1st item: Civil War era ALS. Four and-one-half page letter written on lined bifolium documents, written by A Daughter of Virginia, Richmond, VA, addressed to Miss Stevens, no location, possibly Baltimore, MD, dated January 22, 1863. The letter, written in response to other letters that the Daughter had found addressed to Miss Stevens' brother, expresses her pro-Confederate and anti-Union sentiments, slavery-related discussions, reading "…for more than thirty years, the North has been using every endeavor to create dissension, Hatred to the South, has been preached from the pulpit, taught in schools, Published by the Press and the theme of your creators. They have enacted law calculated to injure us, sent abolition emissaries among us–Stealing our Negroes and making laws to present reclaiming them and in a thousand ways which I have not space here to enumerate tyraniging[sic] of the South from whence wealth was poured into the lap of the North with an unsparing hand…" She also references abolitionist leader John Brown (1800-1859) and his failed incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry, now West Virginia and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, writing "…Even John Brown and his accomplices were received in our homes and treeted[sic] with the greatest kindness, unsuspicious of the diabolical plot to incite and insurrection among the Slaves, but thank God they failed in that as signally[sic] as will be their war of Subjugation!! With the Brown raid scarcely over, They elected a President on sectional grounds their motto hospitality to the South with our worst enemies for Rulers, what had we to expect…" The letter continues in the same manner, referencing battles including "…[the Confederates'] gallantry at Bull Run, Manassas, Bethel, Leesburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Manassas again, Vicksburg and a host of other places…" and Confederate General Braxton Bragg's (1817-1876) capture of "…more than 1000 prisoners…" before ending the letter by stating "…a rebel soldier joins me in offering my respects to Mi[s]s Abbie Hent, and says he will write her some day." Does not include envelope. 10" H x 7 3/4" W. 2nd item: THE LOST CAUSE; A NEW SOUTHERN HISTORY OF THE WAR OF THE CONFEDERATES, First Edition, by Edward Pollard, published by E. B. Treat and Company, New York, 1866. Hardcover octavo, 752 pages with steel engraved frontispiece of Jefferson Davis and five additional engraved plates with tissue paper guards, two double-sided pages of back advertisements, hardbound in brown publisher's cloth with blindstamped covers, gilt pictorial stamping to front cover and spine, gilt lettering to spine. Old newspaper article affixed to front pastedown. 10" H x 7 1/4" W x 2 1/4" D. 3rd item: LEE AND HIS GENERALS, First Edition, by Captain William P. Snow, published by Richardson and Company, New York, 1867. Hardcover octavo, 500 pages including steel engraved frontispiece of Lee and fifteen additional engraved portraits of his generals, two double-sided pages of back advertisements, hardbound in dark green publisher's cloth, gilt pictorial stamping and lettering to spine. 9 1/2" H x 6 3/8" W x 2" D. 4th-5th items: Two (2) tax receipts, issued to Stephen Prebble of Lewiston, no state identified but likely Maine, stating that David Farrar, Collector of Lewiston, had collected taxes, including school house taxes from Prebble, circa Jun 27, 1862. Approximately 3 3/8" H x 8 1/4" W.

PROVENANCE: The estate of Judge John Nixon, Nashville, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item: Overall good, legible condition with minor tears, largest 3/4", to fold lines, 1/2" x 5/8" area of loss, top center, possibly from removal of a staple. Areas of toning, dampstaining, primarily to reverse of last bifolium. 2nd item: Covers with wear, staining, minor tears to cloth, fading, especially to spine, corners bumped. Pages with varying degrees of toning, foxing spots, dampstaining, particularly to first and last few pages. All plates are present. 3rd item: Covers with wear, staining, some mildew, minor tears and areas of loss to cloth, fading, especially to spine, corners bumped. Pages with toning, foxing spots, dampstaining. All plates appear to be present, however, some tissue paper guards are not present. 4th-5th items: Light toning, tears, largest 1/2" to fold lines, pencil mathematic notations, en verso.