battlefield was a significant prelude to his role as President. On January 19, 1777, in the wake of the crossing of the Delaware and American victories at Trenton and Princeton, General George Washington wrote to Robert Morris, the prime financier of the Revolution, and predicted ominously: “A storm will burst soon, some where.” Washington also correctly foresees the occupation of Philadelphia.
This war-date letter, written and signed by Washington, is a rare and important document, demonstrating his strength and courage under fire.
John Adams: The Seeds of Independence
As a lawyer, as a diplomat, as the nation’s first Vice-President and its second President, Adams acted as the new nation’s moral compass throughout the fight for Independence, and he led by example.
In this fascinating letter, written in 1818, Adams marvels that the seeds of independence he and Benjamin Franklin planted in France would grow into the Great American Experiment. He is addressing the son of key French ally Jacques-Le Ray de Chaumont and reflects on the special relationship between their two countries: “Thirty nine years ago, I little thought I should live to see the Heir apparent to the Princely Palaces and Gardens of Passy my Fellow Citizen in the Republican Wilderness of America laying the Foundation of more ample domains and perhaps more splendid Palaces…”
Thomas Jefferson’s Final Farewell to Europe
Thomas Jefferson served as Vice-President under Adams and as the third President of the U.S. Like Adams, he persuaded other leaders to America’s destiny of an independent nation, and he drafted the Declaration of Independence. After the war, he spent several years in France as a diplomat, watching their own revolution unfold, before being called back to the states in late 1789.
Jefferson penned this letter on the very day he left Europe forever, not yet aware that President Washington had named him Secretary of State, a role he would assume the moment he landed. “You’re capturing Jefferson at this crucial moment in his life but also in American history,” said Nathan Raab. The letter has been in a private collection since it was last sold in the 1960s.
🎧 To learn more about this letter, listen to the Inspired by History podcast, episode 19:
President Abraham Lincoln Honors an Old Friend During the Civil War
Abraham Lincoln, as 16th President of the United States, successfully pulled the country through the crisis of the Civil War and put an end to slavery. His legacy reflects the immense challenges he faced, but also the humanity and compassion with which he faced them.
In this signed endorsement, written on the back of a letter from a friend who would later serve as one of Lincoln’s pallbearers, Lincoln honors the work of his “Old Friend [Joseph] Gillespie,” a colleague since 1840, who campaigned for Lincoln’s presidential nomination and presided over the Illinois Republican State Convention in 1860. This note, which is unpublished and before now unknown to scholars, reiterates Lincoln’s best qualities.
Theodore Roosevelt on Women’s Suffrage
Only a few years before Theodore Roosevelt became President, having risen to the position upon the assassination of William McKinley in 1901, he was elected Governor of New York at a time when the legislature was considering the expansion of women’s rights. Most politicians opposed it, but Roosevelt was willing to listen and learn.
In this letter to a female constituent, Roosevelt says he will consult with “advocates of Woman Suffrage” before he drafts his inaugural address. This is the only letter of Theodore Rosevelt we have ever seen on the topic of women’s rights. We obtained it directly from the family of the recipient and it has never before been offered for sale.
Contact us to learn more about The Presidential Collection.
