HISTORICAL IMPRINTS, BOOKS, REFRENCE MATERIAL

Two unrecorded imprints - the earliest appearances of Lincoln's name on a federal document... from his brief tenure in Congress.

1. House of Representatives. William Fuller and Orlando Saltmarsh. January 19, 1848. (Thirtieth Congress - First Session. Report No. 102 [To accompany bill H. R. No. 92]), 2pp. 8vo. (5.5 x 9"). A report by "Mr. Lincoln, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads." Lincoln makes a report on "...the petition of Messrs. Saltmarsh and Fuller...", contractors who had been running several mail delivery routes in Georgia. Given the critical nature of operating a national mail system in the first half of the 19th century, this was a significant committee for a young, first-term congressman. Lincoln, of course had some expertise in this area as he had served as Postmaster of New Salem, IL from 1833-37. An extremely early Lincoln imprint, and the only example known. These were printed in small numbers, mainly for the use of Congress. Not listed in Monahan and bears the penciled notation of Ralph Newman at upper left "M[onaghan] 4 1/4". Light dampstain at top right, two tiny chips at right margin, otherwise very good. (Est. $600-1,200)
Click Here to View Image

Unrecorded, unpublished... another of the earliest appearances of Lincoln's name on a federal government document.

2. Not cataloged by Monaghan, pencil noted by Ralph Newman as #M-4 3/4, this is Congressional Report No. 326, March 9, 1848, "Mr. Lincoln, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, made the following REPORT..." These were printed in very small numbers, mainly for the use of Congress. As with the previous lot, this is the ONLY copy sourced, not recorded in any major collection, 5 1/2 x 9". In excellent condition: by definition a true Lincolniana rarity! (Est. $600-1,200)
Click Here to View Image

The "Proof" copy of one of the rarest imprints! Abe as delegate on his first trip to Chicago.

3. Proceedings of the Harbor and River Convention, Held at Chicago, July Fifth, 1847; Together with Full List of Names of Delegates In Attendance: Letters Read at the Convention, And a Detailed Appendix. Published by Order of the Convention. Chicago, R. L. Wilson, Daily Journal Office, 1847, 79p., THE ONLY known copy with front and back covers intact. Moreover... this is the original "Proof" copy retained by the printer; marked as such at bottom of front wrap and signed by his son "John D. Wilson" at top. The "Hon. A. Lincoln" is listed as a Sangamon County delegate on page 17. This mass meeting, held July 5-7, was sponsored by William Mosely Hall of Buffalo, to demonstrate to President Polk that his veto of the Inland Rivers and Harbors Bill was ill-advised, and that such legislation was both desirable and necessary. Twenty-five thousand delegates and visitors converged on Chicago, then a town of merely 16,000 inhabitants with no train access and limited accommodations. They arrived helter-skelter, camping in the streets and on the prairies, or renting rooms in private residences. Whig Congressman Abraham Lincoln, a strong advocate of internal improvements and the development of Illinois waterways, attended. The Chicago Daily Democrat commented: "Hon. A. Lincoln of the Illinois delegation is in this city...[he wore] a short-waisted thin swallow-tailed coat, short vest of the same material, thin pantaloons scarcely coming down to his ankles, straw hat, pair of brogans, and woolen socks." Slight wear to covers as expected, from the famed Lincoln collection of Victor B. Levitt, his bookplate on inside front wrap, 1869 library blindstamp on title page, overall tight and clean, housed in custom slipcase. Three recorded copies; we sold the copy belonging to Lincoln scholar Allen Nevins two years ago - that lacking covers with faults sold for $1,650. Not listed in Monaghan; a supreme rarity for bibliophiles! (Est. $2,500-3,000)
Click Here to View Image

A definitive listing of anyone who was anyone in Illinois in 1858, the year Lincoln ran for the Senate.

