Manuscript telegram dictated from the Executive Mansion by President Garfield's 17-year-old son, Harry A. Garfield, one page, 5.5 x 8.25, Western Union Telegraph Company letterhead, July 14, 1881. An update on the health of President Garfield, sent to family friend John Peter Robison. In full: "Eight thirty AM—Father passed comfortable night and continues to do well, pulse ninety, temperature ninety nine eight tenths, respiration twenty two." In fine condition, with intersecting folds and a couple of short edge tears.
The nation eagerly awaited news of President Garfield's condition as he lay in bed at the White House after being shot on July 2, 1881. In this instance, his son, Harry A. Garfield—who witnessed the shooting at the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Station—offers an update to their family friend back in Mentor, Ohio. President Garfield's health worsened as the weeks dragged on, and he ultimately passed away on September 19th due to infections and other ailments resulting from crude medical care. An interesting primary source telegram documenting the president's apparently stable state prior to his tragic demise.
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