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Heritage Auctions Celebrates Lincoln and His Times

DALLAS, TX – Beginning February 12, the historic Americana I have handled.”
212th anniversary of President Abraham This auction also counts among
Lincoln’s birth, Heritage Auctions will offer its offerings numerous rare and cov-
530 documents and artifacts associated eted items signed by Lincoln,
with The Great Emancipator, among them including a carte de visite taken by
one of the most cited and significant letters Mathew B. Brady in Washington,
of his presidency written in the aftermath of D.C., on Jan. 8, 1864, signed by the
the Battle of Fredericksburg. It has been decades president. There are also numerous
since such a vaunted and valuable assemblage documents penned and signed by
of Lincolnalia has been offered at auction, the president, including an oft-cited
perhaps not since Oliver Barrett’s celebrated 1848 letter in which he supports
collection was sold in 1952. then-General Zachary Taylor’s
“When my colleagues and I began candidacy for the presidency.
discussing this auction last year,” says In this auction, many pieces also
Curtis Lindner, Heritage Auctions’ come from Dr. Blaine Houmes, a
Director of Americana, “we never collector of many categories of
realized the breadth and depth of the Lincolnalia with a focus on the Abraham Lincoln: The President writes
material that would be offered. We president’s assassination. These to the Army of the Potomac after the
have held Lincoln-related auctions in include tracings of Abraham Union Defeat at the Battle of
the past, but this is far and above the Lincoln’s feet for a pair of his boots, Fredericksburg.
best to date – an extraordinary event and a rocking chair owned by Mary Todd Lincoln and used during her
filled with historic achievements, four-month stay at Bellevue Place Sanitarium in Batavia, Illinois, in 1875.
none more so than the amendment Just as this auction follows Lincoln’s life, so, too, does it contain several
abolishing slavery.” significant items related to his death, including Booth’s riding crop from
The two-day event, Lincoln and the assemblage of the late Dr. John Lattimer, the esteemed Columbia
His Times, to be held February 12- University urologist who was also a renowned collector of relics related to,
13, spans the course of Lincoln’s life among other subjects, Lincoln’s death. The black “swagger stick” with the
Abraham Lincoln: His Personal and career, from his days of practicing gold-plated handle, with which the assassin can be seen posing in
Example of His Iconic Portrait Bust by law in Springfield, Illinois, through numerous photos featured in Richard and Kellie Gutman’s 1979 book
Leonard Volk, Presented to Him by his wartime presidency. John Wilkes Booth Himself, was gifted to Booth by Neal Bryant, who,
the Sculptor Himself.
It includes an item likely to be along with his two brothers, ran a minstrel
considered among the most extraordinary—and historically signifi- show on Broadway from 1857 to 1867.
cant—Lincoln artifacts ever to appear at auction: Lincoln’s personal The men were good friends with Booth, as
copy of his portrait bust by Chicago artist Leonard Volk, made before evidenced by the engraving: “Neal Bryant
Lincoln’s nomination as the Republican presidential candidate and pre- to J. W. Booth.”
sented to the Lincolns by Volk in May 1860. Upon their departure for But perhaps no item linked to the
Washington, D.C., the following year, the Lincolns gifted the bust to assassination is more sought-after than the $100,000 reward
Rev. Noyes Miner, a Baptist minister who lived across the street from broadside issued by the U.S. War Department on April 20,
the Lincolns and was “a friend very much beloved by my husband,” per 1865, for information concerning the whereabouts of “THE
a letter written by Mary Todd Lincoln in 1873. With much fanfare the MURDERER” Booth and confederates John H. Surratt
Miner family donated the 16th president’s Bible to the Abraham (misspelled “Surrat”) and David C. Herold (misspelled
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in 2019, but until now, this “Harold”). This poster from what has been deemed the most
bust has remained in the Miner family’s possession. important manhunt in American history is but one of a handful
Lincoln and His Times also features myriad of other pieces that have known to exist. So coveted and significant is this item that
never before been to auction, among them George Armstrong Custer’s another sold at Heritage Auctions in September for a record
gold-braided 7th Cavalry shoulder knots. According to a 1990 letter of $275,000, breaking the previous auction record for a Booth
provenance that accompanies the shoulder knots, from noted arms- broadside set earlier in 2021.
and-armor authority Greg Martin, they came directly from Craig For more information on this historic auction, visit
Custer, great-grandson of Neven Custer, George’s farm-tending brother. www.HA.com.
Wrote Martin, these shoulder knots are “one of the greatest pieces of
John Wilkes Booth: Personally-Owned Swagger Stick or Riding Crop

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