Details
MADISON, James (1751-1836), President. Autograph letter signed ("James Madison") to Rev. William Buell Sprague (1795-1876), Montpelier, 11 August 1828. 1 page, 4to, integral autograph address leaf, small seal hole. Very fine condition.
MADISON REFLECTS ON THE CHANGES IN HIS HANDWRITING
A gracious letter from the 77-year-old former President to one of the first collectors of American manuscripts, sending writing samples and reflecting on the effects of age on his handwriting: "I...enclose a few autograph specimens...not doubting that you will be able to obtain most of the others I could furnish, from other...sources. [T]he dates of the letters & extracts will suggest the time of life at which they were written. Age often produces as great, and sometimes greater change in the hand writing, than in the features of the countenance. Another cause of diversity is in the greater or less haste with which the writing happens to be executed." He concludes with thanks for "the pamphlets accompanying your letter. The Discourse on Intemperance... claims from all, the deepest attention..." Sprague, a Yale-educated clergyman, was a prolific sermonizer. "Throughout his life he was an indefatigable collector, especially of pamphlets, manuscripts and autographs...He is said to have had the largest and most valuable collection of autographs in the U. S., numbering some 40,000." (DAB)
MADISON REFLECTS ON THE CHANGES IN HIS HANDWRITING
A gracious letter from the 77-year-old former President to one of the first collectors of American manuscripts, sending writing samples and reflecting on the effects of age on his handwriting: "I...enclose a few autograph specimens...not doubting that you will be able to obtain most of the others I could furnish, from other...sources. [T]he dates of the letters & extracts will suggest the time of life at which they were written. Age often produces as great, and sometimes greater change in the hand writing, than in the features of the countenance. Another cause of diversity is in the greater or less haste with which the writing happens to be executed." He concludes with thanks for "the pamphlets accompanying your letter. The Discourse on Intemperance... claims from all, the deepest attention..." Sprague, a Yale-educated clergyman, was a prolific sermonizer. "Throughout his life he was an indefatigable collector, especially of pamphlets, manuscripts and autographs...He is said to have had the largest and most valuable collection of autographs in the U. S., numbering some 40,000." (DAB)