4. Illinois State Gazetteer and Directory, 1858-1859. (Chicago, G.W. Hawes, 1859) 444pp. 6" x 9", titled boards with replaced gilt titled leather spine. A rare imprint being the definitive guide to who's who in the state. Includes two listings for the law office of Lincoln and Herndon under the general business listings for Springfield and again under the "Law Register" (p. 207 & 344), misprinted as "Lincoln & Herindon" in both instances. The directory also includes listings for the noted daguerreians, Fassett & Cook and Alexander Hesler (p. 39), both in Chicago. The directory also includes government listings including that for the victor of the 1858 senatorial battle, Stephen Douglas (p. 253). A terrific reference for anyone interested in this pivotal time in Lincoln's, and the nation's, life. Boards rubbed and worn in places, pages clean and intact. Housed in a custom slipcase. (Est. $400-600)
Click Here to View Image

5. [John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry.] A quite scarce copy of: Report of the Select Committee of the Senate appointed to inquire into the late invasion and seizure of the public property at Harper's Ferry... [36th Congress, 1st Session] (Washington: 1860) 255pp., (6 x 9.25") tooled cloth with eagle and shield, reinforced titled spine, with additional blank flyleaves added during rebinding. A highly detailed report into John Brown's famous Harper's Ferry raid which includes the text of Colonel Robert E. Lee's report to the Adjutant General of October 19, 1859 detailing the pursuit and capture of the insurgents under Brown's command. Also includes text of papers captured from John Brown including his new constitution for the United States; organizational papers for his army and other correspondence from 1859; testimony from witnesses and participants in the raid. Interior board pastedowns bear a little foxing, but pages quite clean, and overall fine condition. An excellent resource for anyone studying the finer details of this watershed event in American History; quite scarce. (Est. $100-150)

6. A "Report of the Congressional Committee" on Bloody Kansas. The report, dated July 1, 1856, focuses on the pre-election violence in Kansas. Also includes advertisements for speeches by Charles Sumner and Governor Seward, as well as for special issues of the New York Tribune leading up to the elections. Binding remnants at spine, original string threading intact, great content. (Est. $50-100)
Click Here to View Image

7. Kansas, Utah, and the Dred Scott Decision. Remarks of Hon. Stephen A. Douglas. Delivered in the State House at Springfield, Illinois, on 12th of June, 1857. A fine imprint, 1857, 8pp., uncut sheets, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2". An early pamphlet of a speech by Douglas given at the State House in Springfield on the Dred Scott Decision. A prelude to the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858. Water stain on left, discoloration at top left edge, otherwise fine. (Est. $100-300)
Click Here to View Image

8. Stephen Douglas Collection. A tremendous collection of seven (7) original pamphlets - speeches given by (and one eulogizing) "The Little Giant." Includes Remarks of Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, in Reply to Senators Bell and Dawson on Mr. Bradburys' Resolution... (June 4, 1850), 8pp., an interesting discourse on the wholesale removal of thousands of appointees by the Taylor Administration; Remarks of Hon. Stephen a. Douglas on the Joint Resolution Welcoming Governor Kossuth... (December 11, 1851) 7pp.; Speech of Hon. Stehpen A. Douglas, of Illinois, on The Monroe Doctrine... (February 14, 1853) 16pp., an important speech concerning American expansion into Latin America and in particular, Cuba; Speech of Hon. S. A. Douglas, of Illinois... on the Nebraska Territory. (January 30, 1854), 14pp., uncut; Speech of Hon. S. A. Douglas, of Illinois on Kansas Territorial Affairs... (March 20, 1856) 29pp.; Kansas-Lecompton Convention. Speech of Senator Douglas, of Illinois, on the President's Message... (December 9, 1857) 15pp., uncut; John W. Forney, Eulogy upon the Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, Delivered at the Smithsonian Institute... (July 3, 1861) 28pp. Some of the imprints bear minor foxing and marginal chipping but overall in very good condition. A fine archive. (Est. $400-600)
Click Here to View Image

9. Campaign of 1860 Southern imprint promoting secession! 36pp. pamphlet, printed by Evans & Cogswell of Charleston, SC, and bound in thread. 1860 Association Tract No. 2. State Sovereignty and the Doctrine of Coercion, By the Hon. Wm. D. Porter; Together with a Letter from Hon. J. K. Paulding, Former Sec. of Navy. The Right to Secede, by 'States.' Read and send to your neighbor. This work upholds the right of Southern states to secede from the Union. It is critical of both Lincoln and Douglas. "...Mr. Lincoln advocates boldly and clearly, a war of sections, a war of the North against the South, of free States against slave states-a war of extermination-to be continued relentlessly, until the one or the other shall be subdued, and all the States shall either become free or slave." Some dampstaining and minor chipping to cover- a fine copy overall. (Est. $80-100)
Click Here to View Image

