President LINCOLN, serving from 1861 to 1865
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Political writing Autograph
Chronology : 1860-1869
See also : Political writing Autograph
Chronology : 1860-1869
1864 Emancipation Proclamation
Intro
On 22 September 1862, President Lincoln issued an ultimatum to the secessionist states : slavery shall be abolished on January 1 in all states that will not come back into the Union before that date.
At the promised date, January 1, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed an executive order abolishing slavery in the ten states on which he had no control.
Of course, this statement was not sufficient to end the US Civil War. In mid 1864, charity gatherings organized by the US Sanitary Commission are held everywhere to support the Union troops.
The President, always ready for personal commitment, then accepts the project of the authorized edition of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the initiatives to raise funds.
The document consists of a title and 52 lines of text printed in a single page on a watermarked Whatman paper sheet 55 x 44 cm. The typed field is 37.4 x 17 cm.
The 48 copies edited by Leland and Boker bear the signatures of Abraham Lincoln, of the Secretary of State William Seward and of John Nicolay, private secretary to the President, certifying the authenticity of the other two autographs. They were made available for purchase with a price tag of $ 10 each at the Great Central Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia in June 1864. 27 copies are surviving as of 2025, including 18 kept in institutions.
That strategy confirms that in the mind of Lincoln the end of slavery is a main issue of the Civil War beside saving the Union. Without alienating the states loyal to the Union, it gave such a boost to the slaves that their emancipation had no more obstacles, entering into the constitution through the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.
At the promised date, January 1, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed an executive order abolishing slavery in the ten states on which he had no control.
Of course, this statement was not sufficient to end the US Civil War. In mid 1864, charity gatherings organized by the US Sanitary Commission are held everywhere to support the Union troops.
The President, always ready for personal commitment, then accepts the project of the authorized edition of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the initiatives to raise funds.
The document consists of a title and 52 lines of text printed in a single page on a watermarked Whatman paper sheet 55 x 44 cm. The typed field is 37.4 x 17 cm.
The 48 copies edited by Leland and Boker bear the signatures of Abraham Lincoln, of the Secretary of State William Seward and of John Nicolay, private secretary to the President, certifying the authenticity of the other two autographs. They were made available for purchase with a price tag of $ 10 each at the Great Central Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia in June 1864. 27 copies are surviving as of 2025, including 18 kept in institutions.
That strategy confirms that in the mind of Lincoln the end of slavery is a main issue of the Civil War beside saving the Union. Without alienating the states loyal to the Union, it gave such a boost to the slaves that their emancipation had no more obstacles, entering into the constitution through the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.
1
2025 SOLD for $ 4.4M by Sotheby's
A full margin copy in fresh condition of the Authorized edition of the Emancipation Proclamation was sold for $ 670K by Christie's on December 19, 2002, lot 321 and for $ 4.4M by Sotheby's on June 26, 2025, lot 26.
This example has been matted, framed and glazed to museum standards. The Abraham Lincoln signature is bold and dark. The counter-signatures by Seward and Nicolay have faded.
This example has been matted, framed and glazed to museum standards. The Abraham Lincoln signature is bold and dark. The counter-signatures by Seward and Nicolay have faded.
2
ex Robert Kennedy
2010 SOLD for $ 3.8M by Sotheby's
One hundred years after the Emancipation, the Kennedy brothers are considering new advances for civil rights. The murder of the President does not slow down the ardor of his brother. In 1964, Robert Kennedy bought at auction at Parke-Bernet a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln and Seward.
This ex Kennedy document was sold for $ 3.8M on December 10, 2010 by Sotheby's, Parke-Bernet's successor. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This ex Kennedy document was sold for $ 3.8M on December 10, 2010 by Sotheby's, Parke-Bernet's successor. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
3
2016 SOLD for $ 2.17 M by Sotheby's
A copy of the Authorized edition of the Emancipation Proclamation was sold for $ 2.17M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M by Sotheby's on May 25, 2016, lot 78.
4
2012 SOLD for $ 2.1M by Robert A. Siegel
A copy of the Authorized edition of the Emancipation Proclamation was sold for $ 2.1M by Robert A. Siegel on June 26, 2012.
