LOT #43005 |
Current Bid: $625
Abraham Lincoln Autograph Document Signed...
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Description
Abraham Lincoln Directs Payment to Himself in W. & C. Fellows v. Kellar & Snyder
Abraham Lincoln Autograph Document Signed ("A.
Lin-coln") within the body of the document. One page, 7 x 3 1/4
inches. [Springfield, Il]; December 6, 1841. Docketed by Lincoln on
verso, "A. H. Kellar To Order. Wm Savely."Lincoln writes to William Lavely, a Springfield merchant and justice of the peace, authorizing payment of funds collected from John Johnson in connection with a debt-collection matter handled during his partnership with Stephen T. Logan. In full:
"Please pay to A. Lin-coln this amount you may collect for me from John Johnson, and his receipt to this shall be good for the same."
This brief instruction relates to one of the many debt-collection matters that formed the foundation of Lincoln's early legal practice. The document is associated with litigation involving W. & C. Fellows against Abraham H. Kellar and others, in which Lincoln and his law partner Stephen T. Logan represented parties seeking recovery of unpaid funds. Here, Lincoln directs William Lavely, a Springfield merchant and justice of the peace, to remit monies collected from John Johnson.
Though modest in appearance, the document offers a glimpse into the practical realities of Lincoln's profession. Much of his work during the 1840s involved collecting debts, enforcing judgments, and handling routine financial disputes for local clients. Such matters rarely generated landmark legal opinions, but they provided the steady stream of income upon which young attorneys depended.
The note was written during Lincoln's partnership with Stephen T. Logan, a formative period in his legal development. Having dissolved his partnership with John T. Stuart only months earlier, Lincoln was building what would become one of the most successful law practices in Illinois. Documents such as this show him engaged in the everyday legal business that occupied much of his professional life before politics again took center stage.
Condition: Overall, very good with flattened folds, scattered thumbsoiling, and even toning. Minor edgewear to left edge with small loss to top left corner.
References: Benjamin Thomas, "Lincoln: Voter and Candidate, Part II," Bulletin of the Abraham Lincoln Association # 37, December (1934), p. 4.
Literature: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, File ID: L02251, Doc. No. 129778, or File ID: L00478, Doc. No. 129777.
Provenance:
Lincoln & Logan Law Office (w. 1841-44);
Lincoln & Herndon Law Office (w. 1844-1861);
Herndon & Zane Law Office (w. 1861-c. 1868);
Herndon & Orendorff Law Office (w. c. 1867-c. 1877);
Alfred Orendorff (1845-1909);
Lydia Edna Orendorff Macpherson (1885-1977);
John F. Macpherson (1916-1999) and Julia Orendorff Macpherson Webster (1913-1995), co-owners after 1977;
Present owners, living descendants of Alfred Orendorff.
Estimate: $5,000-$10,000.
No minimum bid.
Auction Info
2026 July 30 The Alfred Orendorff Archive: Treasures from the Law Offices of Abraham Lincoln Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6342 (go to Auction Home page)
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