Browsing Autographs  Lincoln, Abraham  View Glossary

1. BARONDESS, Benjamin (?-1960). Typed Note Signed / Unsigned Typescript.
This prominent New York attorney was a noted Lincoln scholar, author of the 1954 "Three Lincoln Masterpieces"; charter member and nice president of the noted Civil War Round Table of New York and namesake of the prestigious Benjamin Barondess Award for new Civil War titles. TNS, 1p, 8½" X 11", New York, NY, 1951 November 20. Addressed to CARL HAVERLIN (1899-1985), noted Lincoln and Civil War scholar, radio pioneer and president of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). Near fine. Referencing a Civil War Round Table event of the previous day, Barondess jokes, "Did you think you were going to escape thanks for your invitation to me, to be one of the panel, at the Gettysburg Address Seminar last night? If so, the error was profound." Boldly signed. Haverlin has scrawled the draft of a brief reply in bold pencil at upper left, as was his custom. Accompanied by a carbon copy typescript of the very talk Barondess had given at that seminar, 10pp (rectos only), 8½" X 11", n.p., 1951 November 19. Very good. Titled simply "BENJAMIN BARONDESS'S TALK," this double-spaced typescript on thin onion skin paper presents his overview of Lincoln's speech, its preparation and reception. The following year, an article by Barondess titled "The Gettysburg Address: Revealing facts about one of the 'Supreme Masterpieces of the English language'" was published in the Spring 1952 issue of "Autograph Collectors' Journal," and this is presumably the precursor of that article. An interesting and unusual pair for the Lincoln specialist. From the collection of noted Lincoln/Civil War scholar ARNOLD F. GATES (1914-93).
Price: $75.00

2. BECKWITH, Mary Lincoln "Peggy" (1898-1975). Partly-Printed Autograph Document Signed.
The penultimate last living Abraham Lincoln descendant was this great-granddaughter of President Lincoln, the daughter of Robert Todd Lincoln's daughter Jessie; she was an amateur artist and a recluse who rarely strayed out in public. Partly-printed ADS, 1p, 2¼" X 2 3/4", Manchester Center, Vermont, 1936 January 15. Near fine. Personal check printed on a pale orange background and drawn on The Factory Point National Bank (where her parents and grandparents also banked for many years), filled out entirely in her hand in blue fountain pen for $545.00, made out to the Factory Point National Bank and signed large and bold at lower right. Usual cancellation perforations, not affecting handwriting. Mary Beckwith autograph material is quite scarce in any form whatsoever.
Price: $375.00

3. BRADICH, A. (?-?). Autograph Note Signed.
First professor of fine arts at the University of Michigan. ANS, 1p, 9" X 11¼", n.p., 1867 December 22. Addressed to "Dear Sister." Good. Some age toning and mildly soiled; professionally silked. Brief, poignant note transmitting a portrait of Lincoln (not present): "As Christmas this year finds me in poor health, with very little money, not wishing to forget you and Father, I send you my favorite painting of President Lincoln. Wishing you both a merry Xmas and a happy New Year...." Accompanied by a TNS from RANDOLPH G. ADAMS, legendary director of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, 1p, 8½" X 11", Ann Arbor, MI, 1946 November 9. Addressed to John D. Denison, Jr. Good plus. "I have compared the signature on the Bradich portrait of Lincoln with other Bradish portrait signatures at the University and there is no doubt that these signatures are the same...." The portrait sent by the artist via this letter is NOT present.
Price: $100.00

4. BULL, Charles Edward (1881-1971). Signature.
This Reno, Nevada justice of the peace was better known as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, appearing in such silent films as the 1924 John Ford drama "The Iron Horse" and the 1927 Lloyd Bacon drama "The Heart of Maryland." Handsome "Chas. E. Bull / 'alias' / 'A. Lincoln' / 2-10-'30" in black ink on a heavy stock 4" X 2¼" card, n.p. Near fine. Slight mounting traces on verso. Bull of course mimics Lincoln's actual "A. Lincoln" signature on the third line. Fun and unusual piece.
Price: $30.00