1864 Answer by Lincoln to the Children's Petition
2008 SOLD for $ 3.4M by Sotheby's
The abolition of slavery is the major issue of Lincoln's presidency and of the Civil War. Proclaimed by the executive order of September 22, 1862, it is a political act based on the interpretation that slavery is a non-conformity with the Constitution of the United States. The application is delayed and the abolitionists are getting impatient.
The President received a great deal of mail which was carefully handled by his secretaries. Amidst thousands of requests for favors, he was moved by a letter forwarded to him in early April 1864 by Charles Sumner, senator from Massachusetts, more radical than him for an immediate emancipation.
The document is a children's petition prepared and annotated by Mrs Mann, a widow who had founded a school in Concord MA. 195 boys and girls under 18 wrote their names under a simple and short text : "Children's Petition to the President asking him to free all the little slave children in this country".
The President prepares an autograph draft, which is kept at the Library of Congress. He replies to Mrs Mann : "Please tell these little people I am very glad their young hearts are so full of just and generous sympathy, and that, while I have not the power to grant all they ask, I trust they will remember that God has, and that, as it seems, He wills to do it ".
This answer is very important to the President, who himself copies his draft onto an 8 x 5 inch letterhead page of the Executive Mansion in Washington. Dated April 5, 1864, the letter is addressed to Mrs Mann to whom it is transmitted through the good care of the Senator. It was sold for $ 3.4M by Sotheby's on April 3, 2008, lot 85.
On April 20, Mrs Mann thanks the President for his "sweet words to the children" for whom she was going to have facsimiles prepared, replacing her name as a precaution with the identification of the place of origin, Concord MA. She insists in her abolitionist demand by courteously calling out to the President : "You who can hasten it must be the happiest of men, for in saving the colored man you will feel that you are doing equal service to the white man".
The President received a great deal of mail which was carefully handled by his secretaries. Amidst thousands of requests for favors, he was moved by a letter forwarded to him in early April 1864 by Charles Sumner, senator from Massachusetts, more radical than him for an immediate emancipation.
The document is a children's petition prepared and annotated by Mrs Mann, a widow who had founded a school in Concord MA. 195 boys and girls under 18 wrote their names under a simple and short text : "Children's Petition to the President asking him to free all the little slave children in this country".
The President prepares an autograph draft, which is kept at the Library of Congress. He replies to Mrs Mann : "Please tell these little people I am very glad their young hearts are so full of just and generous sympathy, and that, while I have not the power to grant all they ask, I trust they will remember that God has, and that, as it seems, He wills to do it ".
This answer is very important to the President, who himself copies his draft onto an 8 x 5 inch letterhead page of the Executive Mansion in Washington. Dated April 5, 1864, the letter is addressed to Mrs Mann to whom it is transmitted through the good care of the Senator. It was sold for $ 3.4M by Sotheby's on April 3, 2008, lot 85.
On April 20, Mrs Mann thanks the President for his "sweet words to the children" for whom she was going to have facsimiles prepared, replacing her name as a precaution with the identification of the place of origin, Concord MA. She insists in her abolitionist demand by courteously calling out to the President : "You who can hasten it must be the happiest of men, for in saving the colored man you will feel that you are doing equal service to the white man".
1864 Re-election Speech of President Lincoln
2009 SOLD for $ 3.4M by Christie's
1864 was a decisive year. Until June, Lincoln, the outgoing president, was considered a loser. The popular opinion was in favor of McClellan calling to enter into negotiations to end the civil war.
In August the fall of Atlanta happened, and supporters of Lincoln saw that a military victory was possible. On November 8, Lincoln won the election, one of the most important in the history of his country : his anti-slavery ideas would now be able to overcome. The end of the war came also very soon afterwards.
On 10 November 1864, at the White House, the reelected president made an important speech to celebrate his political victory. The paper he wrote with his hand for reading it on that day was sold for $ 3.4M by Christie's on 12 February 12, 2009. Those four pages in excellent condition were owned by the heirs of Lincoln before going into a library that sold them at that auction. This sale was made on the very day of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln, who was born on 12 February 1809.
In August the fall of Atlanta happened, and supporters of Lincoln saw that a military victory was possible. On November 8, Lincoln won the election, one of the most important in the history of his country : his anti-slavery ideas would now be able to overcome. The end of the war came also very soon afterwards.
