Description

Description: United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935) has neatly signed his name below his half-tone portrait. In the image, an aged Holmes sits, legs crossed, book propped open on his lap as he looks up from his reading. He sits in front of a wall of books and pairs his solemn expression with a dark colored suit, jacket unbuttoned. He signed this image about a year after his retirement.

Holmes served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court for three decades (1902-1932) and was appointed by Theodore Roosevelt. A popular figure with American progressives, Holmes is one of the most influential and widely cited Supreme Court justices in history. He is remembered for his opinions on civil liberties and American democracy, and famously, for his opinion in Schenck v. United States (1919) in which he declared the First Amendment would not protect someone from falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater.

The 5 ¼” x 4 ¼” image is tipped onto an 8 1/8” x 5 ¼” sheet of mottled green paper. Above Holmes’ signature  he has penned: “Washington DC. February 6, 1933”. Item #A01453

Condition: Mounting residue on verso, otherwise very good condition with a neat, bold signature.