James (1889) Buchanan Paintings & Artwork for Sale | James (1889) Buchanan Art Value Price Guide

Dec. 17, 2023
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889). Autograph manuscript, [Washington, 28 January 1861]. Eight pages, most 345
Est: $80,000 - $120,000
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889). Autograph manuscript, [Washington, 28 January 1861]. Eight pages, most 345 x 212mm, with a smaller leaf, 250 x 202mm & 120 x 210mm, in ink and some pencil (occasional toning and dustsoiling). Seven pages in the hand of Buchanan and one in the hand of Glossbrenner, his private secretary. An optimistic Buchanan praises the Virginia Peace Resolutions calling for a peace conference in Washington. A hopeful message delivered in the wake of Virginia's proposal of staging a peace conference, while cautioning that the executive lacked the power to agree to any resolutions, noting that only Congress held such power: "I confess I hail this movement on the part of Virginia with great satisfaction. From the past history of this ancient and renowned Commonwealth, we have the fullest assurance that what she has undertaken she will accomplish, if it can be done by able, enlightened, and persevering efforts. It is highly gratifying to know that other patriotic States have appointed, and are appointing, commissioners to meet those of Virginia in council. When assembled, they will constitute a body entitled, in an eminent degree, to the confidence of the country . . . . However strong may be my desire to enter into such an agreement, I am convinced that I do not possess the power. Congress, and Congress alone, under the war-making power, can exercise the discretion of agreeing to abstain ‘from any and all acts calculated to produce a collision of arms’ between this and any other Government" The Virginia resolutions came on the heels of three failed attempts at a compromise to prevent the breakup of the Union. The first, the Crittenden Plan, was presented in December and consisted of a series of conditional amendments including an extension of the Missouri Compromise line to run to the Pacific—a position that was rejected by a Congressional committee of 33 (representing each state)—in part because it violated the Republican position of not extending slavery further west. A modified version was proposed at the close of the year, but it was rejected by Congress on 4 January. Later the same month, the same committee drafted a constitutional amendment protecting slavery where it existed and allowing New Mexico to join the Union as a slave state. The fourth attempt at compromise came from Virginia, who had not yet seceded from the Union, and was presented by former President John Tyler to hold a peace conference in Washington that convened at the Willard Hotel on 4 February 1861. Unfortunately, none of the deep south states, most of whom had already seceded, attended the conference which met for three weeks. With only representatives from the upper South and many far western states absent, the conference proved a flawed effort at compromise, but it ended the resolution that proposed a connotational amendment that would protect slavery where it existed and allow the extension of slavery below the Missouri Compromise Line. The conferences resolution was rejected in the Senate by a large margin and never came to a vote in the House. Congress did approve the Corwin Amendment which protected slavery where it already existed—a position that even Lincoln believed was settled law under the Constitution—but embraced as a last-ditch effort at sectional compromise. Published in John Basset More, ed., The Works of James Buchanan. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1910. Vol. 11, pp. 116-118.
Christie's
Dec. 17, 2023
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889). Autograph mansucript, [Washington, 8 January 1861]. 15 pages, most 345 x 2
Est: $80,000 - $120,000
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889). Autograph mansucript, [Washington, 8 January 1861]. 15 pages, most 345 x 215mm with two 155 x 210mm sheets pinned a 345 x 215mm sheet (occasional light soiling). Six pages in the hand of Buchanan with the balance in the hand of Glossbrenner, his private secretary. James Buchanan's draft of his public response to South Carolina's demands for the surrender of federal forts in Charleston Harbor: "the right and the duty to use military force defensively against those who resist the Federal officers in the execution of their legal functions and against those who assail the property of the Federal Government is clear and undeniable." On 26 December 1860, less than a week after South Carolina formally seceded from the Union, Major John Anderson, in command of the federal garrison from the indefensible Fort Moultrie to the more secure Fort Sumter—raising the real possibility that secession might lead to war. Meanwhile, a delegation from South Carolina was in Washington demanding Anderson's withdrawal from all three federal installations. Buchanan and his cabinet deliberated from the 27th to the 31st. While some in his cabinet, most notably Secretary of War, John B. Floyd and Secretary of the Interior, Jacob Thompson counseled that the President surrender the forts, Attorney General Edwin Stanton, Postmaster General, Joseph Holt and Secretary of State Jerimiah Black insisted the President deny South Carolina's demands. On 31 December Buchanan resolved to spurn the South Carolinians, resolving to defend the fortress if attacked. The next morning, Buchanan appointed Joseph Holt Secretary of War, in the place of John B. Floyd, who had resigned on 29 December and gave orders to both the War and Navy departments to begin secret preparation to reinforce Anderson's garrison. Interestingly, the most heavily-edited portion of this message concerns the communications of Major Anderson and the War Department. Three pages have been pinned together with a news clipping of the orders given to Anderson that authorized him to take the liberty of moving his forces. Buchanan was keen to underscore that Anderson made the move independently of any direct orders from Washington—but rather that Anderson had made the move according to his own judgement—in an effort not to provoke the South Carolinians. Yet in the body of his message, Buchanan resolves that while he, "certainly had no right to make aggressive war upon any State, and" was "perfectly satisfied that the Constitution has wisely withheld that power even from Congress. But the right and the duty to use military force defensively against those who resist the Federal officers in the execution of their legal functions and against those who assail the property of the Federal Government is clear and undeniable." He adds that the "Union is a sacred trust left by our revolutionary fathers to their descendants; and never did any other people inherit so rich a legacy. It has rendered us prosperous in peace and triumphant in war. The national flag has floated in glory over every sea. . . . Should the Union perish in the midst of the present excitement we have already had a sad foretaste of the universal suffering which would result from its destruction. The calamity would be severe in every portion of the Union, and would be so great, to say the least, in the southern as in the northern States. . . . Would that South Carolina had been convinced of this truth before her precipitate action! I, therefore, appeal through you to the people of the country to declare in their might that the Union must and shall be preserved by all constitutional means." The final text was published in John Basset More, ed., The Works of James Buchanan. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1910. Vol. 11, pp. 94-99.
