Download the lincoln-douglas debates

Abraham Lincoln
“We Are Gaining Strength”
Seth Kaller, Inc.
Historic Documents . Legacy Collections
Important . Authentic . Inspiring
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.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
(p. 11)
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.
1860 Lincoln
(p. 11)
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.
To Place an Order or to Discuss Your Interests
Call us at (914) 289-1776 or e-mail [email protected] if you are inspired by history.
Seth Kaller, Inc.
Historic Documents . Legacy Collections
1864 State of the Union
Draft (p. 30)
Freedom, Economy, War – Lincoln the Leader
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?
Contents & Timeline
1809 Born in Kentucky
1830 Moves with family to Illinois
1837 Law partnership with John T. Stuart
Collectors play an enduring role in preserving and sharing
Stuart & Lincoln legal document (p. 4)
our history. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of 1842 Marries Mary Todd (p. 22)
Abraham Lincoln’s birth, we are pleased to issue this catalog 1843 Throws his hat into the ring (p. 5)
for collectors.
Lincoln-Grimsley trunk (p. 6)
1847-49 Congressman and Whig (p. 7)
The unfolding of America’s destiny can be seen and felt in 1857 Fights Dred Scott decision (pp. 7-9)
original Lincoln-related documents and artifacts. Organized 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates (p. 11)
chronologically, though with liberties when necessary, each 1860 Cooper Union Address (p. 10)
entry represents an opportunity – history you can own.
Presidential campaign and election (pp. 11-13)
South Carolina secedes
Lincoln’s evolution from a self-effacing novice to an assertive 1861 First Inaugural (p. 40)
leader is evident here. Highlights that effectively bookend
Fort Sumter attacked, First Bull Run
Lincoln’s political life are his letter suggesting himself for 1862 Proposes compensated emancipation (p. 14)
Congress (page 5) and an extremely rare autograph manuscript
Ironclads at Hampton Roads (p. 15)
page of his last State of the Union address (page 30). Another
Battle of Antietam
highlight is the pair of dividers that Lincoln used to mark up
Removes McClellan (p. 18)
maps and follow army movements. It was given on May, 21 1863 Emancipation Proclamation (pp. 16-17)
1865 by Robert Todd Lincoln to the head of the telegraph
Battle of Gettysburg (p. 20)
office (page 34).
Capture of Vicksburg
Gettysburg Address (p. 21)
1864 Proclamation of Amnesty & Reconstruction
Authenticity – Guaranteed
Grant appointed lt. general (p. 40)
We unconditionally guarantee the items in this catalog. We
Sherman captures Atlanta
can often provide definitive authentication and research notes.
Campaign and reelection (pp. 26-28)
In addition we will arrange for independent authentication
Pardoning a murderous mutineer (p. 23)
on request.
Martha’s Vineyard whaler (p. 25)
State of the Union Address (pp. 30-31)
1865 13th Amendment (pp. 28-29)
Terminology
Second Inaugural (p. 41)
Autograph Letter Signed or Autograph Manuscript Signed:
Lee surrenders, Davis captured (p. 32)
The text and the signature are in the hand of the signer.
Lincoln shot by Booth; Dies (pp. 32-37)
Letter Signed or Manuscript Document Signed:
Lincoln’s dividers (pp. 34-35)
The text is penned by someone other than the signer.
1861-1865 Harper’s Weekly issues (pp. 40-41)
Broadside: A single-page printing used to spread news.
1867-1886 S. Chase, F. Douglass (pp. 38-39)
1914 T. Roosevelt on Lincoln (p. 42)
Any quotes in italics are from the document offered for sale.
For documents relating to
particular battles, please request
our
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
Civil War offerings.
3
Friends of the Court
An early Lincoln document with
excellent associations
T
his 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 Background
In 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.
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,
Signed two
Ill., August
7¼ x 12”.
ABRAHAM. Autograph Endorsements
times, “Stuart & Lincoln,” Springfield,
6, 1839 and January 14, 1840. 2 pp.
#8914 $9,500
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 in
www.mrlincolnandfriends.org).
Lincoln in Brief – No Horsing Around
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
4
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Lincoln Throws His Hat into the Ring
“The most revealing piece of
correspondence… [of] the early
political Lincoln” – Carl Sandburg
different Whig leader after each term. Lincoln’s turn
came four years later; he served as a U.S. representative
from 1847 to 1849.
incoln lines up support for his first Congressional
run, initiating the strategy that would win him
the presidency 17 years later.