10. Schulyer Colfax on the Confiscation Act. Fine content imprint, 4pp. 6 x 8" , [Washington], April 23, 1862 discussing details of the bill, which when passed in July, 1862, amounted to an emancipation proclamation in the occupied portions of the Confederacy! Colfax notes "The bill that was laid on the table a short time ago would have left the matter in a very indefinite state... I was in favor of the first section... which declares that any man who shall hereafter willfully persist in the unholy rebellion against this Government shall be stripped of his property, of his stocks, of his money, and possessions. But the second section provides that these proceedings shall be in the United States court, and that the court is to order this property to be sold... I felt that it [Supreme Court] might possibly decide that the slaves of these rebels were 'property,' and that then we should be held up before the country and before the world as authorizing the slaves of rebels to be sold, and their proceeds to be paid into the treasury. I do not myself... regard slaves as property..." The speech also discusses letters written in January 1861 by former Sen. David Yulee plotting rebellion. Tiny fold separation at bottom, light toning, otherwise quite bright and clean. (Est. $100-200)
Click Here to View Image

The legal precedent set by Lincoln still being debated today... power of the Executive in time of war.

11. Pamphlet, 15pp., 1862, in titled wraps, Opinion of Judge N. K. Hall, of the United States District Court For the Northern District of New York, on Habeas Corpus in the Case of Rev. Judson D. Benedict. Benedict fell victim to War Secretary Stanton's order to "arrest and imprison any person or persons who may be engaged, by act , speech, or writing, in discouraging volunteer enlistments...or in any other disloyal practice against the United States." Stanton also ordered suspension of habeas corpus. Judge Hall held that no authority for the arrest and suspension of the writ existed as "we are far removed from the several fields of military operations." Some separation at spine, otherwise very good. Scarce. (Est. $150-250)
Click Here to View Image

12. Anti-Gov. Andrew booklet and political diatribe. Sennott On Andrew And Butler, by George Sennott. (Redding & Co., Boston: 1862). 16pp., titled wraps, minor age stains and folds, else quite good. A rift between Massachusetts Gov. John Andrew and Ben Butler over recruitment in the Commonwealth is addressed in this monograph written as an open letter to Andrew. Sennott thoroughly chastises Andrew using language such as found in the following statement: "...until the war broke out there was nothing to relieve the rest of your behavior from its usual pompous and sonorous imbecility." An example of vitriolic politics as published in midst of the Civil War. (Est. $100-150)

One of the most important legal decisions of the Civil War and one which had far reaching consequences in American jurisprudence.

13. Signed by Abraham Lincoln on 15th Sept., 1863 and published and circulated just two days later is this original "War Dept. Adjutant General's Office Washington, Sept. 17, 1863" four page, 5" x 7" "GENERAL ORDER NO. 315" intended for all offices within the War Dept. and all units of the U.S. Army. "ACT SUSPENDING HABEAS CORPUS AND REGULATING JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS IN CERTAIN CASES." This is the original, four page Proclamation with bold printed signature of Abraham Lincoln and added note by the Sec'y of War bringing this to the attention of every officer in the military service of the United States. Light aging; full margins, slightest tattering to extreme edges of bottom and right margin only, very minor. Original penned note that this was "Received Oct. 2, 1863" by the unit to which it was sent. Another fine rarity. (Est. $200-300)
Click Here to View Image

