Lincoln Catalog

Seth Kaller, Inc.hIStorIc DocumentS . legacy collectIonS

AbrAhAm LincoLn“We Are GAininG StrenGth”

Many of the items in

this catalog are sold, but we

often have similar items available.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates(p. 11)

the laStIng legacy of hIStorIc DocumentS

We can help you enjoy an inspirational connection to your favorite historic figure, era, event, or idea.

Important documents and artifacts can be loaned, placed on deposit, or donated to ensure their survival for generations to come. Seth Kaller, Inc. can coordinate all aspects of collection-building, including acquisition, authentication, appraisal, conservation, framing, insurance, and recognition for your family, your company, or your foundation.

the Seth Kaller DIStInctIon

The Kaller family has long been known for building world-class collections of rare stamps and coins. Holding a block of four of the famous upside-down airplane stamps was exciting to Seth, but in 1988 he chose to focus on historic documents. Within two years, he had become the largest buyer in the field.

Documents that Seth has handled have been exhibited at, or acquired by, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Constitution Center, the Atlanta History Center, the American Civil War Museum, the New York Stock Exchange, Mount Vernon, the University of Virginia, Rice University, Yale University, the Skirball Cultural Center, the Kennedy Space Center, the Lincoln Museum, several Presidential Libraries and National Parks museums, and other notable institutions.

Seth has represented the Gilder Lehrman Collection since its inception in 1989. The GLC, on deposit at the New-York Historical Society, is among the most important collections of American documents ever privately formed. Seth’s acquisitions for the GLC include Benjamin Franklin’s signed copy of the U.S. Constitution; George Washington and Thomas Jefferson letters on the Revolutionary War, religion, slavery, and government; Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” Speech manuscript; and Robert E. Lee’s signed farewell order to his troops.

As an expert on important documents, Seth has been interviewed by the New York Times, Forbes, and Lifestyles Magazine, as well as ABC, CBS, CNBC, FOX, and Bloomberg Radio. He has published articles on the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth Amendment, and Clement Clarke Moore’s authorship of “The Night Before Christmas.”

Today, Seth works with private collectors and institutional clients, including museums, libraries, universities, and foundations. He is available for private consultations, appraisals, and authentications.

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1860 Lincoln(p. 11)


ImPortant . authentIc . InSPIrIng

1864 State of the Union Draft (p. 30)

Contents & timeline

1809 1830 1837 1842 1843

1847-49 1857 1858 1860

1861

1862

1863

1864

1865

1861-18651867-18861914

for DocumentS relatIng to PartIcular battleS, PleaSe requeSt our cIvIl War offerIngS.

Born in KentuckyMoves with family to IllinoisLaw partnership with John T. Stuart Stuart & Lincoln legal document (p. 4)Marries Mary Todd (p. 22)Throws his hat into the ring (p. 5)Lincoln-Grimsley trunk (p. 6) Congressman and Whig (p. 7)Fights Dred Scott decision (pp. 7-9)Lincoln-Douglas debates (p. 11)Cooper Union Address (p. 10) Presidential campaign and election (pp. 11-13)South Carolina secedesFirst Inaugural (p. 40)Fort Sumter attacked, First Bull RunProposes compensated emancipation (p. 14)Ironclads at Hampton Roads (p. 15)Battle of AntietamRemoves McClellan (p. 18)Emancipation Proclamation (pp. 16-17)Battle of Gettysburg (p. 20)Capture of VicksburgGettysburg Address (p. 21)Proclamation of Amnesty & ReconstructionGrant appointed lt. general (p. 40)Sherman captures AtlantaCampaign and reelection (pp. 26-28)Pardoning a murderous mutineer (p. 23)Martha’s Vineyard whaler (p. 25)State of the Union Address (pp. 30-31)13th Amendment (pp. 28-29) Second Inaugural (p. 41)Lee surrenders, Davis captured (p. 32)Lincoln shot by Booth; Dies (pp. 32-37)Lincoln’s dividers (pp. 34-35) Harper’s Weekly issues (pp. 40-41) S. Chase, F. Douglass (pp. 38-39)T. Roosevelt on Lincoln (p. 42)

Beset by a bloody contest of power, pride, and prejudice, Lincoln saved and re-invented our nation. Had America remained shrunken physically, economically, and morally by the institution of slavery, how would the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution be viewed today?

Collectors play an enduring role in preserving and sharing our history. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, we are pleased to issue this catalog for collectors.

The unfolding of America’s destiny can be seen and felt in original Lincoln-related documents and artifacts. Organized chronologically, though with liberties when necessary, each entry represents an opportunity – history you can own.

Lincoln’s evolution from a self-effacing novice to an assertive leader is evident here. Highlights that effectively bookend Lincoln’s political life are his letter suggesting himself for Congress (page 5) and an extremely rare autograph manuscript page of his last State of the Union address (page 30). Another highlight is the pair of dividers that Lincoln used to mark up maps and follow army movements. It was given on May, 21 1865 by Robert Todd Lincoln to the head of the telegraph office (page 34).

AuthentiCity – GuArAnteedWe unconditionally guarantee the items in this catalog. We can often provide definitive authentication and research notes. In addition we will arrange for independent authentication on request.

terminoloGy Autograph Letter Signed or Autograph Manuscript Signed:

The text and the signature are in the hand of the signer.Letter Signed or Manuscript Document Signed:

The text is penned by someone other than the signer.Broadside: A single-page printing used to spread news.

Any quotes in italics are from the document offered for sale.

Freedom, eConomy, WAr – linColn the leAder

3

Many of the items in this catalog are sold, but we often have similar items available. Contact us at 914-289-1776 or [email protected]

A portion of the demurrer in Andrew Johnstone v. John Weedman. Johnstone hired Weedman

to feed and pasture his horse. Weedman rode the horse without permission, and the horse died shortly thereafter. Johnstone sued Weedman for $300. Jointly defending Weedman with local attorney Clifton H. Moore, Lincoln argued that Weedman’s ride did not cause the horse’s death. The jury found for Weedman. Johnstone appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, where Lincoln’s argument again prevailed.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Document Signed, “Moore & Lincoln pd,” Clinton, Ill., September 28, 1843. 1 p. 7½ x 4¾”. #21990 SOLD

an early lIncoln Document WIth excellent aSSocIatIonS

This document captures the insular web of early Illinois law and politics. The verso contains two

Autograph Endorsements Signed by Lincoln, and one by his mentor and first law partner, John T. Stuart. The front is a summons signed by a controversial Lincoln correspondent, William Butler.

Historical BackgroundIn this case, David Prickett was ordered to pay St. Louis merchants Kerr & Co. $513.49. Prickett had been clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives while Lincoln served there in 1834 and 1836. In 1837, Prickett became prosecuting attorney while Lincoln practiced law. He was then defeated for a judgeship by Stephen T. Logan, who would succeed Stuart as Lincoln’s law partner.

Twenty years before Lincoln’s monumental debates with Stephen Douglas, John T. Stuart had his own memorable run-in with Douglas. In 1838, during a debate in Springfield, “Stuart seized his little opponent by the neck and carried him around the square. The Little Giant retaliated by biting his assailant’s thumb until it was half-severed” (Gerald M. Capers, quoted inwww.mrlincolnandfriends.org).

William Butler, Sangamon County Court clerk, had accused Lincoln earlier in 1839 of double-crossing his political friends. Lincoln replied that “I... am willing to cut my own throat from ear to ear... [if] you shall seriously say, that you believe me capable of betraying my friends for any price.” Lincoln concluded by calling himself “Your friend in spite of your ill-nature.”

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Endorsements Signed two times, “Stuart & Lincoln,” Springfield, Ill., August 6, 1839 and January 14, 1840. 2 pp.7¼ x 12”. #8914 SOLD

FriendS oF the court

LincoLn in brieF – no horSinG Around

4


“the moSt revealIng PIece of correSPonDence… [of] the early

PolItIcal lIncoln” – carl SanDburg

Lincoln lines up support for his first Congressional run, initiating the strategy that would win him

the presidency 17 years later.

Transcript “Springfield, Feby 14, 1843 Friend Hull: Your county and ours are almost sure to be placed in the same congressional district. I would like to be its Representative; still circumstances may happen to prevent my even being a candidate. If, however, there are any whigs in Tazewell who would as soon I should represent them as any other person, I would be glad they would not cast me aside until they see and hear further what turn things take. Do not suppose, Esqr. that in addressing this letter to you, I assume that you will be for me against all other whigs; I only mean, that I know you to be my personal friend, a good whig, and an honorable man, to whom I may, without fear, communicate a fact which I wish my particular friends (if I have any) to know. There is nothing new here now worth telling. Your friend as ever A. Lincoln”

Historical BackgroundCarl Sandburg, one of Lincoln’s notable biographers, wrote an appreciation of this letter in 1925: “Lincoln as a ‘mixer’ in politics is seen; in a finely frank way he asks Hull to be for him, offers irresistible compliments, and then swiftly, whimsically, and with a hint of melancholy, brings to a close a letter that it wouldn’t worry him any if it were published to the world.” (Sandburg’s original letter is included with this letter.)

Lincoln didn’t get the nomination. However, as a delegate to the Whig District Convention in May, he secured an agreement that the seat would rotate to a

different Whig leader after each term. Lincoln’s turn came four years later; he served as a U.S. representative from 1847 to 1849.

The self-deprecatory reference to “my particular friends (if I have any),” echoes Lincoln’s now famous statement on entering local politics: “I was born, and have ever remained, in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend me....” (Address to the People of Sangamon County, 1832)

The strategy Lincoln developed here, applying for support but not assuming that his correspondent, “will be for me against all other whigs,” became the centerpiece of his presidential campaign. Seeking the 1860 Republican nomination, Lincoln stated, “I suppose I am not the first choice of a very great many. Our policy, then, is to give no offence to others – leave them in a mood to come to us, if they shall be compelled to give up their first love.” On the third ballot, after the “favorite sons” had failed to garner enough votes, Lincoln won the nomination.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Letter Signed, to Illinois Congressman Alden Hull, Springfield, Ill., February 14, 1843.1 p., with autograph address leaf. 7¾ x 9½”.#21994 SOLD

LincoLn throWS hiS hAt into the rinG

5


JuSt before SettIng off to

begIn hIS PreSIDency, lIncoln StoreD hIS PerSonal effectS In thIS trunK

A week before embarking on his historic rail journey from Springfield to the nation’s capital,

President-elect Lincoln filled this much-used trunk with his and Mary Todd Lincoln’s personal effects. He delivered it for safekeeping to Mary’s favorite cousin, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Todd Grimsley.