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)
L
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”
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 $90,000
Historical Background
Carl 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
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
5
The Famous Lincoln-Grimsley Trunk
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.
6
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 $95,000
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Lincoln Works “To Secure the Election of Gen. Taylor”
A rare letter as a Whig
Congressman, supporting Zachary
Taylor’s presidential bid
L
incoln 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 $36,000
A Dredful Decision
A first edition of the
Supreme Court’s infamous ruling
I
n 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.
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 $3,800
“…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.
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
7
Fighting the Expansion of Slavery,
Lincoln Proposes His Best Man for Congress
A politically re-energized
Lincoln shrewdly plots to stop
the spread of slavery
L
incoln 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-NothingHe 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-
8
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”
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Historical Background
In 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 KnowNothings 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’s
candidacy 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 $225,000
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
9
“Let Us Have Faith That Right Makes Might”
S
chuyler 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 $1,500
Lincoln at the Cooper Institute
Harper’s Weekly covers
the 1860 election
W
oodcut 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”. $550
For more original Harper’s Weekly issues,
see pages 40 and 41.
10
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
A first edition of the
historic debates
I
n 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 $3,000
The Republican Nominee in 1860
“A pose of the head
so essentially Lincolnian…”
C
hicago 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. Sepiatoned Photograph, Springfield, Ill., [image taken June 3, 1860,
this copy printed by Ayres ca. 1880s]. 6½ x 8½”.
#21956 $3,500
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
11
A “Contest of Passion”
Lincoln’s future Secretary of War
foresees secession
A
t 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 $2,750
1860 Election Ribbon
T
his 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 $3,500
Campaign Biography
A
n 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
12
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Parade Torch Used by the Wide Awakes
Uniformed marching society
rallied support for
the
1860 Lincoln campaign
I
n 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
(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.)
Baseball and Lincoln on an Indian Peace Medal
I
ndian 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 $1,350
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
13
Lincoln Summons His Cabinet to Discuss Emancipation
“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
O
n 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 Background
A 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 eightyseven 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.
14
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
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Lincoln-Signed Military Commission
A
ppointment of Charles Kingsbury, Jr. (c.18371866) 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 $9,500
Cast from the USS Cumberland
T
he 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 $4,500
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation
[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
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
15
Commissioning Brigadier General Tower
Lincoln promotes Mexican
War hero & future
superintendent of West Point
I
n this 1862 military commission,
Zealous Bates Tower, who was
highly decorated for his service during
the Mexican War, was appointed
brigadier general of volunteers by Lincoln. Soon
after, he was gravely wounded in the Battle of Second
Manassas while leading a brigade under Brigadier
General James B. Ricketts.
“...That reposing special trust and confidence
in the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities of
Zealous B. Tower, I have nominated, and by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, do
appoint him Brigadier General of Volunteers.”
Historical Background
Zealous Bates Tower graduated from West Point at
the top of his class in 1841. During the Mexican
War he quickly won three brevets for gallantry while
serving on the staff of General Winfield Scott. At
the start of the Civil War, he served as chief engineer
for the defenses of Fort Pickens, Florida. With this
commission Lincoln promoted him to brigadier
general of volunteers. In the Northern Virginia
Campaign of August 1862, he fought at Cedar
Mountain and Thoroughfare Gap before an injury in
the Battle of Second Manassas left him incapacitated
and unfit for further field service.
In July 1864 Tower was appointed superintendent of
the U.S. Military Academy. In September he was sent
to strengthen the defenses of Nashville, playing a key
role in the defeat of General John Bell Hood’s Army
of Tennessee.
LINCOLN,
ABRAHAM
and STANTON,
EDWIN M.
Document Signed,
June 12, 1862, on
vellum. 15¾ x 19½”.
#1097 $12,000
1862 War Orders Including Preliminary Emancipation
A
compilation 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 $1,250
16
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
The Emancipation Proclamation
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 Background
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on
January 1, 1863, reveals the major themes of
the 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.”
Seth Kaller has had the privilege
Lincoln-signed
copies of the Emancipation Proclamation
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
of buying or selling all six
that have come on the market in the
last
40-plus years.
