1431567
Robert E. Lee
Nice ink signature of Lee mounted with a portrait
Robert Edward Lee, 1807–1870. Confederate General, American Civil War. Signature, R. E. Lee, tipped to a portrait.
This is a nice signature of the famed Confederate general. It is tipped to a bookweight portrait of Lee in his uniform bearing the three-star insignia of a colonel that he chose to wear throughout the Civil War.
Lee was and remains the principal defining Confederate character of the Civil War. Lee's loyalty to his home state of Virginia, which caused him to resign his U.S. Army commission, was invaluable to the Confederate movement. His brilliance as a military tactician, his gentlemanly demeanor, and his stately appearance gave him leadership qualities second to none. In The Man Who Would Not Be Washington (2015), former White House speech writer Jonathan Horn demonstrates how Leeʼs decision to remain loyal to his state and go to war against the union that Washington helped to create changed the course of American history. One wonders how soon the war might have ended had Lee fought for the Union rather than the Confederacy.
This 1¼" by 2½" clipped ink signature has not been offered on the autograph market for nearly 70 years. It comes from a collection assembled in the 1940s. It was last sold by autograph dealer Conway Barker of Galveston, Texas, on November 5, 1948, for $5. A copy of Barkerʼs invoice accompanies the piece.
The signature is mounted beneath a portrait of Lee, made from an engraving, and Leeʼs facsimile signature to an overall size of 3⅛" x 6⅛". There is a small stain at the upper edge of the clip, well removed from the signature, and trivial soiling.
The signature is in fine condition. and could be framed with this image or could easily be framed separately with a photograph of Lee. Either would make a nice display.
Unframed.
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