Erskine Collection Of Rare Documents
Includes Signatures Of U.S. Presidents
Collecting old letters and docu
ments bearing the signatures of
many important names in history
was the hobby of Wilbur Julian
Erskine, a fact well-known to those
familiar with the former business
man of Kodiak.
Erskine, who died in 1948, left an
estate valued at $335,000. Collect
ing autographs of presidents and
other great personalities was his
hobby. The documents were kept
in a suitcase in the former Bank of
Kodiak, now a branch of the Na
tional Bank of Alaska.
What happened to those docu
ments and other rare papers is told
in a story appearing Monday in the
Anchorage Daily Times. The article
is printed in part here.
David, Pree, Anchorage attor
ney, left the other day with his
briefcase packed with a collection
of rare documents. Pree will de
liver them to heirs in San Fran
cisco.
Pree said no value was estab
lished for the autograph collection.
Other Erskine properties were sold
and the funds divided among the
heirs. Delivery of the rare papers
will terminate the liquidation of
the estate.
The documents include:
George Washington’s signature
on a letter in 1779 to a friend who
had sent him a dictionary the
friend had complied.
Benjamin Franklin’s signature
appears as notary on a petition for
bankruptcy in Philadelphia in 1787.
James Monroe as president and
captured by the Union army. It is
in answer to questions about the
soldier’s condition and location. As
Rotarians See
Jet Progress
The coming of the jet age was
depicted in a film shown at the Ro
tary Club meeting Tuesday noon
in the 49 Room.
The film, produced for S. A. S.,
gave an artistic approach to the
history of man’s attempt at flight
to the present manufacturing of
the jet.
Present at the meeting other
than Kodiak members, were A1
Johnson, Peter Badling. R. J. Mc
Ginnis, Margaret Burnett, Sen. Bob
Logan, Royden Greely, Lt,. Col. Jim
Stafford, Lt. Cmdr. Gil O’Brien and
Gildo Rey.
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John Q. Adams as secretary of
state signed a document which
gave safe passage to a ship in case
privateers attacked in 1824.
Grover Cleveland signed a par
don in 1884 for a man sentenced
to a prison term two years before.
Thomas Edison signed and in
scribed a picture of himself to W.
W. Erskine.
The document which Pree
found “the most interesting be
cause it tells such a complete
story” is a letter written in 1865
concerning a Confederate soldier
the letter went through channels,
each man wrote a message. Eight
months later, General Usysesses
S. Grant signed it. The soldier was
captured at the Mississippi River
the year before and was reported
in good health in a camp in New
Orleans.
James A. Garfield wrote a
counter check for $200 to the sear
geant-at-arms of the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1876.
Millard Fillmore wrote a letter
to a book shop in 1852 when he
returned several books he had or
dered. He said he could not keep
them because the congressional ap
propriation for their purchase was
exhausted. He also added that they
were in French and he could not
read French.
Andrew Jackson signed a pat
ent for a spiral pump issued in
1832.
Other signatures are those of
Rutherford B. Hayes, Jefferson
Davis, Thomas Jefferson, Winfield
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Scott, James Buchanan, John Ty
ler, Benjamin Harrison, Chester
Arthur, Herbert Hoover and Frank
lin D. Roosevelt.
In this collection is a replica of
the most expensive ticket sold for
the performance of Frieda Hempel
as Jenny Lind in New York in 1920
The original ticket sold for $653
The replica is autographed by
Frieda Hempel herself.
The Russian-American Fur Co
at Kodiak, which was managed b>
Alexander Baranov for nearly 2C
years, was sold and re-named the
Alaska Commercial Co. Latei
called the Northern Commercial
Company, the firm employed Ers
kine as manager. He bought the
ALL SPORTS
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CLOSED FOR VACATION
Re-opening in time for
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For Announcement
business in 1911 and it became the
W. J. Erskine Co.
Surviving Erskine are a widow,
daughter, son and grandson.
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DONNELLEY & ACHESON MOTOR COMPANY
Kodiak, Alaska