Lot 770

"THE GENEVA CONFERENCE" ANTIQUE 1872 "Harper's Weekly" Full Page American "Alabama" Civil War Claims Negotiators

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Lot 770
"THE GENEVA CONFERENCE" ANTIQUE 1872 "Harper's Weekly" Full Page American "Alabama" Civil War Claims Negotiators

"THE GENEVA CONFERENCE" ANTIQUE 1872 "Harper's Weekly" Full Page American "Alabama" Civil War Claims Negotiators

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Estimate: $30 - $50

Starting Bid: $10

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by The Book Barn
August 13, 2026 5:00 PM EDT
Timed Auction
353 Indian Village Road
Shapliegh, ME, US 07076

ANTIQUE 1872 "Harper's Weekly" Interior Page with Full Page Portraits Of American "Alabama" Civil War Claims Negotiators, suitable for framing with or without an autograph. It is interior page of the February 3, 1872 Issue of Harper's Weekly. The page is Titled: "THE GENEVA CONFERENCE—-THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION AND COUNSEL". These portraits are to commemorate the opening of the Geneva Conference which was to arbitrate the Civil War "Alabama" claims between the U. S. & Great Britain. The claims arose from the building of the Confederate commerce raiders of which the "Alabama" was the best known & the most successful. The page measures approximately 16 inches high X 11 inches wide including borders. The 4 members of the commission have portraits approximately 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2, with the leader of the commission, Charles Francis Adams, in the center, approximately 5 1/2 by 5 1/2. The verso of the page is covered with 19th century advertising for pens, patten medicines, pianos, etc. Right edge shows removal marks from the Harper's volume it came from, which will be covered by the mat when framed. Paper is lightly age toned but not brittle. Overall the piece is Very Good Condition.

"The "Alabama Claims" were a series of demands for damages sought by the government of the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869, for the attacks upon Union merchant ships by Confederate Navy commerce raiders built in British shipyards during the American Civil War. The claims focused chiefly on the most famous of these raiders, the CSS "Alabama," which took more than sixty prizes before she was sunk off the French coast in 1864. In what was called the "Alabama Claims," in 1869 the U. S. claimed direct and collateral damage against Great Britain. In the particular case of the Alabama, the United States claimed that Britain had violated neutrality by allowing five warships to be constructed, especially the "Alabama," knowing that it would eventually enter into naval service with the Confederacy. Other warships included the CSS "Shenandoah", CSS "Lark", and CSS "Tallahassee". Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, originally wanted to ask for $2 billion in damages, or alternatively, the ceding of Canada to the United States. American Secretary of State William H. Seward expected the West Coast Province of British Columbia to seek annexation to the United States and thought Britain might accept this in exchange for the "Alabama" claims. Soon other U.S. politicians endorsed annexation, with the goal of annexing British Columbia, the central Canadian Red River Colony (later Manitoba), and eastern Nova Scotia, in exchange for dropping the damage claims. The idea reached a peak in the spring and summer of 1870, with American expansionists, Canadian separatists, and British anti-imperialists seemingly combining forces. The plan was eventually dropped for several reasons: London continued to stall, American commercial and financial groups pressed Washington for a quick settlement of the dispute in cash, Congress became preoccupied with Reconstruction, and most Americans showed little interest in territorial expansion after the long years, expenses and losses of the Civil War. After international arbitration endorsed the American position in 1872, Britain settled the matter by paying the United States $15.5 million, ending the dispute and leading to a treaty that restored friendly relations between Britain and the United States. That international arbitration established a precedent, and the case aroused interest in codifying public international law."

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  • Condition: Very Good Condition

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We do all our own shipping. Shipping will be added to winning bidder's invoice for item(s) won. Media Mail postage from USPS will be used for shipping in the United States for those items allowed. Lowest alternative cost shipping will be billed for items not allowed by USPS to be shipped by Media Mail. Foreign winning bidders will pay postage based on their countries small/medium/large Flat Rate box postage rates & weight of the package. Other types of postage are available at added expense at the bidders request. You also agree to pay any applicable taxes and/or customs/import duties. A Tracking Number will be provided to buyer. Insurance is mandatory on packages over $100 USD and will be added to postage charges when applicable.

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$20 $49 $2
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