Highlights include:
* the earliest known example of Lincoln’s writing, dating from when he was about 15 years old, a double-sided sum book leaf covered in long division practice sums and signed three times. In one corner he wrote: “Abraham Lincoln is my name / And with my pen I wrote / the same / I wrote in both hast and speed / and left it here for fools / to read” (estimate: $300,000 -
$400,000).
* the Adams Handbill, a printed notice to the public distributed on the streets of Springfield, Illinois, in the run-up to that year’s contentious local elections. Printed on a single sheet in three columns, the handbill is the only known surviving copy of the first printed work by Abraham Lincoln (estimate: $200,000 - $300,000).
* a rare first printing of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (estimate: $40,000 - $60,000)
* a single cuff button bearing the initial ‘L’ (estimate: $200,000 - $ 300,000) and a pair of white kid gloves stained with blood (estimate: $800,000-1,200,000) worn by Lincoln to Ford’s Theatre on the night of his assassination in 1865
“In the history of the category of American presidential material, this selection is among the most significant to come to auction," said Christopher Brink, Senior Specialist and Head of Sale, Books & Manuscripts. "The sale includes a number of items previously acquired directly from Lincoln’s descendants, and many more that will be making their first appearance at public auction.”
