Apr 15, 2021 - Sale 2564

Sale 2564 - Lot 195

Price Realized: $ 188
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 250 - $ 350
(CIVIL WAR--PENNSYLVANIA.) Pair of circular letters from Philadelphia's Committee of Public Safety during the war's opening months. 2 partly-printed items, both addressed to William D. Lewis, Esq.; moderate foxing, folds. Philadelphia, May-June 1861

Additional Details

In the early days of the Civil War, Philadelphia felt vulnerable to a rebel naval attack. A Committee of Public Safety was formed to create a home-guard militia and purchase cannons to prevent a naval assault. By June, as the outlines of the conflict became more clear, the alarm subsided, and the government took over defense efforts. Offered here are two circular letters from the Committee of Public Safety. We trace no other material related to this committee at auction, and these circulars do not appear in OCLC.

1. The Committee's partly-printed meeting notice sent on 9 May 1861, 7 1/2 x 5 inches.

2. Printed circular letter with a report of the committee's Finance Committee, advising "no further contracts," a 50% refund of all subscriptions paid so far, an effort to sell the committee's batteries to the city, and finally to disband the committee, 13 June 1861, 9 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches.