Lincoln Books

Description: Large frame of autographs of people who were in the Petersen House on April 14, 1865. 1. Chase, Salmon, Secretary of the Treasury, 4 ¾” by 2 ¼” portion of a canceled Treasury Department envelope with Chase’s signature. According to Ed Steers, Chase did not actually go onto the Petersen House. 2. Usher, John Palmer, Secretary of the Interior, small clipped signature mounted on a 3 ½” by 1 ¾” inch piece of paper. 3. Meigs, Montgomery, Quartermaster General, 3 ½” by 1 ¾” card signed with his rank. 4. Tanner, James, lost both legs at the Second Battle of Bull Run, learned a form of shorthand at Ames Business College, and, at the time of Lincoln’s assassination, was living next door to the Petersen House. He took the testimony of the witnesses, 7 ¾” by 4 ¾” autographed letter on Custom House, New York City, stationary, dated January 21, 1876. The letter is to Martin Ingham Townsend, a member of Congress from New York, congratulating him on a speech he has just given. 5. Welles, Gideon, Secretary of the Navy, 7 ¾” by 9 ½” letter signed on Navy Department stationary, dated Oct. 18, 1864, concerning a schedule showing the amount to be paid for advertising for supplies and rations. 6. Six pages from a diary relating to Lincoln’s death and funeral. From information I have been able to gather, the diary was kept by someone who was in the paper making business in Philadelphia. Good Friday April 14 President Lincoln was shot in the back part of the Head at “Fords Theatre” Washington by J. Wilkes Booth, the Actor who after commiting the awfull deed jumped out of the Private Box on to the stage with a dagger in his hand & fled through the back way of the Theatre & escaped on a horse that was waiting for him. April 15 Saturday President Lincoln died this morn at 22 minutes past 7 o’clock AM. he never spoke after he was shot. The city was put in deep morning, all the flags was put half mast April 17 Monday no work the whole city like Sunday April 19 Wednesday Still looks like Sunday all the churches had a funeral sermon The President was buried in Washington and all the bells toled & minuits guns were fired & in fact everything looked as though everybody was dead & was being buried April 22 Saturday All the stores, factories & workshops closed & draped in deep morning the President’s body arrived at 5 ½ o’clock PM see description April 23 Sunday Got up at 3 o’clock AM & went with wife and Franc to see the president got to the state house at 4 o’clock & had to wait in a crowd until 6 o’clock two long hours, the band in the steeple played morning & dead marches I have not removed anything from the frame, but can see that there is writing on the back side of these pages. I hope the description of Lincoln’s body arriving in Philadelphia might be what is referred to in “see description”. 7. Barnes, Joseph K., Surgeon General of the United States Army, 4” by 2” card signed with title. 8. Lincoln, Robert T., 2 1/8” by 4 ¼” card signed February 24, 1894. 9. Colfax, Schuyler, 4 3/8” by 1 1/8” signature from the closing of a letter. 10. Fessenden, William P., 3 5/8” by 2”, and he has added “Portland Apr. 24, 1865”. 11. Dennison, William, 11” by 8 ½” document signed in 1861 while he was governor of Ohio, appointing E.E. Kennon as Notary Republic. 12. Stanton, Edwin, 3 ¾” by 1 ½” closing of a letter signed while he was Secretary of War. 13. Holt, Joseph, 4” by 1 ½”, signed on March 28, 1867, while he was Judge Advocate General. Holt was the chief prosecutor of the eight defendants charged with murdering President Lincoln. 14. Sumner, Charles, 3 ¾” by 1 ½”, Massachusetts Republican Senator during the Civil War.

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Description: ____________Cadiz, Ohio check signed.

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Description: A 4” by 3” card signed by Boston Corbett, who shot and killed John Wilkes Booth at the Garrett farm. Besides his name, he has written on the card “Late Sargt. Co. 16th N.Y. Vol. Cavalry Sept. 1st 1876”. Framed with the autograph are CDVs of Corbett, John Wilkes Booth, and President Lincoln, in addition to an engraving of Ford’s Theatre. Overall, the frame measures 24” by 14”.

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Description: While not signed by Stanton, Barnes, nor Vincent, an interesting document relating to all three who were at Lincoln’s death bed. In full, it reads, “It appearing to the Court that in making up the Record of the proceedings of the Orphan’s Court held on the 3rd day of May A.D. 1870, there was an omission to enter the appointment of Dr. Joseph K. Barnes and Genl. Thomas M. Vincent as having been appointed appraisers of the personal estate of Hon. Edwin M. Stanton deceased, it is now this 30th day of July 1870 ordered that said appointment be entered on the record of the Court”. This 8” by 11” document is signed by the register of wills and has the red seal intact. Very good condition.

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Description: Check signed by Cox in 1888 as a trustee. The check was drafted on the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank. Cox graduated from both Georgetown and Harvard Law School. He was appointed as attorney for Arnold and O’Laughlin during their trial for conspiring to kill President Lincoln. In 1881 Cox was a judge and presided over the murder trial of Charles Guiteau, President Garfield’s assassin. Cox died in 1906. Good+ condition.

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Description: Crook was one of President Lincoln’s bodyguards. Of the original four guards Thomas Pendel became a doorkeeper at the White House and was replaced by Crook. Crook believed that had John Parker been at his post, Booth could not have killed Lincoln. Crook has signed as Secretary on a land grant during President Arthur’s administration. Good+ condition with red seal intact.

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Description: Autograph of Dr. John R.W. Dunbar on the cover of a pamphlet of the By-laws for the Government of the Vestry of St. Peter’s Protestant Episcopal Church (1840). Dr. Dunbar was a native of Virginia and a Baltimore physician. He went with the Baltimore troops to Harper’s Ferry at the time of the John Brown raid in 1859. He was also present at the reburial of John Wilkes Booth in Baltimore in 1869.

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Description: Two page letter on Western Union Telegraph stationary to Senator Applegate concerning construction of a bath house and about possible litigation, dated May 5, 1894. Mailing envelope included. Good+ condition.

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