On 10 November 1864, at the White House, the reelected president made an important speech to celebrate his political victory. The paper he wrote with his hand for reading it on that day was sold for $ 3.4M by Christie's on 12 February 12, 2009. Those four pages in excellent condition were owned by the heirs of Lincoln before going into a library that sold them at that auction. This sale was made on the very day of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln, who was born on 12 February 1809.
1865 The Thirteenth Amendment
Intro
The founding fathers of the USA stated that all men are created equal. The slavery of the Negroes is seen as a disgrace by President Lincoln, not for moral or economic reasons but indeed because it opens up the possibility for a persecution of other minorities.
The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution was a major political achievement by Lincoln. It was not an easy operation, especially as the President did not want to wait for the end of the Civil War.
On 8 April 1864 the Senate voted at 38 against 6 a resolution in favor of the thirteenth amendment, but its embedding into the Constitution also required the approval of the House of Representatives and of 3/4 of the States.
In the House, the required 2/3 majority of voters was impossible to achieve in 1864 but the new elections have strengthened the power of Lincoln. The text was accepted on January 31, 1865 at 119 against 56 plus 8 abstentions after a first negative vote.
The official copy is signed by President Lincoln, Vice President Hamlin representing the Senate and Speaker of the House Colfax. It is kept in the National Archives in Washington DC.
Slavery was abolished in the United States of America in December 1865 when Georgia becomes the 27th state to ratify the thirteenth amendment, eight months after the death of the President.
The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution was a major political achievement by Lincoln. It was not an easy operation, especially as the President did not want to wait for the end of the Civil War.
On 8 April 1864 the Senate voted at 38 against 6 a resolution in favor of the thirteenth amendment, but its embedding into the Constitution also required the approval of the House of Representatives and of 3/4 of the States.
In the House, the required 2/3 majority of voters was impossible to achieve in 1864 but the new elections have strengthened the power of Lincoln. The text was accepted on January 31, 1865 at 119 against 56 plus 8 abstentions after a first negative vote.
The official copy is signed by President Lincoln, Vice President Hamlin representing the Senate and Speaker of the House Colfax. It is kept in the National Archives in Washington DC.
Slavery was abolished in the United States of America in December 1865 when Georgia becomes the 27th state to ratify the thirteenth amendment, eight months after the death of the President.
1
Congressional
2025 SOLD for $ 13.7M by Sotheby's
In the enthusiasm of this joint Congress achievement, some manuscript duplicates are prepared from February 1 on the official paper of the Congress.
The clerk of the House of Representatives had a few copies signed by the three official signers plus the Senate secretary Forney, for their own use plus one for himself. Three examples are surviving.
Somebody managed to have manuscript commemorative copies signed by nearly all the congress members who had voted in favor of the amendment, in addition to the four officials. Lincoln endorsed them as 'Approved'. After six days he stopped providing his signature on new examples.
Nine examples are known to survive with the signatures of 36 to 38 senators plus 109 to 117 representatives.
One of them, a large vellum folio 52 x 39 cm with the signatures through five neatly ruled columns, was sold for $ 720K by Christie's on March 27, 2002, lot 95 and for $ 13.7M by Sotheby's on June 26, 2025, lot 27.
The clerk of the House of Representatives had a few copies signed by the three official signers plus the Senate secretary Forney, for their own use plus one for himself. Three examples are surviving.
Somebody managed to have manuscript commemorative copies signed by nearly all the congress members who had voted in favor of the amendment, in addition to the four officials. Lincoln endorsed them as 'Approved'. After six days he stopped providing his signature on new examples.
Nine examples are known to survive with the signatures of 36 to 38 senators plus 109 to 117 representatives.
One of them, a large vellum folio 52 x 39 cm with the signatures through five neatly ruled columns, was sold for $ 720K by Christie's on March 27, 2002, lot 95 and for $ 13.7M by Sotheby's on June 26, 2025, lot 27.
2
Senate
2016 SOLD for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's
Some copies had the signatures of the senators but not of the representatives. The three known examples were signed at the same time by 36 of the 38 approving senators.
One of them is in private hands. This document 55 x 40 cm was sold for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's on May 25, 2016, lot 79.
