Lot 280

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Description:

CHESTER A. ARTHUR
(1829 - 1886) Twenty-first President of the United States who took office following the assassination of James Garfield. A superb association A.L.S. 2pp. 12mo., Cooperstown, N.Y., Sept. 9, 1878 to D. F. Phelps, the Deputy Collector of the Port of New York. Only months after Rutherford B. Hayes had dismissed Arthur on suspicion of rampant corruption, Arthur writes to the new deputy collector , in full: "I enclose [a] copy [of the] summons served upon me...Service was admitted by me on the original summons. Please attend to the matter & see that notice of appearance is duly served, & oblige...". Arthur was never formally accused of any personal malfeasance during his tenure as Collector of the Port of New York, but the New York customs house had a reputation for corruption. The summons to which Arthur refers here may have been related to one of several cases before the Supreme Court that year involving disputes with various importers over what constituted dutiable goods while he was still Collector. Arthur's dismissal did not cost him politically as he received the Vice Presidential nomination in 1880. Light toning to first page, usual folds and light soiling, else very good condition.

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October 9, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

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