5. CLARK, Thomas Curtis (1877-1953). Autograph Manuscript Signed.
Hoosier poet, author, editor and publisher. AMS, 1p, 6¼" X 8", n.p., 1921 February. Near fine. Titled "The Hand of Lincoln" in blue fountain pen in Clark's attractive, somewhat flamboyant hand, it reads: "This hand grew strong by felling stubborn trees / That barred the way of freedom for our sires; / And here in Illinois it lit the fires / That should destroy those age-long dynasties / Of vested right and selfish power that hoke / The spirit of a race. He saw their grief / With deep, sad eyes, and vowed their sure relief -- / And then the Voice of God and Freedom spoke! / This hand clinched hard the tyrant's rod / of hate / And tore it from his grasp. A people's prayer / Went up to God, who seeing their despair / Had sent to them a Friend both good / and great. / (Feb. 1921) / Thomas Curtis Clark." Since Curtis dates it in parentheses, this presumably represents the period he wrote it or when it was first published, and this manuscript was penned many years later. Clark's best known volume is probably "Lincoln and Others" (1923), for he was mainly a compiler and editor of anthologies of poems written by others. Interestingly, a Clark poem titled "Abraham Lincoln, the Master" appeared in Mildred P. Harrington's 1929 verse anthology "Our Holidays in Poetry," along with Edmund Clarence Stedman's well-known poem "The Hand of Lincoln" -- a far better poem than Clark's poem of the same title, by the way. Clark must surely have been influenced by Stedman's powerful piece when penning his own derivative version. An attractive piece, though, and unusual.
Price: $125.00

6. ELKIN, William F. (?-?). Autograph Document Signed.
One of the "Long Nine," nickname for the group of nine state legislators elected to the Illinois legislature in 1836 to represent Sangamon County, so-called because all were at least six feet in height; one of Lincoln's fellow representatives among them was Elkin. Partly-printed ADS, 2pp, 7½" X 12½", Springfield, IL, 1841 October 28. Good to fair. Some separations at folds and some archival tape repairs, but overall sound and attractive. Land deed from a sheriff's sale in which a parcel of land was purchased by a Philip C. Latham for the amount of taxes owed on it ($1.51). Signed by Elkin as sheriff at the close and also twice within the text. Interestingly, the parcel of land was "in E[lijah] Iles Addition to the Town (now City) of Springfield" -- Iles being the captain in the Black Hawk War to whose mounted company Lincoln was assigned when he briefly re-enlisted. This company was part of a "spy battalion" that was dispatched to Galena to rescue the trapped residents from Black Hawk. An unusual piece with nice associations.
Price: $400.00

7. KUNKEL, Mabel (?-?). Autograph Letter Signed.
Author of "Abraham Lincoln: Unforgettable American." ALS, 1p, 7" X 11", Richmond, KY, 1979 November 4. Addressed to Ralph G. Newman. Very good. Congratulates the founder of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop on the opening of a new shop in Springfield and thanks him for carrying her book. Comes with two leaflets for her book.
Price: $15.00

8. (LINCOLN, Abraham) (1809-65). Partly-Printed Autograph Document Signed (by election official).
16th president of the United States. Partly-printed ADS (by an election official, not Lincoln), 2pp (recto and verso), 7 3/4" X 13", Jacksonville Precinct, IL, 1840 November. Near fine. Minor, even age toning. Lincoln ran for elector in the William H. Harrison vs. Henry Clay presidential election of 1840. He failed to get elected as elector, though the Whig candidate Harrison won. In this rare poll book leaf, headlined "Poll Book for Jacksonville Precinct, Nov. 1840" partly in print, the registered voters names run down the left margin (27 on one side, 22 on the other) -- all written in the same hand, no doubt an election official. A printed column running across the top, labeled "For Presidential Electors," lists ten elector candidates -- the last being Lincoln, whose name is misspelled "Abram Lincoln." (Fellow Lincoln colleague, legislator and future Union general John A. McClernand, 1812-1900, is also listed.) The five Whig candidates seem to have performed quite well in this particular precinct, gathering far more votes than the five Democrat candidates. A rare relic of one of Lincoln's first political disappointments at age thirty-one.
Price: $1,195.00