14. Lincoln Amends his Amnesty Proclamation. An original copy of Gen. Order No. 128, signed in type by Lincoln and Seward, 2pp., 4.75 x 7", Washington, March 30, 1864 amending the proclamation of December 8, 1863 providing for an oath of loyalty to the U.S. to soldiers and civilians in the Confederacy. The proclamation notes that the oath shall not apply to those "...in military, naval, or civil confinement or custody, or under bonds, or on parole of the civil, military, or naval authorities, or against of the United States, as prisoners of war... it does apply only to those persons who, being yet at large and free from any arrest... shall voluntarily come forward and take the said oath..." Lincoln further amends his original proclamation allowing the loyalty oath to be "...taken and subscribed before any commissioned officer... in the service of the United States, or any civil or military officer of a State or Territory not in insurrection..." With manuscript docket at top margin "Rec'd April 21st 1864". Clean file holes at left margin, overall very bright and clean, fine condition. (Est. $150-250)
Click Here to View Image

15. "For Five Hundred Thousand VolunteersÖ By The PresidentÖ A ProclamationÖ" three headlines on this War Dept. General Order, Washington, July 19, 1864. It further states that if enlisted volunteers not reach the necessary total number, the balance would be filled by drafting for one year. Signed in type "Abraham Lincoln." This is an official transmitted order, signed on behalf of the Asst. Adj. General by Silas Hannum. At the time, Hannum, who enlisted in 1861 at age 22 as a Private in the 31st MA, was serving as a 2nd Lt. with C Company, 74th CT Infantry. One edge tear lies flat, overall quite fine. Great historic content. (Est. $150-200)
Click Here to View Image

16. The Life of Gen. P.H. Sheridan. By Julian K. Larke (T. R. Daley, New York: 1864.) in pictorial wraps, lacking back cover, 108pp., moderate foxing and dampstain, still quite a scarce military biography from the middle of the war. (Est. $50-$100)
Click Here to View Image

17. A Confederate imprint published to discredit Lincoln. Trials of Abraham Lincoln by the Great Statesmen of the Republic. A Council of the Past on the Tyranny of the Present. The Spirit of the Constitution on the Bench - Abraham Lincoln, Prisoner at the Bar, his own Counsel. 1863 (#M-251) Quotations from Lincoln and others, selected to discredit his administration. A quite fine copy with great anti-Abe rhetoric! (Est. $100-150)
Click Here to View Image

18. Bound in original "Congressional Cloth" - Lincoln's Address to Congress 1861. An important book: Message of the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress at the Commencement of the Second Session of The Thirty-Seventh Congress. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1861), Volume I, 839p. 8vo., (6 x 9.25"), in original Congressional tooled cloth boards with the Great Seal of the United States and titled spine. M-109. Lincoln's Message to Congress on December 3, 1861, begins the volume. He opens with a review of the activities of "disloyal citizens of the United States who have offered the ruin of our country, in return for the aid and comfort which they have invoked abroad..." He concedes that the "last ray of hope for preserving the Union peaceably expired at the assault upon Fort Sumter." Lincoln expresses confidence in General McClellan, and insists that "the insurrection is largely, if not exclusively, a war upon the first principle of popular government- the rights of the people." In contrast to the slaveocracy's ideal of a fixed, hierarchical society Lincoln asserts that "Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed...There is not, of necessity, any such thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that condition for life." Also present is material relating to foreign affairs, with correspondence between Seward and Charles Francis Adams, the U.S. Ambassador to England; and reports of the Interior, War, and Navy Departments. Monaghan records only Lincoln's 20- page Message, and not the accompanying reports. Some slight chipping and wear to boards and spine, binding a tad loose, pages bright and mostly quite clean. (Est. $200-300)

19. General Orders for all of 1864. A bound set bearing the title page: Index of General Orders Adjutant General's Office, 1864. (Government Printing Office: Washington, 1865) separate paginations, 8vo., (5 x 7"), bound in brown cloth with titled spine. A set of General Orders on a wide range of subjects including promotions, courts martial, prisoners, bounties, substitutes, chaplains, surgeons and much more. Includes an order setting rations for "adult colored persons commonly called 'Contrabands'" (No. 30); General order No. 75, a joint congressional resolution which includes the empowerment of the President to "...during this present war... call for such number of men for the military service of the United States as the public exigencies may require..." And at least two draft calls including Number 35 calling for 500,000 men and No. 100 calling for an additional 200,000. Much more fine content. Note, non-collated, appears mostly complete, however we note at least one order absent (No. 232). Pages clean, overall very fine. (Est. $400-800)
Click Here to View Image

