Anna Harrison – ALS, one page, May 11, 1846, North Bend, to Rev. Robert Crawford , accompanied by the detached address panel bearing one of the few existing Ann Harrison free franks.
Rev. Crawford, an active collector of autographs and pamphlets, solicited signatures of her late husband William Henry Harrison and George Washington. Such appeals to relatives and associated of prominent people were a common practice in early autograph collecting. Crawford sweetened the request by sharing that he had delivered some sermons in memory of the late president.
Anna Harrison responded with a letter more expansive than typically seen to such requests. She had no Washington autographs to give but sent one of her late husband William Henry (not present). She also made a request of her own: would Rev Crawford send her copies of his tribute sermons for her own collection? She also shared with the a poignant reflection of her religious faith. “I desire to walk down the Valley of life in the ways of piety, adorning the religion I profess by a well ordered life, casting all my cares on God, trusting that he cares for me.”
The few letters by Anna Harriosn that have survived are from the mid 1840’s to later 1850’s and typically are in response to autograph requests. This happens to be one of the longer letters with much better content than most. But the gem is the address panel with her frank. Harrison’s autographs are scarce to rare; but the rel gem is the address panel with her free frank, almost unknown on the market.
According to Rendell’s History Comes to Life notes that her letters appear only occasionally and should be considered rare. Dr. Walter Ostromecki’s The First Ladies of the United States notes that only two franks appearing in the market between 1968-1988, with one leading collector of franks as estimating only nine were known to collectors.
Anna Harrison – ALS, one page, May 11, 1846, North Bend, to Rev. Robert Crawford , accompanied by the detached address panel bearing one of the few existing Ann Harrison free franks.
Rev. Crawford, an active collector of autographs and pamphlets, solicited signatures of her late husband William Henry Harrison and George Washington. Such appeals to relatives and associated of prominent people were a common practice in early autograph collecting. Crawford sweetened the request by sharing that he had delivered some sermons in memory of the late president.
Anna Harrison responded with a letter more expansive than typically seen to such requests. She had no Washington autographs to give but sent one of her late husband William Henry (not present). She also made a request of her own: would Rev Crawford send her copies of his tribute sermons for her own collection? She also shared with the a poignant reflection of her religious faith. “I desire to walk down the Valley of life in the ways of piety, adorning the religion I profess by a well ordered life, casting all my cares on God, trusting that he cares for me.”
The few letters by Anna Harriosn that have survived are from the mid 1840’s to later 1850’s and typically are in response to autograph requests. This happens to be one of the longer letters with much better content than most. But the gem is the address panel with her frank. Harrison’s autographs are scarce to rare; but the rel gem is the address panel with her free frank, almost unknown on the market.
According to Rendell’s History Comes to Life notes that her letters appear only occasionally and should be considered rare. Dr. Walter Ostromecki’s The First Ladies of the United States notes that only two franks appearing in the market between 1968-1988, with one leading collector of franks as estimating only nine were known to collectors.
