EXCELLENT Historical artefact dated June 30th, 1864.

Cheque No:3788 for the sum of $208.34 was issued by the County Bookkeeper on New York's Broadway Bank 

Paid to Honorary C.Godfrey Gunther from the 'SALARIES, EXECUTIVE' Account.

This was his salary as Mayor for the month of June 1864.

Signed by the Mayor himself.

He was New York City Mayor. 

Usually referred to as C. Godfrey Gunther or C.G. Gunther, he followed his father into the fur business and established the firm C.G. Gunther and Company. 

He was active in New York City, New York's volunteer fire departments and Democratic clubs, becoming a Sachem of Tammany Hall in 1856. 

He was also President of the almshouse Board of Governors, the agency charged with oversight of the city's corrections and charitable institutions. 

Gunther was an opponent of President Abraham Lincoln's prosecution of the Civil War, arguing against the draft and for a negotiated settlement with the South. 

In 1861 he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor, but in 1863 he ran successfully, defeating incumbent George Opdyke. 

As mayor, his quick response was a key part of defeating an attack by a band of Confederates who hoped to foment riots throughout the city. 

He also presided over the city's 1865 memorial services for President Lincoln. 

At the completion of his term, he withdrew from politics since he was not an ally of then-Democratic party leader William Tweed. 

Recognizing that Coney Island was destined to become a tourist attraction, in the 1880s Gunther built a hotel there and bought and improved a railroad connecting the area to Manhattan. 

In addition, he became President of the medical facility that is now Lenox Hill Hospital. His fur business remained active well into the 20th Century as C.G. Gunther's Sons.