Historical Background

“To make [your letter] more secure than it would be in my hat, where I carry most all my packages, I put it in my trunk …” (Lincoln to C.R. Welles, 1849)

I first heard of this trunk in 1992 when I acquired one of Lincoln’s most important manuscripts, his “House Divided” Speech, for the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Sotheby’s described the source, the “‘Grimsley Trunk’ or ‘Grimsley Carpetbag,’” as “one of the three fundamental archives of Lincoln’s retained papers…what Lincoln himself called his ‘literary bureau’: all his non-legal writings from before the election to the Presidency which he did not need in Washington.” Over time, the contents, unfortunately, were dispersed or destroyed. The carpetbag was also destroyed, leaving this trunk as one of the foremost relics from Lincoln’s pre-presidential days.

Although its provenance is well known, mysteries remain. The trunk was likely made in 1789–did Lincoln acquire it secondhand, or did he inherit it from his father or step-mother? Did the family use the trunk during their move from Kentucky to Indiana in 1816, or to Illinois in 1830? Did Lincoln use it as a circuit-riding lawyer, as U.S. congressman, and as delegate to the Whig convention in Philadelphia?

Lincoln likely did use the trunk on his first trp to New York, but not on his crucial 1860 trip. He mentioned at the time Mary’s complaints about his beat-up old trunk and humorously worried that he would not be able to recognize the replacement she supplied.

A file of provenance, documentation, and historical background is included. Having been used by Mr. Lincoln for many years, and having held the personal effects that the Lincolns wanted kept for them in Springfield in 1861, the Lincoln-Grimsley trunk is one of the most storied Lincoln artifacts.

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Dome-top wooden and cowhide trunk, with key. Label of “William Judson, Trunk Maker… York, [England].” Lined by maker with 1789 newspaper, decorated with floral vine and leaf stenciling. (Left behind by Lincoln in Springfield, February 1861.) 33 x 17 x 14”. #21924 SOLD

the FAmouS LincoLn-GrimSLey trunk

6


a rare letter aS a WhIg congreSSman, SuPPortIng Zachary

taylor’S PreSIDentIal bID

Lincoln systematically seeks to identify and target potential supporters. His efforts to ensure that

“correct information... reach[es] the mass of the people” would be familiar to today’s political strategists.

“It is believed that all that is necessary to secure the election of Gen. Taylor, is for correct information to reach the mass of the people. I therefore earnestly request that you will lose no time in forwarding lists for your neighborhood. I would suggest that the names of the Whigs be distinguished from those of the more moderate of our opponents...”

Lincoln represented the Illinois Seventh District in the House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849.

In June 1848, at the Whig National Convention in Philadelphia, he supported Zachary Taylor for the presidency. Following Taylor’s election, Lincoln sought the office of Commissioner of the General Land Office. Instead, he was offered the governorship of the newly-organized Oregon Territory. Having no desire to move further west, and seeing a limited future for a Whig in Oregon, Lincoln declined. Certain that his political career was over, he returned to Springfield to practice law.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Printed Letter Signed, Washington, D.C. 1848. 1 p. 7½ x 9½”. The word “neighborhood” and the postscript were added by a clerical hand. #21953 SOLD

LincoLn WorkS “to Secure the eLection oF Gen. tAyLor”

a fIrSt eDItIon of the

SuPreme court’S InfamouS rulIng

In Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), the Supreme Court declared that blacks could not be United States

citizens and that the 1820 Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. The decision inflamed sectional tensions and helped trigger the Civil War.

“…It is the opinion of the court that the act of Congress which prohibited a citizen from holding and owning property of this kind in the territory of the United States north of the line therein mentioned, is not warranted by the Constitution, and is therefore void; and that neither Dred Scott himself, nor any of his family, were made free by being carried into this territory.”

In his “House Divided” Speech, Lincoln replied that the decision did “obvious violence to the plain unmistakable language” of the Declaration of Independence and our other founding documents.

HOWARD, BENJAMIN C. Report of the Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Opinions of the Judges thereof, in the Case of Dred Scott versus John F.A. Sandford..., Washington, D.C.: Cornelius Wendell, 1857. First edition. 239 pp. 5½ x 8¾”. #21435 SOLD

A dredFuL deciSion

7


a PolItIcally re-energIZeD

lIncoln ShreWDly PlotS to StoP

the SPreaD of Slavery

Lincoln asks Illinois’s future governor to plant an anonymous endorsement for Congressional

candidate James Matheny in local newspapers. Though Matheny was not a Republican, Lincoln explains, “he is with us” in opposing the Dred Scott decision. Broadening the base of the Republican Party, Lincoln argues, is essential to defeating pro-slavery forces.

Complete Transcript “Springfield, March 9. 1858.Hon. R. Yates My dear Sir: If you approve of the following contrive to have it appear in some one of the anti administration papers down your way- better there than here. ‘Mr. Editor: Why may not all anti-administration men in this District vote for James H. Matheny, of Springfield, for Congress? He was opposed to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise; was for Fillmore in 1856, but never was a Know-Nothing- He is now opposed to the Lecompton Constitution, and the Dred Scott decision- Who can be more suitable, when a union of Fremont and Fillmore men, is indispensable? A. republican.’ We have thought this over here- The leading Fillmore men here wish to act with us, and they want a name upon which they can bring up their rank and file- It will help us in Sangamon, where we shall be hard run, about members of the Legislature- Think it over, and if you can approve it, give it a start as above-

I have not forgotten my course towards ‘Jim’ [Matheny] for a nomination in 1856 which you also well know- The difficulty then was on a point which has since been measurably superseded by the Dred Scott decision; and he is with us on that- [William] Butler says you rather have an eye to getting our old friend Bill Greene on the track- Nothing would please me better, whenever he got on to ground that would suit you, except it would give us no access to the Fillmore votes. Don’t you see? We must have some one who will reach the Fillmore men, both for the direct and the incidental effect. I wish you would see Nult [Lynn McNulty] Greene, and present this view to him. Point out to him the necessities of the case, and also how the question, as to ‘Jim’ is varied since 1856.Let this be strictly confidential. Yours as ever, A. Lincoln”

FiGhtinG the expAnSion oF SLAvery, LincoLn propoSeS hiS beSt mAn For conGreSS

8


Historical BackgroundIn 1854, opposition within the Whig Party to the Kansas-Nebraska Act gave birth to the Republican Party. Lincoln allied himself with the new movement, led by John C. Frémont, while Matheny stayed with Millard Fillmore’s Whigs. Though Matheny had been the best man at Lincoln’s and Mary Todd’s wedding in 1841, Lincoln opposed his old friend’s 1856 Congressional bid. By then, the Whig Party had collapsed. Matheny and others who would not join the Republicans backed Fillmore’s bid for the presidency as leader of the American Party (the “Know-Nothings,” an anti-Catholic, nativist movement).

By 1858, the political landscape had shifted dramatically. Chief Justice Taney had ruled in March 1857, in Dred Scott v. Sandford, that a slave could not sue for his freedom since Negroes had “no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” The court declared the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, giving license to expand slavery throughout the western territories.

To Lincoln, old political divisions that had pitted Frémont’s Republicans against Fillmore’s Know-Nothings in 1856 were insignificant in the face of the growing threat posed by the “Slave Power.” Lincoln’s plan was to use published statements, political stumping, and the strategic choice of candidates to help defeat pro-slavery forces. Matheny’scandidacy would help bring about the “union of Fremont and Fillmore men” that Lincoln saw as “indispensible” to blocking the westward expansion of slavery. Acknowledging that Yates preferred a different candidate, Lincoln opts for expediency over party loyalty: “Don’t you see? We must have someone who appeals to the Fillmore men.” A savvy strategist, Lincoln originally closed with a request that his plan be kept “strictly confidential,” which he then crosses out. Still, Matheny lost his 1858 Congressional bid to Democrat Thomas L. Harris.

In Lincoln’s own race for the Senate that year, his coalition-building strategy would help the Republicans carry the popular vote against the far better known Stephen A. Douglas. Before the 17th Amendment, however, senators were chosen by the state legislatures, and Douglas handily won the seat.

The career of Richard Yates, the recipient of this letter, paralleled that of Lincoln. Born in Kentucky, Yates moved to Illinois, became an attorney, served in the state legislature and then the U.S. House of Representatives. Lincoln had worked hard for Yates in his Congressional campaign. Yates, in turn, would be a driving force behind Lincoln’s nomination at the 1860 Republican Convention. The tactical shrewdness so vividly displayed here would help Lincoln win the presidency.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Letter Signed to Richard Yates, Springfield, Ill., March 9, 1858. 2 pp. 8 x 10”. #21945.99 $265,000

9


harPer’S WeeKly coverS

the 1860 electIon

Woodcut prints include: Presidential Election (Winslow Homer); Hon. Abraham Lincoln, Born

in Kentucky, February 12, 1809; Plan of the City of Peking; The Last Stump Speech (cartoon-like); Reading the Returns of the Presidential Election; The Prince of Wales Astonishes His Parents on His Return Home.

HARPER’S WEEKLY illustrated newspaper. November 10, 1860, complete issue, 16 pp. 11 x 15½”. SOLD

For more original Harper’s Weekly issues,see pages 40 and 41.

LincoLn At the cooper inStitute

Schuyler Colfax, U.S. representative from Indiana and vice president

under Ulysses S. Grant, pens a famous quote from Lincoln’s Cooper Institute speech. Archival framing with images of Lincoln and Colfax.

COLFAX, SCHUYLER. Autograph Quote Signed, from Lincoln’s Cooper Institute speech given on February 27, 1860. March 23, 1883. 5½ x 8½”. Framed 24½ x 15¾”. #20679 SOLD

“Let uS hAve FAith thAt riGht mAkeS miGht”

10


a fIrSt eDItIon of the hIStorIc DebateS

In December 1859, the Ohio Republican State Committee asked Lincoln if a record of his debates

with Stephen Douglas was available for publication. Lincoln loaned his scrapbook, with instructions that Douglas’s speeches be taken from pro-Douglas papers to avoid any claim of bias. Caught off guard by the popularity of the Debates, the publisher ran his presses twenty-four hours a day and farmed out finished pages to binderies throughout the Midwest to keep up with the demand. In the end, the Debates ran through seven editions and sold more than 100,000 copies.

