Albert Sidney Burleson Signed Postmaster General Commission Portion

The foot of a Post Office Department commission, cut from the body of the document. It is printed "the PRESIDENT:" above a ruled line, with Albert Sidney Burleson's signature on the line and "Postmaster General." engraved beneath it. The President's own signature was on the part of the sheet that was cut away; what survives is the countersignature. Two lines of the engrossed date run off the trimmed edge: "one thousand nine hundred and f-" and "of America the one hundred and thirty-". The Independence year narrows it to 1906 through 1915, and Burleson took office in 1913, so the commission falls in 1913, 1914 or 1915. The exact year cannot be read. Albert Sidney Burleson (1863-1937) was Postmaster General for the whole of Woodrow Wilson's presidency, 1913 to 1921, after more than a decade in the House representing Texas. The department he ran was the largest civilian employer in the federal government. The signature runs about 2 1/16 inches. The cut measures 6 3/8 by 3 15/16 inches, which leaves a good margin of paper around it. Not submitted to a third-party authentication service. Condition: please see the photographs.