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Abraham Lincoln Autograph Letter Signed....
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Description
A year after running for Senate and the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln declines an invitation citing: "I lost nearly the whole of last year, which makes it necessary for me to stick the closer to business"
Abraham Lincoln Autograph Letter Signed. One page, 8 x 9 7/8
inches, Springfield, Massachusetts; May 16, 1859. Silked and bound
into a custom green cloth folio, measuring 8 1/4 x 10 1/8 inches.
In a letter addressed to "G. W. Greenwood, Esq," the future
president declines an invitation to attend a commencement ceremony
at Lombard University, citing professional obligations.The letter reads, in full: "Reaching home on the 14th I found your kind note of the 6th inviting me to attend the commencement of Lombard University, beginning on the 6th of June. Our Federal court here will be in session then; and I can not leave it-I lost nearly the whole of last year, which makes it necessary for me to stick the closer to business this- Please make my apology to the committee, and accept for them and yourself, my thanks for the invitation." Signed, "A. Lincoln."
Lincoln had "lost nearly the whole of last year" engaged in one of the most pivotal political battles of his life-the campaign for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois against Stephen A. Douglas, culminating in the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates. The central issue of the campaign was the expansion of slavery into the western territories, especially in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which Douglas had championed.
Although Lincoln ultimately lost the 1858 Senate race to the incumbent, the campaign proved instrumental to his burgeoning political career. The two men engaged in a series of seven public debates held between August and October of that year. These events attracted large audiences, the debate at Knox College in Galesburg drew an estimated 16,000 people, including many students from nearby Lombard University. It marked the first time political debates received widespread press coverage. Both candidates spoke as if addressing a national audience, and Lincoln used the opportunity to strengthen his standing as a rising political figure and a representative of the fledgling Republican Party, founded just four years earlier.
After losing the Senate race, Lincoln returned to his law practice in Springfield. Despite personal doubts about his electability, his name appeared frequently in newspapers as a potential Republican presidential nominee. In January 1860, Lincoln informed political allies he would accept the nomination if offered. In the months that followed, papers such as The Central Illinois Gazette, The Chicago Press & Tribune, and others formally endorsed his candidacy.
The letter is accompanied by an assortment of 20th century legal papers referencing the letter, a hand-colored copy image enlarged photograph of G.W. Greenwood in uniform originally taken during the war (8 x 10 inches), and a three-page typescript prepared by Greenwood in 1926 describing his attendance at the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Galesburg in 1858, voting for Lincoln in 1860, and his enlistment in the 11th Regiment Illinois Cavalry, Company C in 1861.
Condition: Silked on both sides to reinforce wear along the folds. Paper has been expertly added along a diagonal tear at top left affecting a few letters; with adhesive stains along said tear. Flattened folds, not touching text. Moderate soiling and staining throughout. Some offset toning along edges.
Auction Info
2025 August 8 Historical Manuscripts Including Texana Signature® Auction #6322 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2025
8th
Friday
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