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Book, Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, in the Celebrated Campaign of 1858 in Illinois. Columbus, Ohio: Follett, Foster, and Co., 1860. First edition, first state, original cloth binding. 268 pp. 6¼ x 9½”. #21961 SOLD

the LincoLn-douGLAS debAteS

“a PoSe of the heaD

So eSSentIally lIncolnIan…”

Chicago photographer Alexander Hesler took four portraits of Lincoln on June 3, 1860. Lincoln’s law partner, William

Herndon, said of this likeness: “There is the peculiar curve of the lower lip, the lone mole on the right cheek, and a pose of the head so essentially Lincolnian; no other artist has ever caught it.” George B. Ayres purchased Hesler’s original plates after the Civil War, and continued to print fine photographs until his death in 1895. In 1933 the plates were irreparably damaged when sent via mail to Washington, D.C.

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM] HESLER, ALEXANDER. Sepia-toned Photograph, Springfield, Ill., [image taken June 3, 1860, this copy printed by Ayres ca. 1880s]. 6½ x 8½”. #21956 SOLD

the repubLicAn nominee in 1860

11


This scarce and delicate silk campaign ribbon from the election of 1860 proclaims support for the “Republican Candidates.”

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Campaign ribbon, 1860. 2½ x 6”. #21962 SOLD

1860 eLection ribbon

An early Lincoln campaign biography based on interviews with Lincoln associates in Springfield.

SCRIPPS, JOHN LOCKE. Pamphlet, “Tribune Tracts No. 6. Life of Abraham Lincoln. Chapter 1, Early Life,” New York: Tribune, 1860. 32 pp. Original stitching. 6 x 9¼”. #20521 $950

cAmpAiGn bioGrAphy

lIncoln’S future Secretary of War foreSeeS SeceSSIon

At the start of the 1860 presidential campaign, Edwin Stanton writes presciently to an

abolitionist friend that entrenched sectional hostilities and rising passions over slavery have made compromise impossible. As he pens his letter, the Democratic National Convention in Charleston is on the verge of collapsing amid bitter factional disputes.

“...there seems just now to be much probability of your secession theory being realized... If it were a mere division of sentiments a new ‘Compromise’ would be the nostrum. But it is a contest of passion, ambitious interests, and all the Elements that in the past history of man have engendered civil dissensions beyond compromise or reconciliation.”

STANTON, EDWIN M. Autograph Letter Signed to Dr. Joseph P. Gazzam, Washington, D.C., April 29, 1860. 3 pp. 7¾ x 9¾”. #21307 SOLD

A “conteSt oF pASSion”

12


Indian Peace Medals were produced in the 18th and 19th centuries as tokens of friendship for presentation to Native Americans. The Lincoln

medal is one of the most desired. This bronze example weighs a half pound, and is a lovely specimen with deep mahogany toning. The obverse features a portrait of Lincoln. On the reverse, while one Indian brave is shown scalping another, a third plows a field. The most unusual aspect is the background, which features four white children playing a game of baseball. A batter, underhand pitcher, fielder and observer standing near home plate are visible, making this one of the earliest known figural baseball artifacts.

[U.S. MINT]. Peace Medal, engraved by S. Ellis, 1862. 3” dia. #21960 SOLD

bASebALL And LincoLn on An indiAn peAce medAL

unIformeD marchIng SocIety

rallIeD SuPPort for

the 1860 lIncoln camPaIgn

In 19th-century America, political parties mobilized their supporters to a degree not seen today. One of

the best-known organizations was the Wide Awakes, a Republican marching society with chapters throughout the North. Wearing matching oil-cloth caps and capes, the Wide Awakes carried kerosene torches such as this one in nighttime parades to emphasize their vigilance against the Southern slavocracy’s assaults on liberty. The marchers created an aura of excitement and inevitability around Lincoln’s presidential campaign, and as one participant noted, “Those uniformed and marching companies were the precursors of the regiments which, carrying musket and bayonet instead of the torch, sprang into being six months later at Lincoln’s call.”

[LINCOLN ELECTION]. Double-swivel kerosene torch used exclusively by the pro-Lincoln marching club, the Wide Awakes, in various localities during the election of 1860. 55” tall with original, soft-wood pole, pierced at the bottom. #11883 $3,750

pArAde torch uSed by the Wide AWAkeS

13

(Harper’s, October 13, 1860. Showing The Wide Awakes

March in New York, and five scenes of Central Park. $180.For additional Harper’s Weekly newspapers, see pages 40-41.)


14

“PleaSe Summon the cabInet to meet me here at 7 o’clocK thIS evenIng”

the brevIty of lIncoln’S letter belIeS ItS far-reachIng ImPlIcatIonS

On March 5, 1862, President Lincoln requests that Secretary of State William Seward summon

a meeting of his cabinet. The following day, the president presented a special message to Congress with his plan to offer to pay to end slavery.

Historical BackgroundA draft of Lincoln’s message to Congress, preserved in the Library of Congress, contains revisions likely made with his Cabinet. Lincoln called for a Congressional resolution endorsing compensated emancipation and pledging federal support to states that adopted it. The president termed his measure “one of the most efficient means of self-preservation,” stating that “in my judgment, gradual, and not sudden emancipation, is better for all.” A plan to pay to end slavery, he stressed, would ensure that the border slave states would have nothing to gain by joining the Confederacy.

A week later, Lincoln wrote to Senator James McDougall, comparing the cost of paying to end slavery to the cost of the war. Lincoln estimated that buying the freedom of the 432,622 slaves in Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and Washington, D.C. would amount to $173,048,800 — the cost of war for 87 days. “Do you doubt,” Lincoln wrote, “that taking the initiatory steps on the part of those states and the District, would shorten the war more than eighty-seven days, and thus be an actual saving of expense?”

The idea of compensated emancipation never took root. On July 22, Lincoln convened another meeting to announce that he was prepared to take an even more radical step: emancipation without compensation to slave owners. Lincoln was persuaded by his cabinet to wait for a Union victory before issuing the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Letter Signed, to Secretary of State William H. Seward, Washington, D.C., March 5, 1862. Signed at bottom by Seward, with a note in an unidentified contemporary hand. 1 p. 4¾ x 7¼”. #12054 $180,000

LincoLn SummonS hiS cAbinet to diScuSS emAncipAtion


15

Appointment of Charles Kingsbury, Jr. (c.1837- 1866) as assistant adjutant general of

volunteers, with the rank of captain.

Kingsbury, of Ironton, Ohio, enrolled in Company C, 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in April, 1861. As a captain, he received Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans’s praise for his performance at the Battle of Rich Mountain. With this commission, he was assigned to the staff of Brigadier General John F. Reynolds, with whom he took part in the Siege of Yorktown, the Seven Days Battle near Richmond, and Gettysburg. After Reynolds was killed, Kingsbury served on General Philip H. Sheridan’s staff.

A very decorative item to display in your home or office, with a fine large “Abraham Lincoln” signature.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM and STANTON, EDWIN M. Document Signed, March 11, 1862, on vellum.1 p. 15¾ x 19½”. #1918 SOLD

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Print, “The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation Before the Cabinet,” by A.H. Ritchie from Francis Bicknell Carpenter’s 1864 painting at the White House. 1866. 36½ x 25½”. #3967 $1,750

FirSt reAdinG oF the emAncipAtion procLAmAtion

cASt From the uSS cumberLAnd

The USS Cumberland was sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia (the Merrimac) in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 8, 1862. This

bust, composed of metal recovered from the ship, was cast shortly after the war. [LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Cast bronze bas-relief profile. 15 x 10” mounted to a 21 x 17” velvet-covered, oval, wooden plaque. #21401 SOLD

LincoLn-SiGned miLitAry commiSSion


Acompilation of orders issued or forwarded by the adjutant general

in 1862. Includes General Order 139, September 24, 1862, publishing President Lincoln’s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

“I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States... hereby proclaim and declare that ... the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States... That it is my purpose, upon the

next meeting of Congress to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all slave States [which] may voluntarily adopt, immediate or gradual abolishment of slavery within their respective limits...” (G.O. #139)

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM] Book, General Orders Affecting the Volunteer Force.... Washington, D.C., 1863. 158 pp. Signed by Albert Harrison Hoyt, paymaster, U.S. Army. 5 x 7½”. #21395 SOLD

1862 WAr orderS incLudinG preLiminAry emAncipAtion

16


SIgneD by lIncoln

to aID the trooPS

“All persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free …”

Historical BackgroundThe Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, reveals the major themes ofthe Civil War: slavery as the central issue, the courting of border states, and the constitutional and popular constraints that made earlier emancipation impossible. In addition to its moral weight, the Proclamation’s tangible aid to the Union cause was decisive. It deprived the Confederacy of essential labor, encouraged the enlistment of black soldiers in the Union army, and prevented Europe from supporting the Confederacy. In 1864, 48 copies of the Proclamation were prepared by prominent abolitionists George Boker and Charles Leland. The documents were signed by Lincoln and sold at the Philadelphia Sanitary Fair to raise money for sick and wounded troops.

Some 24 Lincoln signed Leland-Boker editions are known to survive, mostly in museum collections.

Reacting to the proclamation, Frederick Douglass congratulated President Lincoln on “what may be called the greatest event of our nation’s history.”

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Document Signed, [June, 1864], co-signed by Secretary of State William H. Seward, and authenticated by John G. Nicolay as private secretary to the president.Courtesy of a Private Collection - Not for sale

Seth Kaller haS haD the PrIvIlege

of buyIng or SellIng eIght of the nIne lIncoln-SIgneD coPIeS of the emancIPatIon

ProclamatIon that have come on the marKet In the laSt 40-PluS yearS.

for more hIStorIcal bacKgrounD, See

WWW.SethKaller.com/freeDomDocumentS

the emAncipAtion procLAmAtion

17


editinG hiS Letter teLLinG mccLeLLAn to FiGht

“If you ShoulD PublISh the attacheD letter, PleaSe maKe the

correctIonS InDIcateD”

In an 1862 letter, Lincoln famously urged Major General McClellan to fight: “It is indispensible to you

that you strike a blow.” When a newspaper published the letter the following year, Lincoln, unhappy with the text, asked a friendly paper to run a corrected version.

Historical BackgroundMajor General George B. McClellan was widely heralded for building the Army of the Potomac into an impressive fighting force. But Lincoln became frustrated with McClellan’s reluctance to use his army to full advantage. In the midst of McClellan’s unsuccessful 1862 campaign to take Richmond, Lincoln pleaded with him to attack. “The country will not fail to note… that the present hesitation to move upon an entrenched enemy is but the story of Manassas repeated,” Lincoln wrote. “You must act.” According to historian James M. McPherson, “It was a superb letter, one of Lincoln’s best. But McClellan ignored it.”