9. (LINCOLN, Abraham) (1809-65). Partly-Printed Autograph Document Signed (by election official).
16th president of the United States. Partly-printed ADS (by an election official, not Lincoln), 2pp (recto and verso), 7 3/4" X 13", Meredosia Precinct, IL, 1840 November. Near fine. Minor, even age toning. Lincoln ran for elector in the William H. Harrison vs. Henry Clay presidential election of 1840. He failed to get elected as elector, though the Whig candidate Harrison won. In this rare poll book leaf, headlined "Poll Book for Meredosia Precinct, Nov. 1840" partly in print, the registered voters names run down the left margin (27 on each side) -- all written in the same hand, no doubt an election official. A printed column running across the top, labeled "For Presidential Electors," lists ten elector candidates -- the last being Lincoln, whose name is misspelled "Abram Lincoln." (Fellow Lincoln colleague, legislator and future Union general John A. McClernand, 1812-1900, is also listed.) The five Whig candidates seem to have performed quite poorly in this particular precinct, gathering fewer votes than the five Democrat candidates. A rare relic of one of Lincoln's first political disappointments at age thirty-one.
Price: $1,195.00

10. (LINCOLN, Abraham) (1809-65). Partly-Printed Autograph Document Signed (by election official).
16th president of the United States. Partly-printed ADS (by an election official, not Lincoln), 2pp (recto and verso), 7 3/4" X 13", Jacksonville Precinct, IL, 1840 November. Near fine. Minor, even age toning. Lincoln ran for elector in the William H. Harrison vs. Henry Clay presidential election of 1840. He failed to get elected as elector, though the Whig candidate Harrison won. In this rare poll book leaf, headlined "Poll Book for Appolonia Precinct, Nov. 1840" partly in print, the registered voters names run down the left margin (28 on one side, 27 on the other) -- all written in the same hand, no doubt an election official. A printed column running across the top, labeled "For Presidential Electors," lists ten elector candidates -- the last being Lincoln, whose name is misspelled "Abram Lincoln." (Fellow Lincoln colleague, legislator and future Union general John A. McClernand, 1812-1900, is also listed.) The five Whig candidates seem to have performed quite poorly in this particular precinct, gathering far fewer votes than the five Democrat candidates. A rare relic of one of Lincoln's first political disappointments at age thirty-one.
Price: $1,195.00

11. (LINCOLN, Abraham). CAMPBELL, Antrim (1817-68) and BUTLER, William (1797-1876). Autograph Document Signed.
Campbell was a pioneering Springfield attorney was a good colleague of Abraham Lincoln, who once endorsed him as a prosecuting attorney; master in chancery for the Sangamon County Circuit Court; Butler was a hotel owner and state official who took young Lincoln under his wing in Springfield, helping him pay off debts, housing him for six years in his home and encouraging him to study law. ADS, 1p, 7 3/4" X 6", Sangamon County, IL, 1840 June 16. Good plus. Three small pieces of scotch tape at left and right edges (six total) touching upon several words but not affecting signatures. In part: "A. Campbell having been first duly sworn maketh oath and says that he is the Attorney for Seth M. Tinsley in the suit of said Tinsley against Garret Elkin, that said Garret Elkin is the authorized acting Sheriff of Sangamon County State of Illinois... prays therefore that the summons in this cause may [?] to the Coroner of said County...." Signed a second time boldly at the conclusion (again as "A. Campbell"). Lower left contains a docket by Butler: "Sworn to before me this 10th / day of June 1840 / Wm Butler Ck." Verso also contains a similar signed notation by Butler. Campbell's client in this cryptic case, Seth M. Tinsley, also has an interesting Lincoln association: Variously described as a merchant, developer, lumber dealer and banker, he had had built in 1840 (just about the time this document was penned) the building at 6th and Adams Streets in downtown Springfield that housed the Lincoln-Herndon law offices -- he was thus Lincoln's landlord for a number of years. Despite tape stains, a most interesting document with several Lincoln associations, signed twice by both Campbell and Butler.
Price: $395.00