For more historical background, see
www.sethkaller.net/freedomdocuments
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
17
Editing His Letter Telling McClellan to Fight
“If you should publish the
attached letter, please make the
corrections indicated”
I
n 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 Background
Major 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.”
18
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 printing
of Lincoln’s April 9, 1862 letter to McClellan.
1 p. 7¾ x 10”. #10987 $27,500
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Lincoln Clarifies a Rank Misunderstanding
Telling a disappointed Mexican War
hero why he wasn’t promoted
to discuss the matter with Lincoln. Diven’s visit
prompted this response.
en. 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.”
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.”
G
Complete Transcript
“Washington, March 7, 1863
General 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”
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 $34,000
Historical Background
A 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,
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
19
General Meade’s Gettysburg Victory Message
One of a handful of surviving
battlefield copies of the victory
message that infuriated
Lincoln
W
hile 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.”
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”. #20792 $27,500
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
20
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
To see
this rare map
of the
of
Battle
Gettysburg,
and related
items ask
for our
Civil War
Catalog.
The Gettysburg Address – Front Page News
A scarce first day of printing issue
L
incoln’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.
GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. Newspaper, The New
York Times, November 20, 1863. 8 pp. (Gettysburg
Address on p. 1, col. 3.) 15¼ x 20¾”.
#21008 $9,500
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.
The Gettysburg Address – First Day, with Map
A
nother 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 $9,500
The Gettysburg Address
GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. Printed Card, The
President’s Dedication Address at Gettysburg, New
York: Miller & Matthews [ca. 1863-64]. 3½ x 5½ ”.
#21986.02 $1,800
(Shown at right)
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
21
Mary Lincoln and the President Ask a Favor
S
peaking 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 Background
Six 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 $9,000
Shakespeare’s Works, Inscribed by Mary Todd Lincoln
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
he 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.
T
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 $12,500
22
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Pardoning a Murderous Mutineer
Was Lincoln too merciful?
L
incoln 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 Background
On 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
914.289.1776
.
shooting at the officers. The ship’s steward was killed.
The ringleaders, including Ryder, were given sevenyear prison terms. On sentencing, the judge called the
incident “one of the most disgraceful and outrageous
[affrays] that has happened in the harbor of NewYork.” 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
[email protected]
23
Lincoln Proclaims a National Day
of Prayer and Humiliation
The president calls on
loyal citizens to implore the
“Supreme Ruler of the World not
to destroy us as a people”
W
ith 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…”
24
Historical Background
Following 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 $4,750 For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Sea Letter for a Martha’s Vineyard Whaler
A Lincoln-signed whaling ship sea
letter - as much as 100 times scarcer
than a Civil War military commission
P
resident 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 Background
The 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
914.289.1776
.
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 [email protected]
25
Playing the Race Card
T
his 1864 election paperback’s question-andanswer “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 $1,200
Urging Frémont to Run Against Lincoln
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...”
F
rederick 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
Lincoln vs. McClellan – 1864 Campaign Platforms
Courting votes, including immigrants’
L
incoln 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
26
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
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Denying Calls for a Dictator to Replace Lincoln
Former Union generals rebut
the claim that they criticized
their commander in chief
G
eneral 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....”
Historical Background
Sickles 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 $2,800
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....”
(Sickles to Badeau)
(Badeau to Sickles)
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
27
“We
cannot have free
Government
Lincoln’s 1864 victory speech
T
hree 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
without elections”
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 $344.25
The Congress that Passed the Thirteenth Amendment
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.
28
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 $1,750
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
The Thirteenth Amendment
“Neither Slavery nor
involuntary servitude...
shall exist within
the
United States…”
B
elieving 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.
914.289.1776
.
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.net/freedomdocuments
Seth Kaller has had the privilege
of handling all five of the
Lincoln-signed copies of the
Thirteenth Amendment that have
sold in the last 48 years.
[email protected]
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
T
his 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, RhodeIsland, 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 Background
Lincoln 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
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
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 say
that 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 Message
John 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 Price on request
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
31
Recording Lee’s Surrender, Lincoln’s Assassination,
and Davis’s Capture in Women’s Clothes
From “The greatest times ever
known” to “The saddest day I ever
saw,” and home in time for baseball
B
ostonian R.E. Merrill’s diary chronicles major
events of 1865.