On January 16, 1863, during a Court of Inquiry investigating McClellan, the Evening Star published Lincoln’s letter. Lincoln was not satisfied with their version. He sent this note to his favorite paper, the Washington Chronicle, to correct the errors. John W. Forney, the paper’s publisher, was called “Lincoln’s dog” for his closeness to the administration. The Chronicle, which was widely read by the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac, published “a corrected and official copy” of Lincoln’s letter the next day.

A year later, in the first wartime election, McClellan was expected by many to unseat Lincoln. But despite the horrific casualties they’d suffered and their abiding love for “Little Mac,” an astounding 70% of the troops voted for Lincoln.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Letter Signed to the editors of the Washington Chronicle, Washington, D.C., January 16, 1863. 1 p. 7¾ x 4¼”. The original enclosure is no longer present, but we include an 1864 presidential campaign printingof Lincoln’s April 9, 1862 letter to McClellan.1 p. 7¾ x 10”. #10987 SOLD

18


tellIng a DISaPPoInteD mexIcan War hero Why he WaSn’t PromoteD

Gen. Ward B. Burnett had served with distinction during the Mexican War, but was denied a

brigadier generalship in the Union army. Burnett sought an explanation from Lincoln. Making clear he bore no malice toward Burnett, Lincoln responds, “The nomination fell, with many others, because the number nominated exceeded the law.”

Complete Transcript “Washington, March 7, 1863General Ward B. Burnett My dear sir.Col. Diven has just been with me seeking to remove a wrong impression which he supposes I might have of you, springing from a report he had once made in the New York Senate, as I understood him. I told him, as I now tell you, that I did not remember to have ever heard of the report, or any thing against you.As I remember, you were nominated last year, and the nomination fell, with many others, because the number nominated exceeded the law. I call to mind no reason why you have not been re-nominated, except that you have not been in active service, while others more than sufficient to take all the places have been. Yours truly, A. Lincoln”

Historical BackgroundA West Point graduate, Burnett had served with distinction under Winfield Scott. He was seriously wounded at Churubusco, and was awarded a gold medal by his regiment. After the Mexican War, Burnett worked as a civil engineer at the Brooklyn and Philadelphia navy yards, and served as U.S. surveyor general in Kansas and Nebraska. When his Civil War nomination for brigadier general was rejected, he asked Col. Alexander S. Diven, a former New York state senator and Republican congressman,

to discuss the matter with Lincoln. Diven’s visit prompted this response.

Lincoln’s letter is accompanied by a letter from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. On June 20, 1863, Stanton refuses a request from the mayor of New York that “such power be given to General Ward B. Burnett, to muster men into the United States service.”

Burnett never received the commission he sought. Nevertheless, he played a significant role during the New York City Draft Riots in July 1863. Near Wall Street, Burnett organized and swore in volunteer forces to fend off the rioters. According to William O. Stoddard, an aide to Lincoln who happened to be in New York at the time, Burnett and his men “kept company with a wide-mouthed mountain howitzer” and protected the U.S. Treasury and the Customs House. The general appeared “very cool, and determined but a little bloodthirsty.”

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Letter Signed, to General Ward Burnett, Washington, D.C., March 7, 1863. 6¾ x 10½”. With: Edwin M. Stanton. Letter Signed, to New York Mayor George Opdyke, Washington, D.C., June 20, 1863. 8 x 10”. #21369 SOLD

LincoLn cLAriFieS A rAnk miSunderStAndinG

19


one of a hanDful of SurvIvIng battlefIelD coPIeS of the vIctory meSSage that InfurIateD lIncoln

While both armies still occupy the field, General Meade congratulates his soldiers on their

“glorious” victory at Gettysburg.

Partial Transcript “The Commanding General, in behalf of the country, thanks the Army of the Potomac for the glorious result of the recent operation. An enemy superior in numbers and flushed with the pride of a successful invasion, attempted to overcome and destroy this Army. Utterly baffled and defeated, he has now withdrawn from the contest. The privations and fatigue the Army has endured, and the heroic courage and gallantry it has displayed will be matters of history to be ever remembered. Our task is not yet accomplished, and the Commanding General looks to the Army for greater efforts to drive from our soil every vestige of the presence of the invader.”

Historical Background The Battle of Gettysburg, fought on July 1-3, 1863, caused a staggering number of casualties: 23,000 Union, 28,000 Confederate. At 4:15 p.m. on July 4th, with the battlefield still strewn with the dead and wounded, Meade issued General Orders No. 68 commending his victorious troops. He had good reason to give thanks: after the failures of four previous commanders and thirteen months of stalemate and defeat, the Army of the Potomac had finally won a decisive victory over Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. But a part of Meade’s message infuriated Lincoln. Attuned as always to the power of words, Lincoln pointed out to General Halleck that all of America, not just the North, was still “our soil.” Lincoln was further disgusted by Meade’s reluctance to pursue Lee. Lincoln rightly perceived that Meade wanted “to get the enemy across the river again without a

further collision,” rather than acting to prevent their crossing and to destroy the Confederate army.

While Lincoln congratulated the Army of the Potomac for its hard-fought victory, he drafted a letter lecturing Meade about “the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee’s escape… [T]o have closed upon him would, in connection with our other late successes, have ended the war.” Although Lincoln never sent the letter, Meade was aware of his displeasure and offered to resign. Lincoln declined the offer.

MEADE, GEORGE. Broadside, “Head Quarters Army of the Potomac,” Gettysburg, Pa., printed on the field, July 4, 1863. 5½ x 6”. SOLD $27,500

GenerAL meAde’S GettySburG victory meSSAGe

to See

thIS rare maP of the battle

of gettySburg, anD relateD

ItemS aSK

for our

cIvIl War catalog.

20


the GettySburG AddreSS – Front pAGe neWS

a Scarce fIrSt Day of PrIntIng ISSue

Lincoln’s speech, delivered at the Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863, has

endured as a supreme distillation of American values. This printing – from November 20, the first day the text was published anywhere – contains Lincoln’s timeless speech on page one. This original issue also has lengthy reports on the other proceedings of the ceremony, including the hour and a half speech of Edward Everett of Massachusetts.

Four newspaper copyists were at work during the event. Joseph L. Gilbert of the Associated Press “actually consulted Lincoln’s delivery text briefly after the ceremony, which makes his version more authoritative for some scholars” (Gary Wills). The New York Times received Gilbert’s report by telegraph, and published it here the next day. There is no definitive version of the Address, but “variations of [the AP] version reached more Americans in 1863 than any other” (Gabor Boritt, The Gettysburg Gospel). Later, when Lincoln penned copies of his speech, he is said to have referred to Gilbert’s AP report.

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. Newspaper, The New York Times, November 20, 1863. 8 pp. (Gettysburg Address on p. 1, col. 3.) 15¼ x 20¾”. #21008 SOLD

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. Printed Card, The President’s Dedication Address at Gettysburg, New York: Miller & Matthews [ca. 1863-64]. 3½ x 5½ ”. #21986.02 SOLD (Shown at right)

the GettySburG AddreSS

Another rare first day of publication newspaper. Here, the Gettysburg Address is

on page 10. This paper includes Edward Everett’s entire speech, and a report on the ceremonies. It also contains a large map of the Gettysburg battlefield, The American Necropolis (shown at left).

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. Newspaper, The New York Herald, November 20, 1863. 12 pp.15¾ x 22¼”. #30001.11 SOLD

the GettySburG AddreSS – FirSt dAy, With mAp

21


Speaking for her husband, the first lady asks U.S. Treasurer Francis Spinner to give a trusted

employee the job of messenger.

“General Spinner will much oblige the President & Mrs. Lincoln by giving the situation of messenger to Charles [Forbes]the bearer a most worthy man...”

Historic BackgroundSix months earlier, White House footman Charles Forbes had

been driving Mrs. Lincoln when, by accident or sabotage, her carriage completely fell apart. Though the first lady suffered a head injury, she maintained her regard for Forbes.

As Lincoln’s personal valet, Forbes reportedly stopped John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre on the night of the assassination. After seeing the famous actor’s pass, however, Forbes let Booth into the president’s box. LINCOLN, MARY TODD. Autograph Letter Signed in the third person (“Mrs. Lincoln”), to General Francis E. Spinner, “Executive Mansion,” January 16, 1864. With Spinner’s autograph docketing. 1 p. 4½ x 6¾”. #21927 SOLD

mAry LincoLn And the preSident ASk A FAvor

A New Year’s gift of Lincoln’s favorite author from his grieving widow. The recipient, Presbyterian

minister David Swing of Chicago, was a longtime friend of the Lincolns.

Inscription“Presented to Professor Swing with kindest regards & best wishes of his sincere friend, Mrs. A. Lincoln, Chicago, Ill. January 1st 1874”.

Historical Background

The Swing family gave great comfort to the widowed Mary Lincoln, particularly after the death of her

son Tad in 1871. Three months after receiving this gift, Swing was tried by the Presbytery of Chicago for heresy. He was acquitted, but left to establish the Central Church, which became the largest in Chicago.

LINCOLN, MARY TODD. Signed Book, The Works of William Shakespeare, edited by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke (London: 1869), four volumes, inscribed in volume I. 5¼ x 8½”. #21928 SOLD

ShAkeSpeAre’S WorkS, inScribed by mAry todd LincoLn

22


WaS lIncoln too mercIful?

Lincoln pardons Alfred Ryder, a prisoner in New York’s Sing Sing prison. Ryder promptly enlisted

in the Union navy, only to desert a year after the war ended.

“...Alfred Ryder was convicted of Mutiny and sentenced to imprisonment for seven years...his conduct in confinement has been uniformly exemplary... Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States... do hereby grant unto him... a full and unconditional pardon...”

Historical BackgroundOn May 23, 1860 a revolt broke out on board the ship Wm. F. Storer off Governors Island, New York. Several men demanded that the captain open the forecastle, where they likely stashed liquor. “I’ll see you d—d arse, you old gray-headed son of a b—h,” Ryder cursed the captain. A melee ensued with Ryder and others

shooting at the officers. The ship’s steward was killed. The ringleaders, including Ryder, were given seven-year prison terms. On sentencing, the judge called the incident “one of the most disgraceful and outrageous [affrays] that has happened in the harbor of New-York.” Ryder served less than four years of his sentence before being pardoned.