12. (LINCOLN, Abraham). LEWIS, Thomas (?-?). Document Signed.
This Springfield merchant was an elder of the First Presbyterian Church, where Mary Todd Lincoln was a parishioner and sometimes dragged her skeptical husband; Lewis testified, "Not long after Dr. Smith [pastor of this church] came to Springfield, and I think very near the time of his son's death, Mr. Lincoln said to me, that when on a visit somewhere, he had seen and partially read a work of Dr. Smith on the evidences of Christianity which had led him to change his views about the Christian religion; that he would like to get that work to finish the reading of it, and also to make the acquaintance of Dr. Smith. I was an elder in Dr. Smith's church, and took Dr. Smith to Mr. Lincoln's office and introduced him; and Dr. Smith gave Mr. Lincoln a copy of his book, as I know, at his own request" -- and Lincoln supposedly accepted Christianity; but according to Lincoln's notoriously unreliable law partner, William Herndon, "Mr. Lewis's veracity and integrity in this community need no comment. I have heard good men say they would not believe his word under any circumstances, especially were he interested. I hate to state this of Tom, but if he will intrude himself in this discussion, I cannot help but say a word in self-defense. Mr. Lincoln detested this man, I know. The idea that Mr. Lincoln would go to Tom Lewis and reveal to him his religious convictions, is to me, and to all who know Mr. Lincoln and Tom Lewis, too absurd." DS, 2pp (recto and verso), 8" X 10", Springfield, IL, 1845 July 11. Very good. Mild even age toning; slightest bit of edgewear. Complex legal "assignment" involving Lewis and James L. Lamb on one hand and brothers Alexander and Morris Lindsay on the other having to do with payment of a $16,000 loan from the State Bank of Illinois and a parcel of land in Chicago bordered by Lake, Morgan and Randolph Streets. It would take a banker or attorney to decipher this legalese -- but research shows that Thomas Lewis, along with a group of male Springfield notables (including Abraham Lincoln), entered an agreement in 1838 with the State Bank of Illinois to borrow more than $16,000, agreeing to repay at 6% interest semi-annually, and the final settlement of this transaction took place in February 1846. This document certainly involves this same loan repayment.Signed boldly by Lewis at the conclusion. A retained draft -- possibly Lewis's, for it is not also signed by his partner in this assignment (Lamb). Morris Lindsay, by the way, was a deputy postmaster in Springfield.
Price: $295.00

13. LINCOLN, Robert Todd (1843-1926), and LINCOLN, Mary Harlan (1847-1937). Partly-Printed Autograph Documents Signed.
Eldest son of Abraham and Mary Lincoln, the only Lincoln child to survive into adulthood; notable in his own right, serving as secretary of war, minister to Great Britain and president of the Pullman Company; and his wife Mary Harlan, who his mother disliked instantly and unfairly. Two items: first, a partly-printed ADS from Robert, 1p, 7 3/4" X 2 3/4", Washington, DC, 1919 December 11. Near fine. Printed pale pink check drawn on The Riggs National Bank and entirely filled out in Lincoln’s small but legible hand to "The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company" for $7.06. Normal perforation cancellation (slightly touching upon several letters). Fine engraved portrait of bank's facade at left. Second, a similar partly-printed ADS from Mary, 8 3/4" X 3" Manchester Center, VT, 1917 October 2. Near fine. Printed pale gold check drawn on The Factory Point National Bank, filled out entirely in her hand to "Colonial Power and Light Co" for $22.72 in her usual rather pale ink. Usual ink cancellation stamp and slashes. An unusual, very scarce and attractive pair. Checks from any Lincoln family members are rarely encountered, and a superb matching pair such as this are quite desirable.
Price: $450.00

