Unissued and undated partial Riggs & Co. check, 4.5 x 3, signed by Garfield, “J. A. Garfield.” A notation on the reverse of the document reads: “Sig July 1st 1881.” Accompanying the check is a handwritten note of provenance by S. W. Cowles, which reads, “This check was signed by Genl. Garfield at the White House in Washington, D.C. July 1st/81, the day before his assassination. It was present [sic] to me by Mrs. Lucretia R. Garfield at Mentor, Ohio, Oct. 1881.” The check portion and letter are nicely archivally cloth matted and framed, along with an engraved portrait of Garfield, to an overall size of 18.75 x 16. In fine condition, with a rough left edge, a bit of scattered toning, and a small horizontal fold above signature.
A mere 200 days in office was all that Garfield served before being felled by an assassin’s bullet. This check, with its startling provenance, is quite possibly the last such document that Garfield endorsed as president prior to his fateful encounter with mentally disturbed Charles J. Guiteau. The president succumbed to his wounds in September, only a month before his grieving widow is said to have parted with this very item. Research indicates that Garfield was planning a trip to his alma mater, Williams College, to deliver a speech. He signed several checks and gave them to his secretary Joseph S. Brown for use in his absence. Upon Garfield’s death, the checks were cut in half, so as not to be used in official transactions, and passed out as souvenirs by Lucretia Garfield. A highly desirable Garfield check, one of only a small handful known to exist! Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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