Lincoln’s generosity with pardons was well known. He denied every application to execute sentries for sleeping at their posts. In one 1864 order alone, he revoked 60 death sentences. Attorney General Bates lamented that “in nine cases out of ten,” a woman’s tears were “sure to prevail in winning clemency.” History has tended to sympathize with Lincoln’s compassion, but his generals complained that it undermined discipline and encouraged desertion.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Document Signed, countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward, Washington, D.C., May 10, 1864. 2 pp. 10¾ x 16¾”. #13446 $16,000

pArdoninG A murderouS mutineer

23


the PreSIDent callS on

loyal cItIZenS to ImPlore the “SuPreme ruler of the WorlD not

to DeStroy uS aS a PeoPle”

With the outcome of the war still far from clear, this broadside announces to the people of

Massachusetts Lincoln’s proclamation of a national day of prayer. Eight weeks prior, at Cold Harbor, Grant had lost some 7,000 Union troops in the span of 20 minutes. The siege of Petersburg was just six weeks old.

“[Calling on] all loyal and law-abiding people, to convene at their usual places of worship, or wherever they may be, to confess and to repent of their manifold sins; to implore the compassion and forgiveness of the Almighty, that, if consistent with his will, the existing rebellion may be speedily suppressed, and the supremacy of the Constitution and the laws of the United States may be established throughout all the states; to implore Him, as the Supreme Ruler of the World, not to destroy us as a people, nor suffer us to be destroyed … to implore Him to grant our armed defenders and the masses of the people that courage, power of resistance, and endurance necessary to secure that result…”

Historical BackgroundFollowing the examples of presidents Washington, Adams, and Madison, Lincoln issued several proclamations of prayer or thanksgiving. His proclamation of October 3, 1863 established the precedent of the fourth Thursday of every November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress must have worried that this was not sufficient. They could not know then that Cold Harbor would be Lee’s last major victory. On July 2, 1864, a joint resolution requested that Lincoln call for an additional day of “national humiliation and prayer.” Lincoln set the first Thursday in August 1864 as a day to pray for a speedy end to the war. It would be another eight months before that prayer was answered.

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Broadside, “A Proclamation for a Day of Humiliation and Prayer,” July 7, 1864, printed under a forwarding Proclamation by Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts, July 28, 1864. 1 p. Approximately 18½ x 28¼”. #21427 SOLD

LincoLn procLAimS A nAtionAL dAy

oF prAyer And humiLiAtion

24


a lIncoln-SIgneD WhalIng ShIP Sea letter - aS much aS 100 tImeS Scarcer

than a cIvIl War mIlItary commISSIon

President Lincoln gives permission for the whaler Almira to sail to the North Pacific.

“...permission is hereby given to Abraham Osborn Jr master or commander of the Ship called Almira ... lying at present in the port of Edgartown bound for Pacific Ocean laden and outfitted with Casks, Provisions, Ship’s Stores, and Whaling Utensils for a Whaling voyage... to depart and proceed.”

Historical BackgroundThe whaling business, hazardous in the best of times, was beset by the threat of Confederate attacks during the Civil War. As a result, the whale-rich waters of the Bering Sea between Siberia and Alaska became a haven for whalers avoiding American waters. Sea letters such as this offered proof of nationality and

some protection to a vessel in foreign waters, though they were of no help against Confederate raiders. The owners of the Almira had already lost one vessel to the feared Confederate raider Alabama. In 1865 the CSS Shenandoah destroyed 20 of the 58 Yankee whalers in the Bering Sea, most after Lee’s surrender.

The 362-ton Almira, commanded by a member of the Osborn shipping family of Martha’s Vineyard, did return from her four-year voyage to the North Pacific, in October 1868. She brought back 1,310 barrels of whale oil, having already sent home 1,845 barrels of sperm oil and 70,000 pounds of whale bone. In 1871, after 49 years of plying the world’s oceans, the Almira was stove by ice and lost in the Arctic.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Document Signed, co-signed by Secretary of State William H. Seward, August 8, 1864. In French, Spanish, English and Dutch. 1 p. 21½ x 16¾”. #4325 $24,000

SeA Letter For A mArthA’S vineyArd WhALer

25


WIth the War goIng baDly, the 1864 electIon IS no Shoo-In for the Incumbent

“[Y]our brave, truthful and powerful letter of acceptance [has] completely disarmed all bitter and personal hostility at the hands of the democratic party... [We] certainly shall not find time to wage war against you.… The democrats are willing to help you all they can as against Mr. Lincoln...”

Frederick A. Aiken, former Secretary of the Democratic National Convention, applauds

General John C. Frémont’s nomination by the Radical Republicans. He suggests that Frémont will have the blessing of the Democrats if he goes up against Lincoln for the Republican nomination. Aiken went on to serve (unsuccessfully) as defense attorney for Lincoln assassination conspirator Mary Surratt.

AIKEN, FREDERICK A. Autograph Letter Signed, to John C. Frémont, Washington, D.C., June 12, 1864. 2 pp. 7¾ x 9¾”. #20715 $3,200

urGinG Frémont to run AGAinSt LincoLn

This 1864 election paperback’s question-and-answer “catechism” portrays Abraham Lincoln

as a demagogue oblivious to the will of the people. The caricature of a demonic Negro on the front cover says it all.

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Book, The Lincoln Catechism – Wherein The Eccentricities & Beauties of Despotism are Fully Set Forth. A Guide to the Presidential Election of 1864, New York, J.F. Weeks, 1864. 48 pp. Lacking blank rear cover. #21959 SOLD

courtIng voteS, IncluDIng ImmIgrantS’

Lincoln reelection campaign broadsides with the Republican (Lincoln-Johnson) and Democratic

(McClellan-Pendleton) platforms, followed by a side-by-side analysis of “Points of Difference.” Printed separately in English and German separately.

“as Slavery was the cause, and now constitutes the strength, of this rebellion... justice and the national safety demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the republic; and that we uphold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the Government, in its own defense, has aimed a death-blow at this gigantic evil. We are in favor, furthermore, of such an amendment to

the Constitution, to be made by the people in conformity with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever prohibit the existence of Slavery within the limits of the jurisdiction of the United States.”(Republican Platform)

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Matching pair of Broadsides, [1864], “The Platforms,” in English. 9½ x 12”. “Die Platformen,” in German. 9¾ x 11¾”. 2 pp. total. #21926.02-03 $2,250

pLAyinG the rAce cArd

LincoLn vS. mccLeLLAn – 1864 cAmpAiGn pLAtFormS

26


former unIon generalS rebut

the claIm that they crItIcIZeD

theIr commanDer In chIef

General Daniel Sickles addresses charges that he called for Lincoln’s overthrow. Writing to

General Adam Badeau, the supposed source of the accusation, Sickles asks for his recollection of the incident. Badeau’s response is included.

The allegation: “When Badeau joined Grant in 1864 he reported to the staff… [that] Sickles had said in substance that Lincoln was not pushing the war with the proper Energy & that the time would come soon when he would have to be deposed and a Dictator put in his stead.”

Sickles’s request: “Do you remember anything of such a conversation with me? I do not.... In ‘64 I was strongly advocating the renomination & reelection of Abraham Lincoln. My relations with him were intimate and confidential during that year. I made speeches for him in New York, Chicago, Detroit & Elsewhere… claiming that his reelection would do as much as a Successful Campaign in putting down the rebellion because it would be a declaration of the people of the North to prosecute the war... I never heard anything in the Army about a Dictator....”

Badeau’s response: “I have not seen General Logan’s book, but I am very sure that if this quotation is literal, his memory or that of his informant was greatly at fault. I never was at your head quarters during the war, and I never heard you criticize Mr Lincoln unfavorably. I never had any conversation with you in which you or any one else discussed the possibility or desirability of a dictatorship....”

Historical BackgroundSickles had been told that the “Dictator” allegation appeared in General John A. Logan’s memoir, The Volunteer Soldier of America (1887). Logan, who served under Grant during the war, was a U.S. Congressman, and a vice presidential nominee in 1884.

Daniel Sickles had already been involved in scandals, the most famous of which occurred in 1859 when he shot his wife’s lover, district attorney of Washington, D.C. and son of Francis Scott Key, near the White House. Sickles was the first man in the United States acquitted of murder by reason of temporary insanity.

Adam Badeau served as military secretary to U.S. Grant during the war. He retired a brevet brigadier general, and went on to write a biography of Grant.

SICKLES, DANIEL. Autograph Letter Signed, to Gen. Adam Badeau, August 26, 1887. 2 pp. 8 x 10”.With: BADEAU, ADAM. Autograph Letter Signed (Badeau’s retained copy), to Gen. Daniel Sickles, August 29, 1887. 2 pp. 8 x 10”. #20340 SOLD

(Sickles to Badeau)

denyinG cALLS For A dictAtor to repLAce LincoLn

(Badeau to Sickles)27


lIncoln’S 1864 vIctory SPeech

Three days after Lincoln’s reelection, The New York Times reports the text of his victory speech and the

cheers of the jubilant crowd on the White House lawn below. Lincoln’s four-page manuscript for this speech sold at Christie’s on February 12, 2009 for $3,442,500, a record price for an American manuscript.

“It has long been a grave question whether any Government not too strong for the liberties of the people can be strong enough to maintain its own existence in great emergencies... We cannot have free Government without elections, and if the rebellion could force us to forego or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us... Let us, therefore, study the incidents of this, as philosophy to learn wisdom from, and none of them as wrongs to be revenged... But the election, along with its incidental and undesirable strife, has done good too. It has demonstrated that a people’s government can sustain a national election in the midst of a great civil war... It shows also how sound and how strong we still are. It shows that... he who is most devoted

to the Union and most opposed to treason, can receive most of the people’s votes... Gold is good in its place, but living, brave, patriotic men, are better than gold...may not all having a common interest reunite in a common effort to save the common country....”

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Newspaper, The New York Times, November 11, 1864, Vol. XIV, No. 4098. Report on page 1, columns 3 & 4: “Congratulating the President. / A Serenade by the Clubs, and a Speech by Mr. Lincoln.” 8 pp. 15½ x 21”. #30001.12 SOLD

“We cAnnot hAve Free Government Without eLectionS”

A scarce compilation of the work of the second session of the 38th Congress, published only a

month after the session ended. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude, passed on January 31, 1865, is on page 168. Other acts include appropriations, taxation, construction of roads and railroads, management of American Indian affairs, and war measures.

Book, Acts and Resolutions of the Second Session of the Thirty-Eighth Congress, begun on Monday, December 5, 1864, and ended on Saturday, March 4, 1865, Washington, [D.C.], 1865. 203 pp. 5¾ x 8¾”. #20249 SOLD

the conGreSS thAt pASSed the thirteenth Amendment

28


“neIther Slavery nor Involuntary ServItuDe...

