To a future Confederate spy - photo 1

To a future Confederate spy

Starting price
$ 100
Auction dateClassic
16.06.2023 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 967513
Lot 313 | To a future Confederate spy
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Autograph letter signed ("Nathl Hawthorne") to George N. Sanders, "U.S. Consulate," Liverpool, 5 May 1854.

One page, 202 x 126mm, recipient's docket in upper margin (mild toning, a few mounting remnants on verso).

Hawthorne writes to his friend and London counterpart, George N. Sanders, who would later serve as a Confederate spy and be implicated by some as the driving force behind the Lincoln assassination. But at this time, Sanders (1812-1873) was a fellow political appointee serving as the United States Consul in London, appointed by Hawthorne's old college friend, President Franklin Pierce. Here, Hawthorne informs Sanders that, "The bearer, Captain J. I . Marshall, owing to unforeseen circumstances, is in want of twenty pounds. If you will be kind enough to advance it to him, your draft to that amount on me shall be duly honored at sight." He adds a short postscript offering his hope "to have the pleasure of seeing you in London in the course of this month."

Long before his work for the Confederacy, Sanders proved a controversial figure. Hawthorne himself remarked that "some men possessed a kind of magnetic influence over him which he could not resist, however it might lead him." A leading figure in the "Young America" faction that gripped Democratic politics in the 1830s and 1840s, he advocated U.S. intervention in foreign affairs as a means to promote free, republican governments througout the world. By the time Hawthorne wrote the present letter to Sanders, the Senate had failed to confirm his appointment as consul, but Sanders remained in London where he blatantly meddled in the affairs of other nations, most notably an open letter advocating the assassination of Napoleon III. (See Melinda Janye Squires, The Controversial Career of George Nicholas Sanders. Master of Arts Thesis, Western Kentucky University, August 2000). Not published in Letters, Centennial Edition.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
16.06.2023
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne
Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne
$3 000
Mudie’s Natural History of Birds
Mudie’s Natural History of Birds
$100
True Stories from History and Biography, The Snow-Image, and A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
True Stories from History and Biography, The Snow-Image, and A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
$100
On Franklin Pierce and his new office as U.S. Consul
On Franklin Pierce and his new office as U.S. Consul
$1 000
Inchiquin, 1810
Inchiquin, 1810
$100
Thanking his friend for his financial support
Thanking his friend for his financial support
$5 000
Tanglewood Tales
Tanglewood Tales
$100
The Marble Faun, inscribed by Pierce
The Marble Faun, inscribed by Pierce
$2 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.