Selected Excerpts
February: “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”
Historical Background
The 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
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”
(Harper’s, May 27,
1865. The capture
of Jefferson Davis,
included with diary.
See page 40 for
additional Harper’s)
October: “Home at 1 to see baseball match”
32
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Dr. Ezra Abbott Recounts Lincoln’s Assassination
“Tenderly raising his inanimate
form, the writer and five others
carried him…”
A
n 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.”
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.
Historical Background
Dr. 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
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 $7,500
Currier & Ives
F
rom 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
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
33
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
L
incoln’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 21/65
Major,
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. Lincoln
Major T. T. Eckert”
34
Historical Background
In 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).
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
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 (18891893) 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.
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 $350,000
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
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
35
“He Hath Loved Our Nation”
“With Malice Toward None,
With Charity for All”
T
his mourning broadside features quotes from
President Lincoln’s “tribute to the Declaration
of Independence,” (extracted from the 1858 LincolnDouglas 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 $2,500
$100,000 to Capture Jefferson Davis
America’s Most Wanted
T
his 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 $2,000
36
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
North Carolina Unionists Mourn Lincoln’s Death
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
“The Nation Mourns”
A
n 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
Prelude to Presidential Impeachment
E
dwin 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.
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
“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...”
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
37
Chief Justice Salmon Chase Summarizes
His Civil War Financial Measures
A bond proposal would be
“magnificent for brokers, bankers and
lenders, but death on the people”
W
ith 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 postwar 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 Background
Chase’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 $10,000
38
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Frederick Douglass’s Tribute to John Brown
Others saw madness,
but Douglass saw the clarity
of a martyr’s vision
D
ouglass 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 Background
Douglass 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.
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 primary 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
Frederick Douglass letters,
other
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.”
ask for our upcoming
African-American Catalog.
Frederick Douglass
Signed Deed
W
hile 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.)
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
39
Original Civil War Harper’s Weeklys
Follow the course of the war and
the Lincoln presidency the way
Americans did then
H
arper’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
Lincoln Raises the Flag
President 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
President Lincoln Commissions General Grant
Death 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 Secretaries
Philadelphia 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
(June 11, 1864)
(March 16, 1861)
Lincoln Reviews the Army of the Potomac
Collecting 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
40
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 $9,000
‘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
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
(October 1, 1864)
The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
“All persons held as slaves within
any state... the people whereof shall then be
in 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 Proclamation
Front 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,
AfricanAmericans 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
(January 17, 1863)
Lincoln’s Assassination
Front 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
(April 29, 1865)
The Death Bed and Funeral
Lincoln 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
(May 6, 1865)
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
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
914.289.1776
.
Lincoln’s Former Home, and Lee’s Surrender
Front 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
(May 20, 1865)
[email protected]
41
Teddy Roosevelt Keeps Lincoln Alive
Against the Party Machine
Calling for collaboration
among “decent citizens”
C
hallenging 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 Background
In 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.
42
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.
For Detailed Descriptions Visit www.sethkaller.net
Collection Building
In 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 Time
Based 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.net/about/values
Current and Forthcoming Catalogs
aCquisitions I private ColleCtions I MuseuMs I universities I libraries
AfricAn–AmericAn History
The Civil War
“tHe rigHt to PersonAl freedom”
“a ConTesT of Passion”
seth Kaller, inC.
authentiC historiC
DoCuMents anD artifaCts
Seth Kaller, Inc.
hIStorIc DocumentS . legacy collectIonS
“Material Change”
DoCuMents that shapeD aMeriCa
Seth Kaller, Inc.
hIStorIc DocumentS . legacy collectIonS
Authenticity is Guaranteed
Price and availability subject to change without notice.
Images and detailed descriptions are available on request.
Take the Next Step in Owning History
To place an order or to discuss your interests,
call us at (914) 289-1776 or e-mail [email protected].
Seth Kaller, Inc.
Historic Documents . Legacy Collections
Lincoln letter to General Burnett, p. 19
Lincoln’s 1864 State of the Union Message, pp. 30-31
Lincoln’s dividers, used to measure
distances on Civil War maps, pp. 34-35
Shakespeare, inscribed by Mary Lincoln, p. 22
Gettysburg Address, p. 21
Seth Kaller, Inc. – Historic Documents . Legacy Collections
914.289.1776
.
[email protected]
.
www.sethkaller.net