Sixteenth U.S. President - 1861-65

Civil War-Date Franked Envelope, 3” x 5 ¼”, as President, “A. Lincoln.” The envelope is also addressed by Lincoln, to “Rev[erend] Z.P. Wilds, 120 Prince Street, New York,” and has a June 21, 1862, Washington postmark.

The previous day, Lincoln met with a six-member delegation of Progressive Friends, composed of Thomas Garrett, Alice Eliza Hambleton, Oliver Johnson, Dinah Mendenhall, William Barnard, and Eliza Agnew. The group presented the President with a memorial, urging him to decree the emancipation of the slaves, the position adopted at the Friends’ annual meeting. It is quite worthy of note that Lincoln wrote Reverend Wilds, well known as a longtime missionary to the poor of New York City, the day following his meeting with this group of prominent leaders in the Abolition and Underground Railroad movements.

Set into an attractive, inlaid pedestal frame, the envelope bears general soiling and wear, along with minor paper loss along the right edge and above the somewhat smudged postmark.

U.S. Secretary of War - 1881-85; Son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln

Signed Card, 1 ¾” x 3”, “Robert T. Lincoln.”

The card is lightly and evenly toned, with old mounting traces on the reverse. It is accompanied by an illustrated trade card from an Amsterdam, New York grocer.

American Statesman; U.S. Secretary of War - 1881-85

Lincoln was the oldest and only surviving son of Abraham and Mary Lincoln.

Autograph Letter Signed, two pages, front and reverse of the first leaf of a 4” x 6” imprinted War Department letter-sheet, to a Mrs. Frelinghuysen, quite possibly a relative of Secretary of State Frederick T. Frelinghuysen. As Secretary of War during the presidency of Chester Arthur, Lincoln sends information relating to a request that a West Point cadet be precluded from attending chapel at the Military Academy. The request was made by the young man’s mother, and Lincoln refers to the rule empowering the superintendent, General Wesley Merritt, a Union Major General during the Civil War, to make the decision.

“Oct[ober] 31, 1882. My dear Mrs. Frelinghuysen, Referring to our conversation on the case about a Cadet whose mother does not wish him to attend Chapel at the Military Academy, I send you a copy of the rule on the subject. It seems to give the Superintendent ample power to settle such matters & I have no doubt that Gen[eral] Merritt would accede to an application or fin[d] satisfactory reasons for not doing so. Very sincerely yours, Robert T. Lincoln.”

The letter-sheet has the usual folds, with heavier soiling and wear to the first page of the letter.

U.S. Secretary of War - 1881-85; Son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln

Signed Card, 1 ½” x 3 ½”, “Robert T. Lincoln.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with an old clip stain in the upper margin.

Abolitionist U.S. Congressman – Illinois – 1857-64; Brother of Elijah Lovejoy - Murdered by a Pro-Slavery Mob in Alton, Illinois on November 7, 1837

Signature, as U.S. Congressman from Illinois, “O. Lovejoy, M[ember] C[ongress],” probably a free-frank, on a 1 ¼” x 2 ½” slip of paper.

U.S. Treasury Secretary – 1865-69 & 1884-85

Signature, “Hugh McCulloch,” on a 2 ¼” x 4” slip of paper. A small image is affixed to the lower left corner; the signature is, in turn, mounted to a 5 ½” x 8 ½” album page, with the notation, “Secretary of the Treasury 1867,” in another hand above.

The signed slip is lightly and evenly toned. The larger album page has several chips and binding holes along the left edge, along with two horizontal folds.

Canadian-Born Journalist; Editor of the Chicago Tribune; Mayor of Chicago – 1871-73

As influential editor of the Chicago Tribune, Medill was instrumental in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency, and remained his staunch supporter throughout the Civil War. He served one term in office as mayor of Chicago, from 1871 to 1873.

Document Signed, Chicago, Illinois, June 25, 1873, “J. Medill,” as Chicago mayor, a partly printed 3 ¼” x 7 ½” check, payable to “Short & Brayton” for $44 and drawn on the Chicago Police Fund.

There are a few pinholes along the left edge, which has been trimmed slightly, along with several edge tears. The signature is unaffected by a punch cancellation at the center.

Private Secretary of Abraham Lincoln

A prominent Illinois newspaper editor, Nicolay served as Lincoln’s private secretary from 1860 through the end of the Civil War. After the war, he served as U.S. consul in Paris and marshal of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1890, he and John Hay published their ten-volume biography of Lincoln.