Christie's
Dec. 17, 2023
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889). Autograph manuscript draft, Washignton, 31 December 1860. 19 pages, most 3
Est: $80,000 - $120,000
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889). Autograph manuscript draft, Washignton, 31 December 1860. 19 pages, most 345 x 212mm. Seven pages in Buchanan's hand, the balance in the hand of his private secretary, Adam John Glossbrenner. "In the harbor of Charleston, confronting each other are three forts belonging to the United States, over two of them the Palmetto flag waves & the stars and stripes of our Country wave over but one … To ask me to remove the American flag altogether from the port & harbor of Charleston this I cannot do." James Buchanan's draft of his response to the South Carolina Commissioners refusing to surrender Fort Sumter. A revealing look at the beleaguered President's careful construction of his response to the demands of the South Carolina Commissioners for the surrender of Fort Sumter, a crisis exacerbated by Major John Anderson's decision to evacuate the indefensible Fort Moultrie for the more secure Fort Sumter, located a mile from the Charleston Harbor shoreline. While denying South Carolina's right to take the federal installation, he was adamant that the decision to evacuate Moultrie was Anderson's alone: "I never did send any reinforcements to the harbor of Charleston nor did I ever authorize the officer in command to change the relative military status of the Forts. On the 11th December 1860 the Secretary of War addressed an order to Major Anderson which was never brought to my knowledge until the 21st instant ...The last letter from Major Anderson before his removal to Fort Sumpter (sic) dated on the 22nd inst. & received on the 26th proves conclusively that he was not mistaken as to the character of his instructions; but that he acted upon his own responsibility. But he is a gallant & brave officer & ought not to be condemned without a hearing. I most deeply regret his action. The true remedy of it would have been an order to him to return to Fort Moultrie with his command & restored all things in status quo." Interestingly, Buchanan deleted the next passage, likely not wanting to offer any additional legitimacy to actions taken by the State of South Carolina: "Had you asked me for such an order it would have been instantly granted without wanting or asking for any explanation. But the Convention acting in their own discretion have taken the law into their own hands. They neither asked nor waited for any explanation." Following this deleted passage, the President continues: "The removal took place on Wednesday night & on Thursday afternoon we are informed by the Telegraph that the Palmetto flag was raised yesterday afternoon over the Custom House & Post Office at 5 PM. About the same hour the Palmetto flag floated out to the breeze at Castle Pinckney & a large military force went over last night to Fort Moultrie. Both the Custom House & Post Office were the property of the United States. Now it is I presume impossible to restore the status quo. In the harbor of Charleston, confronting each other are three forts belonging to the United States, over two of them the Palmetto flag waves & the stars and stripes of our Country wave over but one. Under these circumstances you urge upon me 'the immediate withdrawal of the troops from the harbor of Charleston.' This would be voluntarily to surrender the third fort after the other two have been taken possession of by South Carolina: To ask me to remove the American flag altogether from the port & harbor of Charleston this I cannot do." Published in John Basset More, ed., The Works of James Buchanan. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1910. Vol. 11, pp. 79-84. [With:] [BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868), GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889)]. Partial draft autograph letter [in Glossbrenner's hand] to the Senate and House of Representatives [Washington, ca. 2 January 1861]. 1 page, 345 x 211mm. A partial transmittal leaf, noting the transmittal of letters from the South Carolina "'Commissioners'" as well as "what is denominated the Ordinance of Secession of South Carolina from the Union … . It is well known that I do not recognize the constitutional or reserved right of any state to withdraw from the Union without the consent of her sister states. On this question I have nothing to add…." Not published in Works.
