James Garfield Autograph Letter Signed as President. Two pages of a bifolium, 4.5" x 7", Executive Mansion, Washington; May 29, 1881. Addressed to the Honorable George Bancroft on Executive Mansion letterhead. The President thanks him for the flowers he sent to the convalescing First Lady. It reads in full: "Mrs. Garfield asks me to thank you for her, for the beautiful box of roses you were so kind as to send her. She said to me just now, ‘Tell Mr. Bancroft that the old song is reversed & I am being carried back to life on flower beds.' She is steadily gaining. With kind regards to Mrs. Bancroft and yourself." Signed, "J. A. Garfield." In early May 1881, just two months after moving into the White House, Lucretia Garfield contracted malaria and fell gravely ill. She was later moved to a seaside house in Long Branch, New Jersey to recover. She was still there when she received word on July 2nd that the President had been shot by Charles J. Guiteau. Garfield lingered another two months before finally succumbing to infection related to the gunshot wounds. When he died on September 19th, Lucretia was by his side. Condition: Partially rubbed pencil notation to upper right corner of recto. Two letters are lightly smudged, though still legible. Smoothed folds. Boldly signed. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved