Abraham Lincoln’s Belongings Are Heading To The Auction Block, Including The Gloves He Wore When He Was Assassinated
In May, a massive collection of Abraham Lincoln’s belongings will be heading to the auction block. A total of 150 objects, including boyhood scrawlings, keepsakes, the bloodstained gloves he wore on the night of his assassination, and other personal effects.
They are all part of the “Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln” sale and span the entire course of his life.
“Each of the items featured in this sale has been curated with care, to reveal a nuanced and at times surprising portrait of the person who would become one of America’s greatest leaders,” said Alyssa Quinlan, the CEO of Freeman’s-Hindman, an auction house in Chicago.
The objects came from the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, a nonprofit organization that bought over 1,500 items in 2007 from the renowned collector Louise Taper.
The foundation announced that it was selling 144 objects, which is less than 10 percent of its entire collection, to repay loans from the initial purchase.
A sheet of paper boasting the earliest known example of Lincoln’s writing will be going up for auction. It dates back to when the 16th president was around 15 years old. While he was practicing long division, he wrote a silly note in the corner of the paper.
It read: “Abraham Lincoln is my name / And with my pen I wrote / the same / I wrote in both [haste] and speed / and left it here for fools to read.” It is estimated to sell for at least $300,000.
An anonymous handbill from 1837, later attributed to Lincoln, represents his start in Illinois state politics. There is also an American flag from his successful 1860 presidential run for the White House. It features the names of Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin, his first vice president.
Additionally, a rare first printing of Lincoln’s second inaugural address is expected to go for at least $40,000. The speech was delivered on March 4, 1865, and contained just 700 words, but it efficiently laid out his plans for the nation.
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However, Lincoln was assassinated 41 days later at Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C. That night, he wore white kid-leather gloves that got stained with his blood. The gloves could sell for up to $1.2 million, making them some of the most valuable items in the auction.
A single cuff button with the initial “L” could also go for up to $300,000. This button was knocked off of the president’s wrist by a surgeon checking for a pulse.
The sale includes a number of items that were previously acquired directly from descendants of Lincoln. It will take place on May 21 in Chicago. Before the auction, the objects will be put on public display in New York City, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati.
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