Shall exISt WIthIn

the unIteD StateS…”

Believing slavery to be morally wrong, Lincoln had championed against it for

most of his political career. However, he recognized that the president did not possess the Constitutional authority to outlaw the institution, except, perhaps, as a matter of military necessity. Therefore, he carefully crafted the Emancipation Proclamation to affect only those states still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863.

The president then began to push for an amendment that would forever abolish slavery. The amendment was passed by the necessary two-thirds vote in the Senate on April 8, 1864. Two months later, however, it was defeated in the House of Representatives. Lincoln then made abolition a central plank of the Republican platform. In the hard fought 1864 reelection campaign, Republicans won enough seats to guarantee passage of the amendment. Not content to wait until the new Congress met in March, supporters brought the measure to another vote in the House on January 31, 1865. This time, with heavy presidential arm-twisting, the same Congress that had rejected it now passed it, 119 to 56, with 8 abstentions.

Lincoln approved and signed the original on February 1, 1865. He, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and various Congressmen then signed manuscript copies as memorials. But on February 7, the Senate resolved that the president’s signature on an amendment was “unnecessary,” and withheld “from the House... the message of the President informing the Senate that he had... signed.” Thus, in addition to 15 known manuscript copies signed by Lincoln, several exist without his signature.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. The Thirteenth Amendment. Document Signed, co-signed by Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax, and members of the House and Senate, Washington, D.C., February 1, 1865. Courtesy of a Private Collection - Not for sale

for more hIStorIcal bacKgrounD, See

WWW.SethKaller.com/freeDomDocumentS

Seth Kaller haS haD the PrIvIlege

of hanDlIng all SIx of the

lIncoln-SIgneD coPIeS of the thIrteenth amenDment that have

SolD In the laSt 48 yearS.

the thirteenth Amendment

29


LincoLn’S LASt StAte oF the union AddreSS:A compLete pAGe in hiS oWn hAnd

lIncoln’S meSSage, PreServeD In thIS unIque leaf, IS that the unIon WIll WIn the War, anD amerIca WIll

emerge a Stronger natIon

This manuscript leaf, in Lincoln’s hand, contains the heart and soul of his 1864 State of the

Union address: “we are not exhausted…we are gaining strength... We have more men now than we had when the war began.” Despite terrible losses, Lincoln proclaims that the Union will triumph. Four months later, Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Less than a week after that, Lincoln was felled by an assassin’s bullet.

Complete Transcript“To this again should be added the number of all soldiers in the field from Massachusetts, Rhode-Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Illinois and California, who, by the laws of those states could not vote away from their homes, and which number can not be less than [90,000.] Nor yet is this all. The number in organized territories is tripple [sic] now what it was four years ago; while thousands, white and black, join us, as the national arms press back the insurgent lines. So much is shown, affirmatively, and negatively, by the election. It is not material * [Lincoln wrote the text between the asterisks separately, pasting it in here before finishing his thought.] to enquire how the increase has been produced; or to show that it would have been greater but for the war, which is probably true. The important fact remains demonstrated, that we have more men now than we had when the war began; that we are not exhausted, nor in process of exhaustion; that we are gaining strength, and may, if need be, maintain the contest indefinitely.* This as to men. Material resources are now more complete, and abundant than ever.”

Historical BackgroundLincoln began writing his Annual Message to Congress (now referred to as the State of the Union address) just a week after his reelection on November 8, 1864. He read a draft to his cabinet on November 25, and on December 3 reviewed the final version. He then sent the final manuscript, from which this page came, to the public printer. In a tradition that began with Thomas Jefferson and continued until Woodrow Wilson, Lincoln submitted the address to Congress on paper, rather than in person.

Our leaf, page 44, starts by discussing the number of soldiers who had voted in the recent presidential election. The troops, Lincoln noted on page 43 of his manuscript, were the “most important branch of national resources.” In the midst of horrific battles and tremendous loss of life, 70 percent of Union soldiers voted for Lincoln – soundly rejecting the message of defeat offered by candidate George McClellan.

That Lincoln could point to the army, “white and black,” was another triumph. Immediately after the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union army began accepting African-American recruits. By the end of the war, more than 100,000 had served, providing a crucial boost to the Union cause.

The final words on this page capture the essence of the American spirit: gritty resolve in the face of conflict, growth in the face of adversity. The Union, Lincoln states, can “maintain the contest indefinitely…Material resources are now more complete, and abundant than ever.” Despite four years of Civil War, America was still a nation of hope and abundance.

Lincoln’s complete Annual Message addressed everything from foreign affairs (“reasonably satisfactory”); to the nation’s new national banking system (“successfully administered”); admission of Nevada as a state; and establishment of loyal

30


governments in Arkansas and Louisiana. A key topic of this Annual Message was the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. Earlier in 1864, the amendment had been approved by the Senate but rejected by the House. Lincoln urged Congress to reconsider. “I shall not attempt to retract or modify the Emancipation Proclamation, nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of that proclamation... In stating a single condition of peace I mean simply to saythat the war will cease on the part of the Government whenever it shall have ceased on the part of those who began it.” Due to Lincoln’s unremitting efforts, Congress soon took up the amendment again; it passed on January 31, 1865.

Leaves from this MessageJohn D. Defrees, U.S. superintendent of public printing at the time, preserved a few leaves of Lincoln’s original 48-page manuscript, and distributed them to family and friends. This particular leaf went to Commissioner of Indian Affairs William P. Dole. Only eleven portions of eight pages are known to exist. Six portions are now held by four institutions: the Library of Congress; the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library; the Gilder Lehrman Collection on deposit at the New-York Historical Society; and the Detroit Public Library.

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Autograph Manuscript [Washington, D.C., ca. December 3, 1864]. A complete leaf, page 44, from Lincoln’s penned manuscript of his last State of the Union Address, delivered to Congress on December 6, 1864. 8¼ x 13¾”. #21995 SOLD

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from “the greateSt tImeS ever KnoWn” to “the SaDDeSt Day I ever SaW,” anD home In tIme for baSeball

Bostonian R.E. Merrill’s diary chronicles major events of 1865.

Selected ExcerptsFebruary: “News of the passage of the Slavery Amendment…the guns are firing, and bells ringing…Charleston occupied by our troops and the veritable old flag again waves over Sumter”

March: “Lincoln inaugurated… took tea and retd. with the Froths to Boston Theater ‘American Cousin’ - Laura Keene - Like very much”

April: “Hard fighting followed by the great news that Richmond had fallen.... Great news Lee surrendered his army to Grant yesterday… The greatest times ever known…. Almost every body drunk last night… It is great and glorious...” April 15: “Such terrible news! President Lincoln murdered!! The saddest day I ever saw…Mr. Lincolns remains left Washington… News of the death of Booth… Johnson surrendered in same terms as Lee - Grant put things right”

May: “Reward of $100,000 offered for Jeff Davis and less amts for other conspirators… Trial of conspirators at Washington… News of capture of Jeff Davis and family in Virginia… rejoicing over Jeff’s capture in Woman’s cloths... Trial at Washington going on... Jeff Davis and party at Fortress Monroe”

July: “The conspirators to be hanged at Washington, four in number… Saw and shook hands with Genl Meade... Grant at F Hall - Saw him at corner of Court and WashingtonGrant went to Portland”

October: “Home at 1 to see baseball match”

Historical BackgroundThe fabric of everyday life is woven into the great events of the nation – bells ring, the old flag waves, General Meade’s hand is clasped, everybody’s drunk, a baseball game is cheered…. Before that fateful shot was fired, were the Lincolns enjoying Laura Keene in Our American Cousin as much as Merrill had three weeks earlier?

MERRILL, R.E. Autograph Manuscript Signed, Diary, Boston, Mass., 1865. 3 x 4¾”. 176 pp.#21987 $4,500

recordinG Lee’S Surrender, LincoLn’S ASSASSinAtion, And dAviS’S cApture in Women’S cLotheS

(Harper’s, May 27, 1865. The capture of Jefferson Davis, included with diary. See page 40 for additional Harper’s)

32


“Tenderly raising his inanimate form, the writer and five others

carried him…”

An eyewitness writes in lurid detail about the histrionics of the assassin, his first sight of the

wounded president, and the bedside vigil as Lincoln lay dying.

Abbott “saw the gleam of the knife as [Booth] struck Major Rathbone,” and, jumping down from the president’s box to the stage, to face the audience “with bloody hand above his head... waved a gory, glistening blade and shouted Sic semper tyrannis! Now the south are avenged.’” Once Abbott realized what had happened, he “ran down a flight of stairs round to the President’s box. There upon the floor, his head tenderly supported in the lap of... Laura Keene... lay the prostrate, unconscious form of President Lincoln. Efforts were made to remove his coat, searching for wounds, and in so doing the coat was cut about the arms and breast. Tenderly raising his inanimate form, the writer and five others carried him... to a house across the street.”

Historical BackgroundDr. Ezra W. Abbott (1819-1884) of Concord, New Hampshire was at Ford’s Theatre the night of April 14, 1865. Realizing sooner than most that John

Wilkes Booth’s performance was not part of the play, Abbott made his way to the fallen president’s box. He and five other men carried Lincoln across the street to the Petersen boarding house. Dr. Abbott’s chart recording Lincoln’s condition as the night progressed was published on April 16, 1865 in The New York Times.

ABBOTT, DR. EZRA. Autograph Manuscript Signed, “Reminiscences of the Assassination of President Lincoln,” Washington, D.C., penned ca. 1880. 4 pp.6½ x 7½”. #21930 SOLD

dr. ezrA Abbott recountS LincoLn’S ASSASSinAtion

From the hairs on Lincoln’s head to the fabric of his suit, this lithograph is a beautifully detailed

rendering and remains, even with a few areas of foxing, a commanding showpiece.

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Currier & Ives. Lithograph, New York, 1865. In 24 x 29” vintage gold frame. #20323 $3,500

currier & iveS

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LincoLn’S dividerS –uSed to pLot troop movementS on civiL WAr mApS

a crucIal tool uSeD to folloW

anD Plan trooP movementS anD StrategIeS of the cIvIl War

Lincoln’s family was besieged with requests for souvenirs after his death. Here Robert Todd

Lincoln sends a very meaningful relic to one of his father’s closest wartime associates.