Signed Card, 1 ¾” x 4”, “Jno. G. Nicolay.”

The card has light toning and soiling.

U.S. Attorney General – 1875-76; Prosecutor in the Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy Trial of John Surratt

Letter Signed, on imprinted 8” x 10” stationery as U.S. Attorney General, accepting the resignation of Lemuel D. Evans as U.S. Marshal for the Eastern Judicial District of Texas.

“Washington, Jan[uar]y 22, 1876. L.D. Evans Esq., U.S. Marshal for E[aster]n Tex[as], Washington, D.C. Sir, I have received yours of the 29^th instant, laying before me your resignation of the Marshalship of the Eastern District of Texas, to take effect on the 17^th day of February, 1876, which resignation I hereby accept. Very respectfully, Edw. Pierrepont, Attorney General.”

Born in Tennessee, Lemuel Evans moved to Texas early in life, serving as a member of the state convention that annexed the State of Texas to the Union in 1845. He subsequently served a term in the U.S. Congress, as a member of the Reconstruction Convention of 1868, and as justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Evans died on July 1, 1877 in Washington, D.C.

The letter is pleasantly toned, with the expected horizontal folds and two spindle holes in the upper margin. There is a small tear, with no loss of paper, in the lower left corner, along with minor bleeding of ink to several letters in Pierrepont’s signature.

U.S. Interior Secretary – 1861-63

Signature, “Caleb B. Smith,” on a 1 ¼” x 4” slip of paper.

Lightly and evenly toned, with old glue staining on the reverse.

U.S. Attorney General – 1864-66

Signed Card, 1 ¼” x 3 ¼”, “James Speed.”

Lightly and evenly toned, with minor bleeding of ink at the conclusion of the signature.

U.S. Treasurer - 1861-75; U.S. Congressman – New York – 1855-61

Signature, as U.S. Congressman, “F.E. Spinner, M[ember] C[ongress],” on a 1” x 3” slip of paper.

U.S. Secretary of War – 1862-68

Signature, with the closing in another hand, “Yours truly, Edwin M. Stanton,” on a 1 ¼” x 3 ½” slip of paper, removed from a letter.

Lightly and evenly toned, with old glue staining on the reverse.

U.S. Secretary of War – 1862-68

President Lincoln Appoints Henry Larcom Abott a Brevet Brigadier General

War-Date Document Signed, 8” x 10,” as Secretary of War, Washington, December 2, 1864, “E.M. Stanton,” a partly printed War Department letter informing 1^st Connecticut Heavy Artillery Colonel Henry Larcom Abbott that he has been appointed to the rank of brevet brigadier general by President Lincoln, “…for gallant and distinguished services in the operations before Richmond and especially in the lines before Petersburg,” to rank from August 1, 1864.

A manuscript notation in the lower margin directs this letter through Army of the Potomac Commanding General George G. Meade.

Condition is very good, with light toning and the usual horizontal folds.

U.S. Senator - Illinois - 1855-73; Co-authored the Thirteenth Amendment - Prohibiting Slavery in the United States

Signature, “Lyman Trumbull,” on a ½” x 4” slip of paper, removed from a document.

There is bleeding of ink in portions of the signature.

U.S. Senator - Illinois - 1855-73; Co-authored the Thirteenth Amendment – Prohibiting Slavery in the United States

Signed Card, 2” x 3 ½”, as U.S. Senator from Illinois, “Lyman Trumbull, Ill[inois].”

The card is lightly and evenly toned, with old mounting remnants on the reverse.

Bavarian-Born Political Cartoonist & Caricaturist

A dentist by vocation, Volck supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. He savaged President Lincoln and the Union cause in political cartoons, acted as a courier for Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and smuggled goods for the Confederate Army.

Autograph Document Signed, 4 ¼” x 7”, Baltimore, Maryland, April 26, 1878, “A.J. Volck,” a partly printed receipt for $37 on Volck’s Baltimore dental practice, received from a Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Neville; also fully accomplished by Volck, thus bearing a second signature in the heading.

The receipt is lightly and evenly toned, with light vertical folds.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy - 1861-69

Signature, as U.S. Navy Secretary, “Gideon Welles,” on a 1 ¾” x 3 ¼” slip of paper, removed from a letter.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a few small stains and a slightly irregular upper edge.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy - 1861-69

Signature, as U.S. Navy Secretary, “Gideon Welles,” on a 1 ¼” x 3 ¾” portion of an appointment document.

Lightly and evenly toned, with a vertical crease through the signature.