September 5-7, 2023 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/7/2023
Remarkable signed autograph letter by John Brown confirming his order for pikes with John Blair of Collinsville, Connecticut. Formerly in the Dr. John K. Lattimer collection and accompanied by the complete spearhead from one of Brown’s pikes. Blair was a forge master for the Collins Company, well-known makers of edge tools and weapons, and was engaged privately by Brown during his 1857 trip to New England to make pikes for Brown’s planned uprising in Virginia, not that Blair would admit knowing Brown’s intentions, which crystallized in his raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory. Brown is discreet, wary of the letter being intercepted, alluding only to “the articles ordered.” Brown had initially ordered 500 at $1.00 each and later increased that to 1,000, apparently reaching that decision by the time of this letter, expressing confidence here that he will want, "the larger number talked of." Although promising fast payment, Brown did not actually complete the transaction until 1859, when he delivered funds to cover 954 pikes. Blair had apparently halted work earlier when he was not paid, and the remainder of the order was reportedly filled by Chauncey Hart of Unionville. The completed lot of pikes was then shipped to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and from there transported to Brown’s headquarters at a Maryland farmhouse for distribution to slaves he hoped would rally to join his insurrection. Brown’s letter to Blair reads as follows: “Springfield mass 23d March, 1857 / Charles Blair, Esq. / Collinsville Conn. / Dear Sir / Your favor of the 20th inst is received. If you have not yet sent forward the articles ordered, please retain them a little time; as I expect soon to call again to see you. I shall try to get around by last of this Week or first of next. I have hardly a doubt of wanting the larger number talked of. Will remit soon if I do not come on. Very Respectfully, Your Friend John Brown”. The bottom of the letter is annotated in a different hand: “The original letter of John Brown, ordering the pikes for his raid into Virginia.” Pikes were simple, cheap weapons associated with popular uprisings from the peasant revolts of the middle-ages to the French Revolution and rebellion in Ireland in the 1790s. Brown’s had 9 - 1/2" to 10" long double-edged blades of forged cast steel, a 4 - 1/2" wide, pointed oval iron guard, a 3 - 1/4" long, tapering ferrule, and a screw, fitted onto 6' ash poles. Serial numbers were stamped on the blade tang, guard, and socket. This has a matching “250” stamped at those locations, placing it well within Brown’s earliest group as agreed upon with Blair. This has a charcoal-gray surface with a good edge, some shallow pitting near point, and missing just the very tip of the blade. The blade has a painted inventory number in red typical of Dr. Lattimer’s cataloging, and a separate brass inventory tag, likely from his source, and a simple bent nail was used to keep the blade, socket and tang together after removal from its pole. Brown’s attack on the armory failed to rally support from the local enslaved population, and the pikes were captured along with other arms retained by Brown for distribution. Just as they had been both functional and symbolic for revolt, they were later eagerly sought after both as souvenirs and useful political props for slave state officials to illustrate Northern perfidiousness. This is a remarkable opportunity to acquire a significant letter in Brown’s hand that relates to his concrete actions and the raid that sparked a Civil War. CONDITION: Excellent. Very legible and displayable. Accompanied by a James Spence Authentication Full Letter of Authenticity. Pike head in very good condition with loss to tip as noted.