“Executive Mansion

Washington May 21/65Major, Major Hay told me this morning that you were desirous of some relic of my Father, and I take pleasure in complying, for I know how high you stood in his esteem. Nearly all of our effects have already been sent away, but I have found the pair of dividers, which he was accustomed to use, & with which you have doubtless often seen him trace distances on maps. With great regard, I am very truly yours R. T. LincolnMajor T. T. Eckert”

Historical BackgroundIn the spring of 1862, Thomas Eckert was given charge of the War Department Telegraph Office. The Executive Mansion had no telegraph line, so the president frequently visited Eckert to obtain the latest war news or secure a respite from the crush of visitors at the White House. Lincoln even used Eckert’s desk to write out the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 had turned Lincoln – chief executive of one month’s tenure, with little military training and no combat experience – into a wartime president. The president turned the Telegraph Office into his “Situation Room,” scrutinizing the latest news from the front, tracking troop movements, and plotting strategy. Maps in Lincoln’s White House office bristled with colored pins marking troop positions. “It is safe to say,” his wartime secretaries would later recall, “that no general in the army studied his maps and scanned his telegrams with half the industry – and it may be added with half the intelligence – which Mr. Lincoln gave to his” (Nicolay and Hay, 114).

34


William H. Crook, the president’s bodyguard, later recalled Lincoln and Grant “poring over maps together.” The president may well have had these dividers in hand as he plotted strategy with his top general. He may also have used them during his early career as a surveyor. Like George Washington, Lincoln’s surveying experience taught him the central importance of geography to any military campaign.

Provenance: Abraham Lincoln to Robert Todd Lincoln; given (with letter) to Thomas T. Eckert; by descent to Joanne Eckert Biddle; sold in 1948 to Dawson’s Book Shop; to Justin Turner; to Elsie and Philip Sang; Sotheby Parke- Bernet, December 4, 1981; to Dr. John T. Lattimer; sold by his estate at Heritage Auction Galleries, 2008.

Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926) was the only one of Lincoln’s children to survive to adulthood. After graduating from Harvard, and serving as an aide on General Grant’s staff, Robert began a successful career in the railroad industry. He later served as secretary of war (1881-1885) under presidents James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur, as minister to Great Britain (1889-1893) and as president of the Pullman Company (1897-1911). He is also remembered for his troubled relationship with his mother, Mary Todd Lincoln, who he had committed to a psychiatric hospital for a brief period in 1875.

Thomas Thompson Eckert (1825-1910) was sent to Hampton Roads in February 1865 to discuss protocol with Confederate peace commissioners before Lincoln would meet them himself. Robert Lincoln later

recalled a conversation about the choice of Eckert for the Hampton Roads mission: “to use [the president’s] language as nearly as I can remember it–‘[Eckert] never failed to do completely what was given him to do, and to do it in the most complete and tactful manner....’” Just a few weeks later, Eckert was invited by the president to attend Ford’s Theatre on that fateful night, but was pressured by Stanton to decline. (For more on this, ask for our detailed description.) Eckert later attained the rank of brigadier general and served as assistant secretary of war. Returning to industry, he worked with Jay Gould, directing the telegraph “price wars” that led to consolidation of the entire industry. He eventually became president and chairman of Western Union Telegraph Co.

John Hay (1838-1905), who conveyed Eckert’s request answered here, was Lincoln’s private secretary and biographer. He served as secretary of state under presidents McKinley and Roosevelt.

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Folding Metal Dividers (Calipers). Approximately 5” long. With: LINCOLN, ROBERT TODD. Autograph Letter Signed to Thomas T. Eckert, chief of the War Department Telegraph Office, May 21, 1865. 2 pp., on black-bordered mourning stationery. With original autograph envelope, again signed “R.T. Lincoln,” with his black wax seal on verso. With a substantial provenance file. #21925 SOLD

35


amerIca’S moSt WanteD

This handbill implicates the Confederate leadership in the Lincoln assassination plot. The idea that

the Confederate government was involved in the assassination was soon abandoned.

“Whereas, It appears from evidence in the Bureau of Military Justice, the atrocious murder of the late President… [was] incited... by and between Jeff Davis… Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay, Beverly Tucker, Geo. N. Sanders, W.C. Cleary and other rebels and traitors...”

[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION] Johnson, Andrew. Small Broadside, Washington, D.C., May 2, 1865. 1 p. 5 x 7¾”. #11292 SOLD

“he hAth Loved our nAtion”

“WIth malIce toWarD none,WIth charIty for all”

This mourning broadside features quotes from President Lincoln’s “tribute to the Declaration

of Independence,” (extracted from the 1858 Lincoln- Douglas debates) and other speeches, including his second inaugural address.

“Wise statesmen as they were, they knew the tendency of prosperity to breed tyrants, and so they established those great self-evident truths that when... some man, some faction, some interest, should set up the doctrine that none but rich men... or none but Anglo-Saxon white men, were entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, their posterity might look up again to the Declaration of Independence, and take courage to renew the battle which their fathers began, so that truth, and justice and mercy, and all the humane and Christian virtues might not be extinguished from the land; so that no man would hereafter dare to limit and circumscribe the great principles on which the temple of liberty was being built.”

[LINCOLN, ABRAHAM]. Broadside, published by Clark & Thayer, printed by E.F. Rollins of Boston, Mass. [ca. 1865]. 13¼ x 17”. Archival framing, 21” x 24¾”. #20973 SOLD

$100,000 to cApture JeFFerSon dAviS

36


An evocative piece by Charles Magnus, a well-known printer of Civil War patriotic songheets, envelopes, and stationery.

[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. Broadside, The Nation Mourns, New York, [1865]. 1 p.5 x 8”. #20545 $350

“the nAtion mournS”

preLude to preSidentiAL impeAchment

Edwin Stanton’s woeful letter to Lincoln’s former chief of staff, General Halleck, alludes to the

difficulties of Reconstruction and the contention between Stanton and President Andrew Johnson. The conflict between Stanton and Johnson would soon give rise to America’s first presidential impeachment trial, following what nearly amounted to a coup d’ état.

“The events that have happened since we parted & daily are transpiring are as strange as what we passed through together. You are fortunately afar off and at peace, while I am still tugging at the oar as hopelessly & almost as painfully as a galley slave...the upshot you can guess as well as anybody else...”

STANTON, EDWIN M. Autograph Letter Signed as secretary of war, to Major General Henry W. Halleck, Washington, D.C. April 26, 1866. 2 pp., on War Department letterhead. 7¾ x 9¾”. #21929 $2,500

A scarce newspaper, edited by soon-to-be provisional governor William Wood Holden, reports

Sherman’s April 14th occupation of Raleigh on the front page and a public meeting lamenting Lincoln’s death on the verso. Boldly printed on the verso masthead is Daniel Webster’s famous peroration, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.” The North Carolina Standard had resumed publication under its new name just two days prior.

“One of the largest meetings ever held by our citizens assembled at the Courthouse yesterday… There was but one feeling of abhorrence for the deed and its cowardly perpetrators… The death of Mr. Lincoln is a national misfortune…”

[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. Newspaper, The Daily Standard, Raleigh, N.C., April 19, 1865, Vol. 1, No. 3. 2 pp. 12¼ x 18”. #21793 $850

north cAroLinA unioniStS mourn LincoLn’S deAth

37


a bonD ProPoSal WoulD be

“magnIfIcent for broKerS, banKerS anD lenDerS, but Death on the PeoPle”

With an eye on the 1868 presidential race, Chief Justice Chase writes New York Tribune publisher

Horace Greeley. He gives a summary of the financial measures that made Union victory possible, argues against the issuance of a 30-year bond, and criticizes the Johnson Administration’s failure to control post-war inflation.

“I resorted to Legal Tender Notes, made them a currency and borrowed them as cash. The patriotism of the people came in aid of the labors of the Treasury and the Legislation of Congress, and the first great object was made secure…. I proposed the National Banking system: and before I left the Department its success was assured… my main object was the establishment of a National currency. This saved us from panic and revulsion at the end of the war, and is of inestimable value to men of labor and men of business…. The object is to catch gudgeons by apparently yielding to the popular clamor for taxation on bonds…and it is proposed to make this a long loan – say 30 years. It will be magnificent for brokers, bankers and lenders, but death on the people.”

Historical BackgroundChase’s pride in the banking system created during his tenure as secretary of the Treasury is evident in this letter. A system of federally chartered national banks was charged with issuing standardized national bank notes based on their U.S. bond holdings. The federal government became the exclusive printer of money, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue was created to collect the nation’s first income taxes. In addition to the $600 million generated by taxes, the U.S. raised $1.5 billion from the sale of government bonds and supplemented this with greenbacks.

The ambitious Chase continually clashed with Lincoln and other Cabinet members. Three times, he tendered his resignation. Finally, on the fourth time, in June 1864, Lincoln accepted. Later that year Lincoln appointed Chase – a firm anti-slavery voice – as chief justice of the Supreme Court. He replaced the late Roger B. Taney, best known for the infamous Dred Scott decision.

Greeley, a long-time political ally, added new text at the beginning and end of this letter, and published it as a communication from “our special correspondent.” Even as chief justice, Chase never gave up his presidential aspirations. He campaigned for presidential nominations from the bench in 1868 and 1872, losing the 1872 Liberal Republican Party nomination to Greeley.

CHASE, SALMON P. Letter Signed to Horace Greeley, Washington, D.C., November 19, 1867. 6 pp. 8½ x 5½”. #21759 With: [BRYANT, DAN]. Print, songsheet, “How Are You Green-Backs!” New York, N.Y., 1863. 5 pp. 10 x 13”. #21891 SOLD

chieF JuStice SALmon chASe SummArizeS

hiS civiL WAr FinAnciAL meASureS

38


Frederick douGLASS’S tribute to John broWn

otherS SaW maDneSS, but DouglaSS SaW the clarIty

of a martyr’S vISIon

Douglass pens a phrase from his “Lecture on John Brown,” delivered at Storer College in Harpers

Ferry on Memorial Day, 1881. Among the platform guests was the district attorney who prosecuted Brown.

“John Brown Saw Slavery through no mist or cloud, but in a light of infinite brightness, which left no one of its ten thousand horrors concealed.”

Historical BackgroundDouglass had admired John Brown since their first meeting in 1847, but disapproved of Brown’s plan to foment a slave revolt. He thought the 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry a grave mistake that would inflame public opinion against the abolitionist movement. After the raid, a letter from Douglass to Brown was discovered. A warrant was issued for Douglass’s arrest as an accomplice; he fled to Canada, returning to America a year later.

