818303
Charles Evans Hughes
Scroll down to see images of the item below the description
Charles Evans Hughes, 1862-1948. Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court, 1910-1916; Chief Justice of the United States, 1930-1941. Large format 9½" x 13½" formal portrait photograph boldly inscribed and signed To Honorable Jno. J. Tigert, / with high esteem / Charles E. Hughes / Feb. 14, 1915.
This bust portrait is by Harris & Ewing of Washington, D.C., whose stamp appears in the lower left corner. Hughes has dated it during his service as an Associate Justice, a position he resigned to accept the 1916 Republican and Progressive Party nominations for president.
John James Tigert (1882-1965), to whom Hughes has inscribed and signed this photograph, taught at various universities before President Warren G. Harding appointed him Commissioner of Education in 1921. He held that post under both Harding and President Calvin Coolidge. He later served as president of the University of Florida from 1928 to 1947, and Tigert Hall, its the main administration building, is named for him. To our knowledge this photograph has never been on the market before.
Hughes had a remarkable intellect and a photographic memory. He was schooled at home until he enrolled in college when he was but 14 years old. After he finished his undergraduate education, he taught briefly and then attended Columbia University Law School. At age 22, he scored an amazing 99½ on his bar examination.
Hughes earned national recognition for his investigation into illegal rate-making and fraud in the insurance industry. With President Theodore Roosevelt's support, Hughes won the New York governorship in 1906. Four years later, President William Howard Taft appointed him to the Supreme Court. Hughes served until he resigned in 1916. He lost the 1916 presidential election to incumbent President Woodrow Wilson by only 23 electoral votes.
Hughes served as Secretary of State under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. President Herbert Hoover appointed him Chief Justice in 1930.
Hughes presided over the Supreme Court during the critical years of the Great Depression. Although he was a conservative—Democrats had opposed his nomination for Chief Justice because they thought him too closely allied with corporate America—Hughes he supported many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal measures. He cast the deciding vote and wrote the Court’s opinion in two 5-4 decisions, one upholding Roosevelt’s refusal to pay government obligations in gold and the other upholding the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Act. Hughes strongly opposed Roosevelt, however, when Roosevelt proposed expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court—FDR's infamous "court packing" plan—in order to bend the Court to his views.
Hughes and the other justices of the New Deal-era Supreme Court are portrayed vividly in The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox, the diary of the law clerk to conservative Justice James C. McReynolds during the court packing year of 1936.
Hughes wrote twice as many constitutional opinions as any other member of his Court. Some observers consider Hughes to be among the great justices in Supreme Court history.
This photograph bears a strong fountain pen inscription and signature by Chief Justice Hughes. The photograph has some overall toning. It is tipped to another sheet and has a few mounting stains, mostly at the top, and a small gouge well below the inscription and signature that could be matted out if the piece were framed. Overall the photo is in very good to fine condition.
Unframed. Click here to ask us about custom framing this piece.
This item is sold.
Click here to see more Supreme Court items.
We could not scan the entire photograph because of its size.
The margins are wider than shown.
|
