May 07, 2020 - Sale 2534

Sale 2534 - Lot 387

Price Realized: $ 4,500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
(RECONSTRUCTION.) Pinchback, Pinckney B.S. Commission signed as governor of Louisiana. Partly printed Document Signed "P.B.S. Pinchback" as acting governor of Louisiana, 14 x 17 inches, with embossed paper seal; worn with 7 tape repairs on verso and slight loss at intersection of folds, moderate dampstaining. New Orleans, LA, 26 December 1872

Additional Details

Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (1837-1921) was born free in Georgia to a formerly enslaved woman and her former master. In 1868 he was elected to the Louisiana state senate, was chosen as president pro tempore, and became Lieutenant Governor in 1871 after the death of the incumbent. When the governor was forced to step aside due to impeachment proceedings, Pinchback became the acting governor of Louisiana. He was the first African-American governor in the history of the United States--a club of one until Douglas Wilder was inaugurated as governor of Virginia in 1990. His signature on this commission authorized C. Morgan to serve as recorder for the parish of Pointe Coupée. We are aware of no other Pinchback autographs at auction.