In his lecture at Storer, Douglass placed Brown’s service to his country alongside that of Lincoln’s: “The hour is met by the man. Brown, and Lincoln, and Grant, came at the nation’s hour of need…. Brown came first and perhaps prepared the way for all that followed.”

The address was published in 1881. Proceeds from its sale were earmarked for an endowed John Brown Professorship. Storer College, founded in 1867, was for 25 years the only institution in Virginia that offered African-Americans an education beyond pri-mary school. The college closed in 1955, having lost government funding in the wake of desegregation. Today the site is part of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

DOUGLASS, FREDERICK. Autograph Quotation Signed, 1883. 1 p. 5 x 3”. #20742 $27,500

for more InformatIon on

other freDerIcK DouglaSS letterS,aSK for our uPcomIng

afrIcan-amerIcan catalog.

While Douglass’s letters are scarce, documents signed during his tenure as recorder of deeds for

the District of Columbia can be had very reasonably.

DOUGLASS, FREDERICK. Document Signed as recorder of deeds, Washington, D.C., 1881-1886. Approx. 3½ x 8½” folded. #20409 $495 unframed, $995 framed(Quantity discounts and framing options available.)

Frederick douGLASS

SiGned deed

39


oriGinAL civiL WAr hArper’S WeekLyS folloW the courSe of the War anD

the lIncoln PreSIDency the Way amerIcanS DID then

Harper’s Weekly reported Civil War developments, foreign affairs, and sports, and included political

cartoons, editorial essays, “Humors of the Day,” and advertisements. Harper’s became famous for its illustrations. Each issue contains approximately ten woodcut engravings, with a double-page centerfold. Thomas Nast began contributing drawings soon after the magazine’s founding; he is remembered

for creating the modern images of the Democratic Donkey, the Republican Elephant, and Santa Claus. Winslow Homer also contributed throughout the war. Harper’s were printed in great quantity, on rag paper, which allowed many to be preserved. Thus, original Harper’s are still relatively inexpensive, though they contain some of the best Lincoln and Civil War images. Below are complete original issues of Harper’s relating to Lincoln. In addition to many individual issues starting at under $100, we can offer a complete set of issues from 1861 to 1865. 16 pp. 11 x 15½” each. #21038 SOLD (individual issues still available)

Lincoln Raises the FlagPresident Lincoln hoisting the 34-star American flag on Independence Hall, Philadelphia, with his speech. United States arsenal at Little Rock, Arkansas surrendered to the state troops. Interior of the new dome of the capitol at Washington. Front view of Fort Pickens, Pensacola. Inauguration of Pres. Jefferson Davis at Montgomery, Alabama. March 9, 1861. $160

The Inauguration of President Lincoln“touched... by the better angels of our nature…”

Lincoln’s inaugural address. Winslow Homer illustrations include: Inaugural Procession… Passing the Gate of the Capitol; Presidents Buchanan and Lincoln Entering the Senate Chamber Before the Inauguration; The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861. The Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia. Fort Davis, Texas. The Washington Arsenal. March 16, 1861. $395

Lincoln Reviews the Army of the PotomacCollecting confiscated rebel cotton. Ironclad Keokuk sinking after the battle at Charleston. Pres. Lincoln, General Hooker, and their staff at a review of the Army of the Potomac. Bombardment of Fort Sumter. May 2, 1863. $100

President Lincoln Commissions General GrantDeath of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren. Ulysses S. Grant receiving his commission as lieutenant general from President Lincoln. Centerfold: General Custer’s late movement across the Rapidan. Mobile, Alabama. March 26, 1864. $120

Lincoln and His SecretariesPhiladelphia Great Central Fair buildings. General Warren rallying the Marylanders. President Lincoln and his secretaries. Struggle for the Salient near Spotsylvania, Virginia. Sherman’s advance. General Logan’s skirmishes advancing toward the railroad at Resaca. June 11, 1864. $100

‘Rally round the Flag, Boys!’ President Lincoln Centerfold

Thomas Nast illustration: The Halt. General Sherman’s victory. Rebel prisoners being conducted to Atlanta from Jonesborough. Centerfold: ‘Rally round the Flag, Boys!’ showing President Lincoln. Monument to Stephen Douglas. General Sherman’s army destroying the Macon Railroad near Jonesborough, Georgia. October 1, 1864. $225

(October 1, 1864)

(June 11, 1864)

(March 16, 1861)

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The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation “All persons held as slaves within

any state... the people whereof shall then bein rebellion against the United States shall be then,

thenceforward, and forever, free…”Thomas Nast illustration: McClellan entering Frederick, Maryland. The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, September 22, 1862. View of Harpers Ferry and Maryland Heights. War map of Kentucky. Capitol grounds at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania turned into a camp. Centerfold: Battle of Antietam. Grand depot for General Grant’s army at Columbus, Kentucky. October 4, 1862. $250

The Emancipation ProclamationFront page: African-American teamsters duel. Text of Emancipation Proclamation on p. 2. Mankato, Minnesota. Thomas Nast illustrations: the war in the West; the war in the border states. Centerfold: Winslow Homer illustrations: A Shell in the Rebel Trenches, African-Americans fighting. Map of Mississippi. Reception of the authorities of New Orleans by General Butler. General Banks’s forces landing at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. January 17, 1863. $250

President Lincoln’s Second Inauguration“… until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid with another drawn with the sword”

Front page: President Lincoln taking oath at his second inauguration. Editorial quoting Lincoln’s second inaugural address (though not printing the full text). Visit to Fort Sumter office by General Gilmore. “55th Mass. colored regiment singing John Brown’s march in streets of Charleston.” Centerfold: President Lincoln’s second inauguration at Capitol. Generals Porter and Dahlgren landing troops at Bull’s Bay, South Carolina. Rebel General Ewell’s headquarters. Exchanging prisoners at Aiken’s Landing. March 18, 1865. $350

Lincoln’s AssassinationFront page: John Wilkes Booth. Small diagram of Ford’s Theatre interior. Booth shooting Lincoln in the head. Running away inside the theatre. Siege of Mobile. Thomas Nast illustrations: The Eve of War, The Dawn of Peace, Sumter 1861 to 1865. April 29, 1865. $625

The Death Bed and FuneralLincoln and son Tad at home. Scene at the death bed of Pres. Lincoln. Funeral service at the White House. Centerfold: Ford’s Theatre. Attempted assassination of Secretary Seward. Citizens viewing the body at City Hall, New York. May 6, 1865. $595

Funeral Procession in New York City Front page: Andrew Johnson. General Boston Corbett. Herold and Booth’s capture inside burning barn. Post-mortem examination of Booth’s body on board the monitor Montauk. Centerfold: President Lincoln’s funeral procession in New York City. May 13, 1865. $250

Lincoln’s Former Home, and Lee’s SurrenderFront page: Ruins of Garrett’s barn where Booth was shot. Building erected for the reception of Lincoln’s remains at Cleveland, Ohio. Reception of Lincoln’s remains at Chicago. President Lincoln’s former home in Springfield, Illinois. Thomas Nast illustrations: Palm Sunday, the Savior’s Entry into Jerusalem, The Surrender of Gen. Lee and His Army to Lieut. General Grant. May 20, 1865. $175

(April 29, 1865)

(May 6, 1865)

(January 17, 1863)

(May 20, 1865)41


teddy rooSeveLt keepS LincoLn ALive

AGAinSt the pArty mAchine

callIng for collaboratIon among “Decent cItIZenS”

Challenging a demand for party conformity, Roosevelt recalls

the flexibility of Lincoln and his fellow Civil War Republicans in accomplishing their aims. Threatened

with a censure by a Progressive Party leader, the feisty Roosevelt declares his intention to stand firm.

Excerpts“It is extraordinary how impossible it seems to be to make men learn the lessons of history. Apparently you and the gentlemen who feel as you do have absolutely forgotten how things were done in the early days of the Republican party. There was no attempt made to insist upon uniformity of action in every state … Of course, I am no more to be compared to Lincoln than the present crisis is to be compared to the Civil War; but the principles are the same…”

“[Y]ou say that you desire that the entire National Committee of the Progressive party meet and ‘censor’ the action taken in the State of New York.... You of course understand that I was more connected with this action than anyone else. You are entirely at liberty to go ahead with your proposal and censure me and the others. I shall certainly not alter my position in the matter... men like myself have for years in New York been endeavoring to make decent citizens understand that they ought not to be misled... into keeping the machine continually in power.”

Historical BackgroundIn May 1914, two years after his “Bull Moose Party” run, Roosevelt was approached by Progressives seeking mid-term election help. Many were surprised to find the former president advocating fusion with independent-minded Republicans and Democrats to oppose the big political machines in New York and elsewhere.

Roosevelt’s response was colored by the outbreak of World War I in Europe on July 28. He found he had more in common with former Republican allies than with many pacifist Progressives. Roosevelt quickly became an outspoken critic of President Wilson’s neutrality policy, and the foremost advocate for entering the war against Germany.

ROOSEVELT, THEODORE. Typed Letter Signed, to Henry M. Wallace, New York, N.Y., August 14, 1914.4 pp. 8 x 9½”. #21879 $11,000

call or emaIl uS to See

many aDDItIonal offerS.

42


authentIcIty IS guaranteeDPrice and availability subject to change without notice.

Images and detailed descriptions are available on request.

taKe the next SteP In oWnIng hIStoryTo place an order or to discuss your interests,

call us at (914) 289-1776 or e-mail [email protected].

collectIon buIlDIngIn addition to acquisition, authentication, and appraisal, Seth Kaller, Inc. can also arrange the display, loan, deposit, or donation of historic documents.

valueS that have StooD the teSt of tImeBased on scarcity and importance, documents appear to us to be undervalued. Collectors currently have more display options than ever before. The expansion of history museums that go beyond the libraries of old is changing the market. Also, a significant percentage of important documents sold over the last 20 years have gone into institutional collections and are not expected to become available again. Rising values can be seen by comparing sales at Christie’s Forbes Collection auctions with earlier auction records for many of the very same documents. We list examples on www.sethkaller.com/about/values

current anD forthcomIng catalogS


914.289.1776 . [email protected] . www.sethkaller.com

Seth Kaller, Inc. – hIStorIc DocumentS . legacy collectIonS

Gettysburg Address, p. 21

Lincoln letter to General Burnett, p. 19

Lincoln’s dividers, used to measuredistances on Civil War maps, pp. 34-35Lincoln’s 1864 State of the Union Message, pp. 30-31

Shakespeare, inscribed by Mary Lincoln, p. 22