Rare original 1885 handwritten letter on "Office of Lieut. Governor – York, Harrisburg, Pa." letterhead, signed by Chauncey Forward Black, the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1883–1887. Black, a notable Democratic reformer and son of U.S. Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black, discusses lobbying efforts with the Southern Pacific Railroad and makes a strong case for the superiority of the Kohler Car over the Boston Car.
This document provides a fascinating glimpse into 19th-century railroad innovation, political advocacy, and infrastructure development in the American West. Includes full signature, date, and postscript. Accompanied by a period clipping verifying Black’s biography.
Recipient: Hon. R.S. Shoffords
Date: December 23, 1885
Location: York / Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Signed: Chauncey F. Black (Lieutenant Governor of PA)
Perfect for collectors of railroad history, political autographs, or 19th-century transportation ephemera.
Transcription (December 23, 1885)
Office of Lieut. Governor, York, Harrisburg, Pa.
Dec 23 / 1885
My dear Dick:
Should you have a chance to talk to the Southern Pacific people — please remember that my car is the Kohler Car, an article much superior to the Boston Car. The letter is a Western corporation attempting to do a private carrying business — I wish of its very children & goods in improved cars, you might, if convenient, call at their office, and saying you did so at my suggestion, talk the whole situation over with them. I am doing my best to support them, because they are breaking the way.
The R.Rds to letter my cars, that is lend me my cars for themselves, and do their own carrying. This is coming rapidly.
Sincerely yours,
Chauncey F. Black
Hon. R.S. Shoffords
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P.S. The Boston is a good car, but the Kohler is better —
The office of this Co is 194 Washington St. Should you desire to know more
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📌 People Mentioned
Chauncey Forward Black (1839–1904):
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania (1883–1887), son of Jeremiah S. Black, former U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of State. A Democrat, Black was a reform-minded politician and 1886 gubernatorial candidate. This letter is signed during his tenure in office.
R.S. Shoffords:
Likely a political associate or railroad executive/representative (no concrete historical biography immediately identifiable without further research).
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📚 Historical Context & Significance
The letter discusses railroad car innovation in the 1880s, a time when private railcars and improved transportation for goods and people were expanding across the West.
Chauncey Black advocates for Kohler Cars (likely a competitor to Boston-built cars) in comparison to “Boston Cars,” promoting it to railroad interests including the Southern Pacific.
This shows lobbying activity, possible early railroad privatization efforts, and technological endorsement in the post-Reconstruction railroad boom.
His advocacy that railroads use their own cars or support private ones like Kohler’s suggests early tension between private innovation and railroad monopolies.