Monticello, Iowa: 1868.
Price: $3,000.00
Unbound. Two-page Autograph Letter Signed with original cover from J.C. Thomas, a faculty member of the Jones County Normal school in Monticello, Iowa to George Slayton of Hillsdale, Michigan. The letter, dated December 18, 1868, announces that renowned orators and abolitionists, Frederick Douglass, Theodore Tilton, and O.O. Howard, would become instructors for the school’s winter term. Thomas writes, in part, “have secured lectures for the Winter course: Gen. O.O. Howard, Theo. Tilton and Fred. Douglass – may have some lesser lights also.” He continues, “Our School is progressing quite cheeringly. I think I have never enjoyed the work more than commencing the present term.” Slayton is likely the accomplished horticulturist who, along with his wife, donated 14 wooded acres in Hillsdale to establish an arboretum. An interesting letter documenting the continued attempts to keep the spirit of abolition alive during Reconstruction.
Item #462137
item image
