Baltimore, Jan. 28, 1880. Mauve. Partly-printed check payable in the amount of $89.83. Vignette of a steam locomotive at left. Couple of folds. Litho. Fine.

Milwaukee, October 31, 1882. Black. Partly-printed check payable in the amount of $3.15. Vignette of a steam locomotive and steamship at left. Litho. Stamp cancelled at right. Light bank cut cancellation at center VF.

Baltimore, March 4, 1878. Blue. Partly-printed check payable in the amount of fifty-six cents. Vignette of a steam locomotive at left. Litho. EF.

Battle Creek, Michigan. Oct. 21, 1873. Partly-printed check payable in the amount of $125.00. Vignette of standing liberty at left. Litho. Pen cancellations on front. Couple of folds. Fine.

Buffalo, March 7, 1884. Green. Partly-printed check payable to American Express Co. in the amount of $297.82. Vignette of a steam locomotive at left. Litho. Stamp canceled. Small margin tear at bottom. Fine.

CARROLL, CHARLES (1737-1832). Revolutionary leader; Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland. Carroll was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. His later achievements included serving on the first Board of Directors of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, laying its cornerstone on July 4, 1828. DS. 1 page. 6 ½” x 2 ½”. Baltimore, January 8, 1821. Partly-printed check drawn on the Office of Discount and Deposit payable to “Robert Oliver or order, Five Thousand Dollars…” Signed at the conclusion by an elderly Carroll who was in his mid 90’s when he signed this check.

John Steele (1764 – 1815). Congressman from North Carolina between 1790 and 1793) and Comptroller of the Treasury under the first three American Presidents. DS. 1 page. 6” x 2”. Partly-printed check drawn on the Bank of the United States payable to “Mrs. Langdon or bearer forty dollars.” Accomplished entirely in his hand and signed as maker by Steel. Typical bank cut cancellations. Extremely Fine.

May 11, 1872. Partly-printed check drawn on the account of the Chicago Union Stock Yard Station. Payable to the Union Stock Yards & Transit Company in the amount of $802.24. Attached two cent adhesive revenue at upper right. Vignette of a female figure at left. Folds. Litho. Fine.

Washington, February 10, 1860. James Murray Mason (1798-1871). Confederate diplomat; U.S. Representative and Senator. Mason began his political career in 1826 with his local Virginia legislature shortly after studying law at William and Mary. Elected to Congress in 1837, he was appointed to the U.S. Senate to finish out Senator Pennybacker’s term. Re-elected in 1849 and 1855, Mason served as chairman of the Senate foreign Relations Committee for ten years, and was in the Senate when Virginia seceded. Politically, Mason was prominently affiliated with the Southern Rights Democrats, and drafted the famous fugitive-slave law of 1850. these accomplishments along with a personal friendship with confederate President Jefferson Davis, well qualified Mason to serve in England as the Confederate commissioner, and as a colleague to John Slidell who was dispatched to France in the same capacity. The seizure of Mason and Slidell while on board the Trent by Captain Wilkes of the U. S. Navy caused a serious diplomatic crisis between the United States and England. In January 1862 Mason and Slidell were released and resumed their mission.