February 13th 2025 Auction
LINCOLN, Abraham (1809-1865). Letter signed as President-elect ("A. Lincoln") to Charles E. Bennett, Springfield, IL, 6 December 1860. The text is in the hand of John Nicolay, Lincoln's secretary and biographer.
One page, bifolium, 130 x 198mm. (unevenly toned from prior framing, adhered sticker at upper-left, light fingersoiling).
Exactly one month after his election to the presidency on November 6th, Lincoln forwards his autograph to a collector. Only set to take office in March 1861, President-elect Lincoln signed this letter from Springfield, where he remained until his travel to Washington. During these interim months, infuriated secessionists were racing to leave the Union before he officially took office. Exactly two weeks after this letter was sent, South Carolina became the first to secede from the Union on December 20th, 1860. Signed items from Lincoln as Presidential-elect are particularly scarce.
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the Union through the American Civil War to defend the nation as a constitutional union and succeeded in defeating the insurgent Confederacy, abolishing slavery, expanding the power of the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.
With One of a Kind Collectibles LOA. With Full JSA LOA.
Abraham Lincoln Forwarding his autograph as President-elect, December 6, 1860
Click above for larger image.