14. LLOYD, John A. (?-?). Signed Typescript.
Noted Ohio Lincoln scholar, author of "Vignettes of Lincoln" (1974) and "Snowbound with Mr. Lincoln" (1979). Original typescript, 15pp (rectos only), 5½" X 8½", [Cincinnati, OH], 1975 February 8. Near fine. First page (only) rates "Very good," ever-so-slightly age toned and bearing faint paper clip mark at upper left. Typescript for this Lincolnist's speech for the annual Lincoln gathering of the Queen City Optimists Club, a distinguished group founded in 1895. Titled "One Day in the Life of President Lincoln," this is an interesting reconstruction of Lincoln's schedule 110 years prior, on February 8, 1865. In the upper right of the first page, the scholar boldly signs and inscribes it in bold black fineline: "To Mr. Arnold Gates, / whose request for / an inscribed copy / flatters me -- / John A. Lloyd / April 28, 1976." Gates (1914-93) was a noted Long Island Lincoln and Civil War scholar who originally hailed from Cincinnati, hence his special interest in Ohio-related Lincoln productions such as this. This is the original, neatly typed double-spaced typescript, showing a few white-out corrections, etc. Very unusual.
Price: $50.00

15. LONG NINE / Elkin, William F. (?-?). Autograph Document Signed.
Nickname for the group of nine state legislators elected to the Illinois legislature in 1836 to represent Sangamon County, so-called because all were at least six feet in height; one of Lincoln's fellow representatives among them was Elkin. Partly-printed ADS, 2pp, 7 1/2" X 12 1/2", Springfield, IL, 1841 October 28. Good to fair. Some separations at folds and some archival tape repairs, but overall sound and attractive. Land deed from a sheriff's sale in which a parcel of land was purchased by a Philip C. Latham for the amount of taxes owed on it ($1.51). Signed by Elkin as sheriff at the close and also twice within the text. Interestingly, the parcel of land was "in E[lijah] Iles Addition to the Town (now City) of Springfield" -- Iles being the captain in the Black Hawk War to whose mounted company Lincoln was assigned when he briefly re-enlisted. This company was part of a "spy battalion" that was dispatched to Galena to rescue the trapped residents from Black Hawk. An unusual piece with nice associations.
Price: $400.00

16. McMURTRY, R. Gerald (1906-1988). Autograph Letter Signed.
American historian, director the Louis A. Warren Lincoln Library and Museum from 1956 to 1973 and author of more than 200 articles, pamphlets and books about Lincoln. ALS, 3pp (separate leaves), 8½" X 11", Lincoln Memorial University letterhead, Harrogate, TN, 1941 July 11. Addressed to noted Lincoln scholar ARNOLD F. GATES (1914-93). Near fine. McMurtry replies graciously to some huge research questions the young scholar must have posed. In part: "...your questions will be rather difficult to answer off hand. The questions to be properly answered would require weeks of research work.... I would advise you to get a good history of Ohio, Nicolay & Hay's 'Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln' and Daniel J. Ryan's 'Lincoln and Ohio' from the public library in Cleveland... In these books you will find most of the answers to your questions.... I will be glad to help you on any technical questions that may confront you in your research work on Nancy Hanks...." Accompanied by a fine modern 8½" X 11" reproduction of a line drawing head-and-shoulders portrait of McMurtry.
Price: $40.00

17. MUDD, Richard A. (1901-2002). Document Signed.
The grandson of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, who was convicted and imprisoned for treating John Wilkes Booth's broken leg after Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater, was likewise a physician, and spent decades attempting to get his grandfather's conviction pardoned. Document Signed, 1p, heavy stock 6" X 3½" card, n.p., n.y. Fine. Printed facsimile of an Autograph Note Signed from Abraham Lincoln, dated Springfield, 4 June 1860, reading in full: "You request an autograph, and here it is," plus closing salutation and signature. The purpose of the creation of this postcard size reproduction is unclear, and no publisher's information is to be found on it. In any case, along the blank lower margin, Mudd signs large and bold in full in black fineline; at lower left, Lincoln biographer and Civil War historian DAVID HERBERT DONALD (born 1920) also signs in full in his usual miniscule script.
Price: $40.00

