[AUTOGRAPHS]
BUTLER, BENJAMIN. Typed signed letter. Boston: May 29, 1890. One page letter on Law Offices of Benj. F. Butler. Washburn and Webster letterhead, addressed to Rev. A. A. Smith, Petersham, Mass., signed in ink by Benjamin F. Butler. With an engraved portrait of Butler. Uneven toning, old folds, a hole in the upper left quadrant, one small stain, a few chips and a single tear along edges.

Benjamin F. Butler (1818-1893) was a shameless self-promoter, a successful trial lawyer, a controversial Union Army Major General (nicknamed "The Beast" before his 1885 dismissal), and a colorful Massachusetts politician. He served first in the state legislature, then for five terms in the House of Representatives, followed by a single term as governor after his successful 1882 campaign. He was notable for championing the emancipation of black Americans (despite his earlier views and brief backing of Jefferson Davis), for his support of the working class, where he was an early advocate of the eight-hour workday, and for taking a leading role in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. He ran for president in 1884 on the Greenback and Anti-Monopoly parties' tickets but, without any support from the Democratic Party, did not receive a single electoral vote. At the end of his life, he penned a lengthy, over 1000-page, memoir, called Butler's Book, published in 1892, where he focused mostly on the Civil War years in an attempt to defend his controversial legacy as Major General. In this short but revealing letter about his memoir, he writes, "The firm which was to publish my book has become embarrassed. I cannot say who will publish it."