Christie's
Dec. 17, 2023
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889), et al. Autograph manuscript, a portion of his State of the Union Message, [Washingt
Est: $120,000 - $180,000
BUCHANAN, James. (1791-1868); GLOSSBRENNER, Adam John (1810-1889), et al. Autograph manuscript, a portion of his State of the Union Message, [Washington, late November - early December 1860]. 20 pages, various sizes ranging from 150 x 205mm to 347 x 213mm. Eight pages in Buchanan's hand, two in the hand of his private secretary, Adam John GLOSBRENNER (1810-1889) and the remainder an unidentified hand, with penciled and inked corrections throughout with heavy emendations and corrections in the pages written by Buchanan. Several leaves partly joined with a red ribbon, the balance loose (light soiling and occasional tears at margins not affecting text). "'What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.'" Highly important draft portions of James Buchanan's final State of the Union message delivered as South Carolina delegates assembled for a convention in Charleston to consider secession from the Union: "…this is a revolution against an established government and not a voluntary secession from it by virtue of an inherent constitutional right. In fact secession is neither more nor less than attempted revolution; & to carry it into effect by force is neither more nor less than civil war." An intimate look into the painstaking construction of James Buchanan’s final State of the Union message, delivered to Congress on the eve of South Carolina’s secession from the Union. The draft covers some of the most critical portions of Buchanan's speech: the looming secession crisis and his plans on how best to manage it. "In the meantime it will be my duty to see that the laws, inadequate as they are for the occasion, shall be faithfully executed. To this I am pledged by a solemn oath before God and my country, from which I can not be absolved by any human power. This duty, however, I shall perform, if this be possible, in such a manner as to avoid any collision between the federal and state authorities." But the problem was seemingly intractable: "South Carolina has already gone far in advance of her sister states. In that state every federal officer charged with the execution of the laws has already resigned, or, as we are assured, will resign upon the adoption of the proposed act of secession. We no longer have a district judge, a district attorney, or a marshal in South Carolina. In fact, the whole machinery of the Federal Government necessary for the distribution of remedial justice among the people has been demolished, and it would be difficult, if not impossible to replace it." Buchanan cautioned that the executive was essentially powerless to compel the state to remain within the Union, and it was up to Congress to act as the laws that were currently on the books were inadequate to the task: "May I speak with the voice of prophetic warning, and declare it to be my firm conviction after much painful reflection, that whilst all portions of the country would suffer dreadful calamities from the dissolution of the Union those inflicted on the people of the South would be greater both in degree and duration than any other portion of the Confederacy. 'What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.'" Ironically, the first numbered page begins with an assessment of the nation's success in suppressing the slave trade: "It is with great satisfaction I communicate the fact that since the date of my last annual message not a single slave has been imported into the United States in violation of the laws prohibiting the African slave trade." The passage eventually found its way to follow Buchanan's statements regarding the federal budget, though a pair of crossed-out notes at the top of the page indicate that Glossbrenner had suggested it be inserted "After For[eign] Rel[ations]", while Buchanan thought it be placed "After Kansas and Utah". Manuscript drafts of any Presidential State of the Union message seldom appear at auction. RBH records a precious few examples: most notably a draft page of Abraham Lincoln's final State of the Union message and the opening passage of Grover Cleveland's delivered in 1885. The final text was published in John Basset More, ed., The Works of James Buchanan. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1910. Vol. 11, pp. 7-43.
Christie's
Jun. 26, 2023
1890's James Buchanan Presidential Trade Card
Est: $50 - $100
1890's James Buchanan Presidential Trade Card
Saco River Auction
Nov. 22, 2014
5 ANTIQUE DOCUMENTS PRESIDENTIAL SIGNATURES
Est: $200 - $400
A collection of five late eighteenth to late nineteenth antique documents including presidential signatures. Four are framed, and two bear presidential signatures, Benjamin Harrison (1889) and James Buchanan (1859). Others signatures include Thomas Cope (1796) and Thomas Mifflin.
Kamelot Auctions
Oct. 20, 2012
(DOCUMENTS) FRAMED LAND GRANT signed "James Buchanan". Dated August 15, 1885. Assigning Marvin Green's rights to Elizabeth Palmer, w..
Est: $350 - $450
(DOCUMENTS) FRAMED LAND GRANT signed "James Buchanan". Dated August 15, 1885. Assigning Marvin Green's rights to Elizabeth Palmer, widow of Joseph Palmer. 9 1/2" x 15" sight.
Eldred's
Nov. 14, 2010
(Buchanan, James, 1791-1868) and Glossbrenner, Adam John (1810-1889), Interesting Archive of Correspondence related to the career of Ad
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
(Buchanan, James, 1791-1868) and Glossbrenner, Adam John (1810-1889), Interesting Archive of Correspondence related to the career of Adam John Glossbrenner, comprising: Buchanan, James, two autograph letters, 1858 and 1861, concerning books and an invitation, two signed documents, 1860, each concerning a nomination for postmaster and a confirmation of Glossbrenner as his personal secretary, and six free franked envelopes; two signed letters from Schuyler Colfax; Cameron, Simon, an autograph letter signed, 1867, concerning a recommendation, and two signed letters, 1849, concerning stocks and monies; Sickles, Daniel E., autograph letter signed, 1858, concerning a request for funds; approximately thirty documents related to his position as Sergeant-of-Arms for the House of Representatives; including a folio of correspondence related to his position as private secretary to President James Buchanan, 1860; and a quantity of family related paper and ephemera from the mid-19th through the early 20th century, (mostly very good condition).
Skinner