Jefferson, Thomas:

$12,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

[AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED IN THE THIRD PERSON, FROM THOMAS JEFFERSON AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO DOLLEY PAYNE TODD MADISON, FUTURE FIRST LADY AND WIFE OF THEN-SECRETARY OF STATE JAMES ... A charmingly personal autograph letter from Thomas Jefferson, then in his second term as president of the United States, to Dolley Madison, future first lady and wife of then-Secretary of State James Madison, thanking her for her assistance in obtaining a variety of items including earrings and a pin for his daughter and granddaughters, and for Martha's sister-in-law, Virginia Randolph. The items were likely among those alluded to in a June 12, 1805, letter from Thomas Jefferson to his daughter, Martha, and which he had asked Dolley Madison to obtain at Martha's request in preparation for the August 28, 1805, wedding of Virginia Randolph to Wilson Jefferson. A few days earlier, on July 6, Jefferson had written to Dolley Madison, informing her that "the case she shewed him the other day (with ear-rings & a pin) will answer mrs. Randolph's views" and reminding her of the other items requested, including "such a comb exactly as she sent before," as well as garments for each of his granddaughters. He then went on to add that "mrs. Madison knows better how to please the respective parties than Th:J. does." Two days later, on July 8, in a letter to her younger sister Anna Payne Cutts, Dolley Madison mentioned having received "a friendly note from the P[resident] yesterday beging me to get

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.