18. OSTENDORF, Lloyd A. (1921-2000). Signed Print.
This Dayton, Ohio commercial artist became the foremost artist interpreter of Abraham Lincoln and his circle, illustrating every facet of Lincoln's life in various media over several decades; he authored and/or illustrated several Lincoln books, such as the 1963 classic "Lincoln in Photographs: An Album of Every Known Pose" (with Charles Hamilton). Signed Print, 1p, 8" X 10", n.p., 1988. Fine. Handsome sepia-tone print on cream stock of an ink-and-wash rendering depicting Abraham and Mary Lincoln at left foreground, their Springfield home at right in the background and their two sons galloping towards it. Printed caption at lower right reads, "Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln are returning home from church, Sunday, Dec. 9, 1860. Willie and Tad run on ahead." Above this, Ostendorf signs large and bold in blue ballpoint. Bibliographically cryptic, but likely published by Springfield publisher Phil Wagner.
Price: $75.00

19. PARKS, Samuel C. (?-?). Autograph Letter Signed.
Republican associate of Lincoln who asked Lincoln to correct his copy of Howells' "Lives and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin," which Lincoln did, thereby creating the most important (and valuable!) Lincoln campaign biography in existence. ALS, 1p, 7 3/4" X 12½", Lincoln, IL, 1858 March 2. Addressed to "Friend Jim" (James H. Matheny). Very good. Unusual letter from one Lincoln associate to another (Matheny, 1818-90, served as best man at Lincoln's wedding), written from the only city in the United States named after Lincoln with his consent. (Lincoln represented the developers laying out the town, and greeted this idea with the quip that he "never knew of anything named Lincoln that ever amounted to much"; it is said that he christened the town with melon juice on August 27, 1853.) In this letter, Parks discusses several legal matters with Matheny. Interesting and quite scarce.
Price: $400.00

20. RANDALL, James G. (1881-1953). Autograph Letter Signed.
American historian and author ("Constitutional Problems Under Lincoln," "Lincoln the President") considered by many the greatest Lincoln scholar of the 20th century. ALS, 1p, 8½" X 11", Urbana, IL, n.d. Fine. Titled "Memo," a list of several Civil War books to be sent him, no doubt for research on one of his books; cancels previous Lincoln book ordered. Pencilled notations in another hand.
Price: $55.00

21. RANDALL, James G. (1881-1953). Typed Document Signed.
American historian; author of "Constitutional Problems Under Lincoln" (1926) and "Lincoln the President" (1945, 1952). TDS, 1p, 8½" X 11", n.p. [Urbana, IL], 1952 December 14. Very good. Carbon copy of a brief tribute to Carl Sandburg, identified in Randall's hand "Carbon for Ralph Newman": "We need our poets. They are our eyes, our ears, our voices, and a good deal more. In Carl we have a great American poet. Sometimes he is whimsical, sometimes in dead earnest when aroused by social injustice, but always he is Sandburg, and that is enough. He has given us our own America. He has given us Lincoln. There are three great words that belong together: America, Lincoln, and Sandburg." Boldly signed at the conclusion. This tribute is mentioned in North Callahan's book, "Carl Sandburg: Lincoln of Our Literature" (pp. 197-98). It was, no doubt, intended to be read aloud at Sandburg's 75th birthday party, celebrated January 6, 1953. A copy of the invitation to this social gathering (sponsored by a Who's Who in Lincolniana) is included, in mint condition.
Price: $75.00

