Rare Autographs, Manuscripts and Photography
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/7/2016
Signed, 2 pg ALS (5 x 8), dated Thanksgiving Day 1872. Letter was written to Charles A. Dana, publisher of the New York Sun. The letter reads: “Among the reasons for thankfulness today, I emphasize the kindness & courtesy of the Press towards me, during a period of no inconsiderable trouble. This has been especially true of the Sun and; the very lucid and skillful ?? of a meeting last night, where for various reasons, was difficult to be presented in its true genius, adds to my obligations. I beg of you, dear sir, to allow me to make a strong expression of my sense of your kindness to me; kindness without impairing that fidelity to truth, which should animate Journalism.” Beecher was a Congregationalist minister, social reformer and outspoken supporter for the abolition of slavery. In 1872, Beecher was the subject of a story published in the Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly alleging that he had had an adulterous affair with the wife of a former associate named Theodore Tilton. In 1874, Tilton filed adultery charges against Beecher and the subsequent trial, which ended in a hung jury, was one of the most widely reported American trials of the century.
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