320. JAMES BUCHANAN (1791 - 1868) Fifteenth President of the United States whose hands-off attitude toward states' rights directly contributed to the start of the Civil War. Rare partly-printed D.S. "James Buchanan" as Secretary of State, 1p. sm. folio, Aug. 28, 1847, a letters patent issued to Christian Stoner of Gettysburg, Pa. for his "Improvement in apparatus for operating carriage brakes". Folds and some soiling, ink has lightened to about 8/10, still good to very good. Stoner's was a clever invention, automatically applying rubber brakes to the periphery of the carriage wheels whenever the speed of the carriage began to exceed that of the horses pulling it, i.e., when the carriage would begin a steep downhill descent. This would prevent undue stress on the horses, and avoid a "fishtail" effect on the carriage. With photocopy of the printed patent specification and drawings. $1,000 - 1,200