An autograph collection going digital

Contact us


Early (1895) copy of Bowdoin College's art collections catalog signed by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. The booklet is in rough condition, rougher than it appears in the scan. The paper is thin and fragile, heavily browned and shows several tears, most noticeably on the bottom right corner of the cover. General Chamberlain's signature is in fairly good condition, although there is some fading - most noticeably on the letter "J" in Joshua.


Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914) was an American college professor, Union officer and 32nd governor of Maine. He is best remembered for his defense of Little Round Top at the battle of Gettysburg, for which Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor. After the war Chamberlain returned to Maine, where he served four one-year terms as governor before being appointed as president of Bowdoin College. Chamberlain passed away on February 24, 1914 in Portland, Maine - the final Civil War veteran to die as a result of wounds sustained during the war.