Description:

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
(1767-1848) Sixth President of the United States, Secretary of State under Monroe who principally formulated the Monroe Doctrine. A superb A.Ms.S. 1p. 4to., Washington, Apr. 2, 1844 in a shaky hand indicative of his old age. The piece is a two stanza poem, apparently unpublished, that reads, in full: "Fair Volume! Thow in Spotless while Hast come a stranger to my hand; Upon thy title page to write As if with Prospero's magic wand. Thy pure, unfulfilled pages yet Are emblems of the infant mind; But maxim sage and Sportive[?] with The future reader here shall find. And Love and Friendship, each in turn His cheerfull [sic] tribute, here shall bring And here Religion's lamp shall burn And here the minstrel's voices shall sing. And when with Sentiment and Song these pages shall hereafter glow; On him to whom they shall belong May Fortune's choicest blessing flow. John Quincy Adams. Washington 2 April 1844." Besides his work in politics and his fight for the abolition of slavery, Adams was a voracious consumer of poetry and love to write himself. He was once wrote, "Could I have chosen my own genius and condition, I would have made myself a great poet." Following his death, many of his poems were published in a volume entitled Poems of Religion and Society (1853). Very light soiling, else fine condition.

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December 16, 2010 11:00 AM EST
Stamford, CT, US

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