One of them is in private hands. This document 55 x 40 cm was sold for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's on May 25, 2016, lot 79.
Not 1 but 2 important documents signed by Abraham Lincoln are coming to auction this month: https://t.co/RioDqJhUnY pic.twitter.com/rfhKXhKwj6
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 14, 2016
1865 The Second Inauguration of President Lincoln
2015 SOLD for $ 2.2M by Heritage
Abraham Lincoln was re-elected President of the United States and will soon win the war. The inaugural speech of his second term, delivered on March 4, 1865, is constructed as a reference to divine providence, like a prayer inspired by the Bible.
The concluding paragraph is directly adapted from the Psalms and from King James Bible : "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God fives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve, and cherish a just, and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations ".
Two autograph transcripts of this final paragraph are known. Both were signed by the president. Each has been incorporated into an album that has received comments and signatures from most cabinet members and from Vice President Johnson.
The album of Caroline Wright, a friend of Lincoln's wife and the wife of a former senator from Indiana, was sold by Christie's for $ 1.32M on November 20, 1992, lot 283.
The other album was made for Linton Usher, the son of the Home secretary. The 13-year-old boy often accompanied his father to cabinet meetings. His mother collected the first signatures for him in the days following the inauguration. Other pages were added until 1887, bringing to 74 the total number of inscriptions spread over 43 pages 14 x 22 cm. It was sold for $ 2.2M by Heritage on November 5, 2015, lot 49127.
The concluding paragraph is directly adapted from the Psalms and from King James Bible : "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God fives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve, and cherish a just, and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations ".
Two autograph transcripts of this final paragraph are known. Both were signed by the president. Each has been incorporated into an album that has received comments and signatures from most cabinet members and from Vice President Johnson.
The album of Caroline Wright, a friend of Lincoln's wife and the wife of a former senator from Indiana, was sold by Christie's for $ 1.32M on November 20, 1992, lot 283.
The other album was made for Linton Usher, the son of the Home secretary. The 13-year-old boy often accompanied his father to cabinet meetings. His mother collected the first signatures for him in the days following the inauguration. Other pages were added until 1887, bringing to 74 the total number of inscriptions spread over 43 pages 14 x 22 cm. It was sold for $ 2.2M by Heritage on November 5, 2015, lot 49127.
1865 The Last Speech of President Lincoln
2002 SOLD for $ 3.1M by Christie's
On March 4, 1865, when Lincoln delivered his second inauguration speech, the Civil War was not yet over. General Lee surrendered on April 9. On April 11, from a window in the White House, the President announced the federal reconstruction in a jubilant speech.
Lincoln is proud of his advances in favor of freedom, which he considers indispensable in the spirit of the Constitution. The attribution of civil rights to freed slaves is henceforth unrestricted in that logic.
John Wilkes Booth attends the speech with two other conspirators. Their first idea had been to prepare for a kidnapping but this political statement infuriates him. He says, "That means nigger citizenship ... That is the last speech he will ever give". The crowd is too enthusiastic for immediate action, but Booth keeps his word : on April 14, he kills Lincoln.
The final autograph manuscript of Lincoln's last speech is a 12 page document 35 x 21 cm, 22 lines in black ink on each front side. The writing is very regular, with only six small autograph changes. It is complete, and in superb condition except for small smudges on the first page. Coming from the Forbes collection, it was sold for $ 3.1M by Christie's on March 27, 2002, lot 105.
Lincoln is proud of his advances in favor of freedom, which he considers indispensable in the spirit of the Constitution. The attribution of civil rights to freed slaves is henceforth unrestricted in that logic.
John Wilkes Booth attends the speech with two other conspirators. Their first idea had been to prepare for a kidnapping but this political statement infuriates him. He says, "That means nigger citizenship ... That is the last speech he will ever give". The crowd is too enthusiastic for immediate action, but Booth keeps his word : on April 14, he kills Lincoln.
The final autograph manuscript of Lincoln's last speech is a 12 page document 35 x 21 cm, 22 lines in black ink on each front side. The writing is very regular, with only six small autograph changes. It is complete, and in superb condition except for small smudges on the first page. Coming from the Forbes collection, it was sold for $ 3.1M by Christie's on March 27, 2002, lot 105.
