EXTREMELY BOLD AND RARE SIGNATURES OF BOTH JAMES GARFIELD AND CHESTER ARTHUR AS PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT
Very rare bold ink signature as president of James A. Garfield dated during his short presidency “May 5, 1881” on an off-white 7.5 x 4.75 album page, accompanied by an ink signature as vice president, of C. A. Arthur dated the next day, May 6, 1881, on a similar size page. Both signatures present in bold black ink and are in fine, clean condition.
Because of his untimely demise, signatures of Garfield as president take a place among the most notable rarities in the field of collecting. In his 1995 reference, History Comes to Life, Kenneth Rendell notes that Garfield is second only to William Henry Harrison in rarity of signed material during his presidency. Because of Garfield’s fabled scarcity thus, it is often overlooked that the signature of Arthur as vice president is equally uncommon, and perhaps even more so, as he served in that capacity for such a short time. Both signatures are notably large and clear.