20. Rare and early imprint on the Battle of Gettysburg. 5 x 8" twelve-page booklet (last two blank) dealing with the Battle of Gettysburg. Key to Bachelder's Isometrical Drawing of the Gettysburg Battle-field with A Brief Description of the Battle. Published in 1864 by O. A. Alvord in New York. The titled cover is printed in gold ink on blue coated stock (hard to photograph but quite bright and fine). Generally in excellent shape save for some minor chipping around the edges. This was issued in conjunction Bachelder's famous battlefield map, to identify various topographical features. (Est. $100-150)
Click Here to View Image

21. Putting General Banks in command of Louisiana. Period issued circular, 5.25 x 8", detailing a letter from President Lincoln to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks asking Banks to become responsible for the new state government in Louisiana (despite Lincoln's belief that Banks does not want the job). Banks would answer on the same day, stating that he is not dissatisfied with the post and that he would go to the White House that evening. Banks succeeded Ben "Beast" Butler as Commander of the Dept. of the Gulf. Likely printed and circulated by Louisiana unionists. Small loss at left upper corner and left side, otherwise quite fine and no doubt rare. (Est. $200-250)
Click Here to View Image

22. A Letter to Peter Cooper, on The Treatment to be extended to the Rebels Individually, and The Mode of restoring the Rebel States to the Union. With a letter from President Lincoln. By C. P. Kirkland, 1865, 20pp., #M-587. Lacking blank back wrap, front wrap shows toning to titled area, otherwise quite tight and clean. An extremely scarce imprint. (Est. $80-120)
Click Here to View Image

Two official Confederate imprints providing for the holding of elections to the Congress of the Confederate States... one for states in open rebellion...another for those states occupied by the "public enemy."

23. Both copies are from Rebel Archives and are stamped as such. The imprints, each dated February 28, 1863, call for elections "on the first Wednesday in November and every 2 years thereafter..." Fine examples of Confederate democracy! (Est. $150-300)

Sacrifices for the cause... horses and ships for the C.S.A.!

24. Two wonderful Confederate imprints regarding compensation to be given to Confederate citizens for the seizure of their property for prosecution of the war. One, dated March 12, 1863, 3pp., bears on its first page a transmittal with the "Rebel Archives" stamp, signed in type by President Jefferson Davis and details claims made for three ships "seized by order of the military authorities for the public use." The other is a bill, January 20, 1865, providing that cavalrymen whose horses and saddles were taken by the Confederacy (cavalrymen rode their own horses) would be reimbursed. Two fine pieces. (Est. $150-300)
Click Here to View Image

25. Out of the Military. Two "Rebel Archive" stamped imprints. The first, 3pp. with "Rebel Archives" stamp, February 12, 1863, is a bill allowing furloughs for soldiers requiring more than a month to heal and discharges from the army for those permanently unfit for duty. Together with an undated bill, 8pp., untrimmed at the top, exempting certain persons from military duty including religious ministers, although "Dunkards, Nazarines, or Menonists... shall furnish a substitute or pay a tax of five hundred dollars..." Two great - and quite scarce - C.S.A. documents. (Est. $150-300)

26. The high cost of war. Stamped "Rebel Archives," two (2) imprints providing funds to continue prosecuting the War by the Confederate States of America. One, January 27, 1863, 3pp., bears on its first page a transmittal signed in type by President Jefferson Davis and outlines the estimated cost for ordnance during 1862. Together with a similar 2pp. document, February 7, 1863, also signed in type by Jefferson Davis. The second page lists the number of additional clerks needed to prosecute the war (and their cost!). Two neat items. (Est. $150-200)

27. Two additional "Rebel Archives" stamped government imprints. The first, 6pp., February 4, 1863, signed in type by President Jefferson Davis, discusses the contracts for ice to be supplied to army hospitals. A two inch tear at the left bottom else quite fine. The second, 4pp., January 17, 1865, signed in type by President Jefferson Davis, deals with the effort to prepare journals regarding the business before the Confederate House of Representatives and the Proceeding of the Convention which framed the Provisional and Permanent Constitutions of the Confederate States. Slight damage at right edge else fine. Two (2) fine items. (Est. $150-300)