22. RANDALL, James G. (1881-1953). Inscribed Photograph Signed.
This heavyweight American historian spent his career at the University of Illinois (1920-50), producing a series of Civil War titles that are now influential classics: "Constitutional Problems Under Lincoln" (1926), "The Civil War and Reconstruction" (1937), the four-volume "Lincoln the President" (1944-55) and "Lincoln the Liberal Statesman" (1947); his wife was popular historical writer Ruth Painter Randall (1892-1971). IPS, 5" X 7", n.p., n.y. Fine. Handsome matte-finish photograph of a head-and-shoulders oil portrait of a bearded Abraham Lincoln -- quite nice, too, not amateurish. Boldly inscribed and signed along the blank lower margin in blue ink: "Dear Ralph: This is a photo of an oil / painting I did as a kid, some time in the / 90's. Valuable only as a curiosity. JG Randall." Quite unusual and quite likely one-of-a-kind -- and valuable as a unusual autograph (Randall material is seldom seen) from one of the great Lincoln historians of the 20th century. The recipient, "Ralph," was likely Ralph G. Newman (1912-98), Lincoln scholar and founder of Chicago's famed Abraham Lincoln Book Shop.
Price: $100.00

23. RANDOLPH, Jessie Harlan Lincoln (1875-1948). Partly-Printed Autograph Document Signed.
Abraham Lincoln's granddaughter, the youngest of Robert Todd Lincoln's three children; mother of Mary Lincoln Beckwith and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, the last two direct Lincoln descendants. Partly-printed ADS, 1p, 6¼" X 2 3/4", Washington, DC, 1936 September 15. Near fine. Check drawn on The Riggs National Bank and printed on a pale pink stock, made out entirely in Randolph's hand in black fountain pen to her third husband, Robert Johnson Randolph (they married in 1926), in the amount of one hundred dollars, bearing a bold "J.L. Randolph" at lower right. Usual cancellation stamp and perforations, not affecting handwriting. Boldly endorsed by R.J. Randolph on the verso. A superb example of this quite scarce autograph -- checks written by any Lincoln family members are extremely uncommon.
Price: $300.00

24. REYNOLDS, Lewis G. (1883-1960). Document Signed.
In 1893 Lincoln collector extraordinaire Osborn H. Oldroyd (1842-1930) set up his Lincoln collection as a museum in the Petersen house (where Lincoln died) in Washington, DC; at some point -- perhaps upon Oldroyd's death -- Reynolds became its curator. DS, 4pp (rectos only), 8½" X 11", Washington, DC, 19341 February 27. Very good. Stapled at upper left, as issued; faint mailing folds. Titled "Word Tour Through Lincoln Museum," this is a mimeographed press release issued by Columbia Broadcasting System on 13 February 1931. "Following are abstracts," notes the preface to the speech, "of a talk by Mr. Lewis G. Reynolds... delivered over the coast-to-coast network of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Thursday, February 12 at 5 P.M. Mr. Reynolds' words were carried from a microphone placed exactly on the spot where Abraham Lincoln died, in the museum holding the Oldroyd collection of Lincolniana, located across the street from Ford's Theatre." Inscribed large and bold in black fountain pen at upper right of the first page: "To John E. Boos / Albany N.Y. / from Lewis G. Reynolds / Washington D.C. Feb. 27th / 1931." Henry Ford tried to buy Oldroyd's collection for $50,000, which prompted a move by Congress to acquire the collection for the American public; they did so in 1926, matching Ford's offer -- and in 1932, shortly after Reynolds' talk, money was appropriated to convert Ford's Theatre into a proper museum for the Oldroyd collection, where it remains on display today. A most unusual piece. Boos (1879-1974) was a noted autograph collector who formed a massive collection of documents and letters relating to Abraham Lincoln.
Price: $100.00

25. STERN, Alfred Whital (1881-1960). Autograph Letter Signed.
Chicago philanthropist and renowned Lincoln collector whose 7000 item Lincoln collection became one of the cornerstones of the Library of Congress's Lincoln collection. ALS, 1p, 6" X 7", Chicago, IL, 1946 September 5. Addressed to Edward Jacobs. Fine. Thanks the Peoria Lincoln publisher for "the beautiful and well designed New Salem item.... I shall, with pleasure, add it to my Lincoln collection." Comes with a copy of Elmer Gertz's February 1942 "Lincoln Herald" article, "The Library of Alfred W. Stern."
Price: $55.00

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