LOT #35158 |
Sold on Feb 11, 2010 for: Sign-in
or Join (free & quick)
Mary Todd Lincoln Autograph Letter Signed with Carte de Visite and Elizabeth Keckley Book. The black-bordered le... (Total: 3 Items)
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Sold on Feb 11, 2010 for:
$10,755.00
Bid Source: Internet bidder
Get one of these:
Explore Available Items
Description
Mary Todd Lincoln asks that freedwoman Elizabeth Keckley be forgiven a debt on the day both left the White House for good
Mary Todd Lincoln Autograph Letter Signed with Carte
de Visite and Elizabeth Keckley Book. The
black-bordered letter (one page, 5" x 8", May 22. 1865, n.p.) was
written only thirty-eight days after President Lincoln was
assassinated and the very day Mrs. Lincoln left the White House for
Chicago, making this one of the last letters she wrote from the
White House. It is written to Elizabeth Keckley, a freedwoman who
was also one of Mrs. Lincoln's closest friends. A successful
seamstress, Mrs. Keckley first met Mrs. Lincoln in 1861. She was
soon hired as the first lady's modiste. After the death of Willie
Lincoln, Mrs. Keckley likely influenced Mrs. Lincoln to become a
spiritualist seeking to speak to the dead. By the time the
president was assassinated, the two ladies were very close and Mrs.
Keckley was one of the few Mrs. Lincoln allowed to comfort her.
Through this letter, Mrs. Lincoln asks [Lewis] Clephane to excuse
Mrs. Keckley from "any liability"; in full: "Mrs. Keckley
has been with me for two months past & has really nothing is poor.
Please excuse her from any liability as she is really with nothing.
Very respectfully/ Mary Lincoln" (the closing, signature, and
date are written on the verso). Interestingly, in the first line of
the letter, Mrs. Lincoln initially wrote "Liz", but then
wrote "Mrs. Keckley" over it. At the top of the letter in
another hand, likely Mr. Clephane's, is written in pencil "Mrs.
President Lincoln/ May 22/65." The letter is slightly wrinkled
with minor stains. One tear along top right edge. Fine
condition.President Lincoln had appointed Lewis Clephane, one of the Republican Party's founders, Deputy Postmaster of Washington in 1861 and, later in 1864, Collector of Internal Revenue for the District of Columbia. On the day Mrs. Lincoln wrote this letter, she, accompanied by her sons Robert and Tad and Mrs. Keckley, left the White House for Chicago. The sad event is recorded in Mrs. Keckley's book 1868 book, Behind the Scenes: Formerly a Slave, but more recently modiste, and friend to Mrs. Lincoln or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. A recent printing (Lakeside Classics, Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1998, 312pp), is included in this lot. Also included is a CDV of the first lady wearing a flowing mourning dress while sitting in a chair, hands clasped. Both book and CDV are in fine condition.
Auction Info
2010 February Signature Historical Manuscripts Auction #6039 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
February, 2010
11th-12th
Thursday-Friday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 2
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 4,682
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid per lot.
Shipping, Taxes, Terms and Bidding
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Important information concerning Sales Tax and Resale Certificates. Learn More
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms