"U. S. GRANT GENERAL, WASHINGTON, D.C. JULY 30TH 1866": SCARCE AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED BY ULYSSES S. GRANT ONLY DAYS AFTER HE WAS PROMOTED TO "GENERAL OF THE ARMIES," THE FIRST OF THAT RANK SINCE WASHINGTON, HANDSOMELY MATTED AND FRAMED WITH A VINTAGE CARTE-DE-VISITE OF GRANT AND THREE VINTAGE MEMORIAL CARDS HONORING GRANT AT HIS DEATH IN 1885

GRANT, Ulysses S. Autograph note signed. FRAMED WITH: Vintage carte-de-visite and three memorial cards. Washington, D.C.: 1866 / 1885. Original ivory leaf (4-1/4 by 4-1/2 inches) in manuscript. WITH: Vintage carte-de-visite (2-1/2 by 4 inches); printed "In Memoriam" card (3 by 4-1/2 inches), printed card with heading "Ulysses Simpson Grant" (3 by 4-1/2 inches); ivory card (4-1/2 by 3 inches) printed with color American flag, embossed brass eagle and five-pointed star, together matted and framed (total measures 16 by 19 inches).

1866 Autograph note signed by Ulysses S. Grant and dated by him "July 30th, 1866"—only four days after Congress established the rank of "General of the Armies of the United States," making Grant the first American to hold that distinction since Washington, handsomely matted and framed with a vintage carte-de-viste of Grant in uniform, circa 1865, and three printed memorial cards honoring Grant after his death in 1885. A splendid framed presidential piece.

This handsomely framed tribute to Ulysses S. Grant prominently features a clipped autograph note signed and dated by him—boldly inscribed "Yours Truly U.S. Grant General, Washington, D.C. July 30th, 1866." Grant signed and dated this autograph note only five days after he was promoted by an act of Congress to General of the Armies of the United States, making him the first American to hold such a rank since Washington, and establishing Grant as the first general with a four-star rank in United States history. After Washington's death, an 1800 Act of Congress authorized President Adams "to suspend, among other things, any further appointment to the Office of General of the Armies of the United States… The grade of general was revived under the title of 'General of the Army of the United States' by the act of 25 July 1866, and was conferred upon Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant" (History of U.S. Army Officer Rank).

Grant's signed autograph note is centered in this handsome frame together with a vintage carte-de-visite portrait of Grant in uniform, circa 1865 and displayed in the upper left corner. The carte-de-visite contains the photography studio inkstamp on the verso of: "J.E. McClees, Artist, 910 Chestnut St. Philadelphia." The signed autograph note and carte-de-visite are elegantly matted and framed with three memorial cards honoring Grant after his death. These include a gilt-embossed "In Memoriam" card at the lower left of the frame, which displays the silver-embossed image of a dove carrying an olive branch and shows the faint trace of a penciled inscription reading: "From Mrs. Grant 1890." A second memorial card, in the lower right of the frame, is likely from the same memorial for Grant; under its printed heading, "Ulysses Simpson Grant," the card reads: "Born at Mount Pleasant Ohio April 27th 1822. Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army, March 12th 1864. Inaugurated President of the United States: First Term, March 4th 1869. Second [Term, March 4th] 1873. Died at Mount McGregor, Near Saratoga New York July 23rd 1885. "Peace." The card also contains, on the verso, a woodcut engraved portrait of Grant. A third memorial card, in the upper right half of the frame, is printed with the image of a G.A.R. ribbon (Grand Army of the Republic). It features an American flag printed in color, centered beneath an embossed brass eagle and cannons, and above an embossed brass five-pointed star. All three cards are bordered in black at the upper and lower edges.

Fine condition.