Maj. Marcus A. Reno (Custer / Little Bighorn) The Chicago Times' Day by Day Transcripts of Maj. Marcus Reno's Military Court of Inquiry -- Owned by His Defense Attorney Plus a Check Written Out and Signed by Reno to His Attorney a Few Weeks Prior to the Trial.
Reno, Marcus / Gilbert, Lyman, Attorney
Chicago: Chicago Times, 1879
 

Description:
The daily accounts of the Court of Inquiry trial of Little Bighorn officer Marcus A. Reno, as published in the Chicago Times, preserved in a scrapbook by or for Reno's defense attorney, Lyman D. Gilbert of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The trial, focusing on Reno's actions at the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn (or Battle of Greasy Grass), one of the most shocking defeats in U. S. military history, was held from January 13 to February 11, 1879 at the Palmer House in Chicago.
 
After the trial, the official transcript of the proceedings was taken to Washington and kept from public view, until some handwritten copies, and later typed transcripts were made in the early 1900s. The Chicago Times accounts were for a time the only ones the public could rely on. Some photostat copies of the newspapers were made, but apparently few original copies of the Chicago Times series of papers reporting the trial survived.
 
This compilation was carefully pasted into a scrapbook, recto and verso, with two columns to a page, leaving ample margins for Attorney Gilbert to make brief notes and keep his thoughts organized. Signed inside the front cover "Lyman D. Gilbert," with a folded printed map of the Custer Battlefield tipped in (has multiple old tape repairs). 9 x 11". 131 numbered pages. Cloth boards, new leather spine and title label
 

Condition: Good-very good.:
Genre: Indian Wars, Custer, Little Bighorn:
Price: $5500.00

Seven Documents Regarding Family Matters Late in Marcus Reno's Life, Three Signed by Him
Reno, Marcus A.
Various places, 1880s
 

Description:
Seven documents -- three signed by Marcus A. Reno -- pertaining to Maj. Marcus Reno's son, Robert Ross Reno, and his second wife, Isabella Ray Reno. One also authorizes Robert as legitimate heir to Marcus Reno's estate.
 
Reno married Isabella in 1882. There was soon friction between her and Robert Ross, Reno's son from his first marriage. The couple became estranged and separated, Isabella filing for divorce in 1888. Robert Ross Reno married in 1885, and became a traveling salesman. He divorced in 1899.
 
The documents include:
 
-- Autograph Note SIGNED. A promissory note written by Marcus A. Reno to his attorney, Lyman D Gilbert: Harrisburg (date torn away). One day after date I promise to pay L. D. Gilbert guardian of Robt. Ross Reno the sum of one thousand dollars with 6 pr ct pr annum interest Theron. M. A. Reno. 4 x 8".
 
-- Typed letter from the Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York. Philadelphia, March 3, 1884. Confirms Reno's request for information concerning his policy.
 
-- A "blank" sent by the insurance Company, to be filled out when Reno wants to assign his insurance policy to his wife.
 
__ Similar typed letter from the Mutual Insurance Co., dated March 5, 1884.
 
-- A document dated March 4, 1884, transferring Reno's life insurance policy to his wife, Mrs. Isabella Ray Reno. SIGNED Marcus A. Reno. 4 x 8".
 
-- A typed letter dated April --, 1887, to the Commonwealth Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Co.: "Please pay out of the interest accruing due from time to time and belonging to me, on the sum of sixteen thousand dollars deposited or hereafter to be deposited with you, the sum of five hundred dollars annually in two equal installments unto R. Ross Reno, his heirs, executors or administrators, until the sum of two thousand and six hundred dolars [sic] with interest from date is fully paid"... SIGNED M. A. Reno. 8 x 10".
 
-- A document dated April 9, 1889, from the State of Tennessee, Davidson County, to Robert Ross Reno: "Whereas, it appears to the Court, now in session, that Marcus A. Reno has died, leaving no will... These are, therefore, to authorize and empower you, the said R. R. Reno to take into your possession and control all the goods, chattels, and papers of the said intestate..." (Marcus Reno died on March 30, 1889 in Washington, DC). 7 x 8.5".
 

Condition: Generally vey good.:
Genre: Custer, Little Bighorn:
Price: $1750.00

Mexico Mourns: Announcing a day of Prayer for Its Lost Heroes of the War for Independence and the Mexican-American War.
Furlong, Baltasar, Governor
Mexico: de Macias, 1850
 

Description:
Broadside. 8 x 12”. Three marginal tears, minor creases, otherwise very good.
 
Mexico: de Macias, 1850
 
Translation:
 
“On September 28 of each year, funeral honors and corresponding prayers will be held in the cathedral and parochial churches, and in the rest of the republic, including those of regulars of both sexes, with the greatest solemnity, for the souls of D. Agustin de Iturbide and victims of the independence campaign. These prayers will be made equally and on the same day for the souls of all the general chiefs, officers and troops of the permanent army and the national guard who died from wounds received on the battlefield, during the war with the United States.”
 

Condition: Very good.:
Price: $500.00

A Rare Stock Certificate from the Beginning of the company.
San Rafael Cattle Company.
Camden, NJ, 1883
 

Description:
One of, if not the, largest, most successful cattle companies in Arizona. 7.5 x 11”. They were the first to bring Hereford cattle to the West, against the opinion of those with Longhorns, and were hugely successful. The ranch is on the National Register of Historic Places. Two other certificates are available.
 

Condition: Very good.:
Price: $900.00

COYOTE RACES on Sunday, Nov. 17, 1946.
Martin, Lloyd E., et al.
Central City, Nebraska: The Republican, 1946.
 

Description:
Broadside. 16 x 21”. Restoration to top margin, bottom left corner slightly chipped, a few minor tears. Otherwise very good.
 
No guns were allowed, only dogs, which it is assumed chased down the coyotes. A truck with their pelts from another “race” is shown in the bottom image.
 

Condition: Very good.:
Price: $375.00