Prior to holding office as the 19th POTUS, Rutherford B. Hayes (d.1893) was a lawyer, a Union Army general, a Congressman and the Governor of Ohio. Will all that behind him, Hayes certainly knew what he was doing when he wrote the offered letter. Dated 5/6/1879, this letter directs the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to a "warrant for the conditional pardon of William Burfoot". This unmarked 16x10 sheet of paper is folded to 8x10, with the main content written on one side and the notation "6 May '79 W. Burfoot" on the opposite side. Moderate staining is noted at top left of the page with the main body of writing, however this condition only affects the first three words of content. Two horizontal compacting folds are present but do not make contact with Hayes' ("8-9") strength pencil signature, located at bottom right. Full photo LOA from JSA.