Lot 319

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Excellent Letter of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story about Chief Justice John Marshall

“I should have written more freely, if I had not felt that great delicacy was due to the Chief Justice as a still living ornament of his country.”

Associate Justice Joseph Story of the U.S. Supreme Court writes to illustrator James Herring about his sketch of Chief Justice John Marshall for Herring’s forthcoming three-volume work, National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, published in 1835 and 1836 in Philadelphia. Instead of writing a new biographical sketch, Story revised one that he had published in the January 1828 issue of the North American Review. Story’s revised biographical sketch of Marshall appears in the first volume of Herring’s work. Story himself was the subject of an essay in the third volume, illustrated with an engraving from a painted portrait by Chester Harding.

JOSEPH STORY, Autograph Letter Signed, to James Herring, October 2, 1832. 1 p., 7.875? x 10?. Expected folds; some staining from adhesive on verso; very good.

Complete Transcript:
                                                      Cambridge Octr 2, 1832.
Dear Sir
I sat down a few days ago to write the Sketch, which I promised of Chief Justice Marshall, swearing to abridge what I had said in the North American Review, so as to bring the whole into a small compass. On reexamining the material, it appeared to me that such an abridgment would serve very little purpose; & that the former sketch, which was drawn from the most authentic sources, would with a few alterations & additions be far more satisfactory & appropriate. I have therefore corrected the former sketch, & added a few pages in the introductory part & in the close. The whole of the North American Review sketching beginning as Page 6th, & ending as page 37 (as marked) is to be copied. I should have written more freely, if I had not felt that great delicacy was due to the Chief Justice as a still living ornament of his country.
In a separate paper sent herewith you will find the printed copy of the North American Review. I am with the highest respect
                                                    Your obedient sert
                                                    Joseph Story
James Herring Esq.

[In left margin:]
P.S. The best likenesses taken of myself, I may say in answer to your inquiries, are [Gilbert] Stuart’s Portrait & a miniature by Miss. Sarah Goodridge. Both are in my own possession. Allow me, however, to say, that I have not earned any claim to be placed in such a work as yours.


Joseph Story (1779-1845) was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard College in 1798. He read law in Marblehead and gained admission to the bar in 1801. He was also a poet and published “The Power of Solitude” in 1804, one of the first long poems by an American. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1805 to 1808, then represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives for four months in 1808-1809. When he returned to Massachusetts, he was re-elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he became speaker in 1811. In November 1811, President James Madison nominated him to the U.S. Supreme Court, the youngest person ever nominated to the office. The Senate confirmed his nomination, and Story served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1812 until his death. Story played a pivotal role in the Court’s asserting its Constitutional authority over state courts and state legislation. A strong ally of Chief Justice John Marshall, Story wrote more opinions than any other justice except Marshall between 1812 and 1832. After Marshall’s death and replacement by Roger B. Taney, Story more often was part of a dissenting minority. Story was also one of the most successful American authors of the first half of the nineteenth-century, with his legal treatises and commentaries earning him more than his salary on the Supreme Court.

James Herring (1794-1867) was born in London and immigrated to the United States with his father in 1804. They settled in New York City, where the son began by coloring prints and maps. He later established himself as a portrait painter. With James Barton Longacre, Herring illustrated the National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, published in 3 volumes in Philadelphia from 1835 to 1836.

From the famous Supreme Court collection of Scott Petersen.


This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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