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Freeman's | Hindman: Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln

Auction Reports


Auction Name	Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln	Total Sales (USD)	7,967,194.00
Auction Date	May 21, 2025 - May 21, 2025	Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)	3,661,600.00
Sale Number	#6441	High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)	5,553,100.00
Total Lots	144
Sold Lots	138.0	Low Estimate of All Lots (USD)	4,001,600.00
% of Lots Sold	95.83%	High Estimate of All Lots (USD)	6,083,100.00
Unsold Lots	6	Total Sales as a % of High Est.	130.97%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number	Author Name	Book Title	Year Published	Estimate	Actual Price
114		[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. A pair of stained leather gloves carried by President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on the night of his assassination, 14 April 1865.		USD 800,000.00 - 1,200,000.00	USD 1,512,500.00
113		[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. A handkerchief carried by President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on the night of his assassination, 14 April 1865.		USD 100,000.00 - 200,000.00	USD 826,000.00
122		$100,000 Reward! The murderer of our late beloved President, Abraham Lincoln, is still at large. 20 April 1865.	1865	USD 80,000.00 - 120,000.00	USD 762,500.00
2	LINCOLN, Abraham	Lincoln's Autograph Sum Book Leaf, signed twice, Pigeon Creek, Spencer County, Indiana, ca. 1824	ca. 1824	USD 300,000.00 - 400,000.00	USD 521,200.00
111		[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. A cuff button worn by President Abraham Lincoln on the night of his assassination at Ford's Theatre, 14 April 1865.		USD 200,000.00 - 300,000.00	USD 445,000.00
108		Orchestra ticket stub for Our American Cousin, 14 April 1865.	1865	USD 50,000.00 - 70,000.00	USD 381,500.00
55	HESLER, Alexander	Oval Bust Portrait by Alexander Hesler, signed ("A. Lincoln"), ca. 3 June 1860.	1860	USD 100,000.00 - 150,000.00	USD 254,500.00
33	LINCOLN, Abraham	Autograph letter signed ("A. Lincoln") to Jesse O. Norton, 16 February 1855.	1855	USD 120,000.00 - 180,000.00	USD 229,100.00
8	LINCOLN, Abraham	The Adams Handbill, The Only Known Surviving Copy Of Lincoln's First Printed Work, 5 August 1837.	1837	USD 200,000.00 - 300,000.00	USD 178,300.00
21	LINCOLN, Abraham	The "Bass-Ackwards" Manuscript, Lincoln's Frontier Ribaldry		USD 200,000.00 - 300,000.00	USD 178,300.00
105	LINCOLN, Abraham	First Printing of Lincoln's Celebrated Second Inaugural Address, 1865.	1865	USD 40,000.00 - 60,000.00	USD 165,600.00
139		Lincoln Family Locks of Hair		USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	USD 127,500.00
56	LINCOLN, Abraham	Autograph letter signed ("A. Lincoln") to Joshua Reed Giddings, 26 June 1860.	1860	USD 80,000.00 - 120,000.00	USD 114,800.00
107		Advance ticket for the April 14, 1865 Performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre.	1865	USD 50,000.00 - 70,000.00	USD 108,450.00
110		[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. A piece of President Abraham Lincoln's coat worn on the night of his assassination at Ford's Theatre, 14 April 1865.		USD 100,000.00 - 150,000.00	USD 102,100.00
7	LINCOLN, Abraham	Autograph letter signed ("A. Lincoln") as Postmaster, to Blair and Rives, 3 November 1835.	1835	USD 80,000.00 - 120,000.00	USD 95,750.00
74		First Official Broadside Printing of The Emancipation Proclamation		USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	USD 95,750.00
112		Mose Sandford Autograph Letter signed on the transportation of Lincoln's body to the White House, 17 April 1865.	1865	USD 100,000.00 - 200,000.00	USD 89,400.00
121		$30,000 Reward. Description of John Wilkes Booth! ca. 16 April 1865.	1865	USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	USD 60,800.00
32	LINCOLN, Abraham	Autograph letter signed ("A. Lincoln") to Richard Yates, 14 January 1855.	1855	USD 60,000.00 - 80,000.00	USD 57,600.00
44	LINCOLN, Abraham	The Doheny Copy of the Lincoln and Douglas Debates, Inscribed by Lincoln.		USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	USD 57,600.00
65		Lincoln White House drinking glasses, ca. 23 July 1861.	1861	USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	USD 57,600.00
123	TOWNSEND, Edward Davis	Autograph letter signed ("E.D. Townsend"), and signed invitation for Embalmer Charles D. Brown, 20 April 1865.	1865	USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00	USD 57,600.00
6	LINCOLN, Abraham	Lincoln's "National Debt", One of his Earliest Extant Documents, 19 October 1833.	1833	USD 50,000.00 - 80,000.00	USD 51,200.00
81	LINCOLN, Abraham	Carte-de-visite photograph signed ("A. Lincoln") by Alexander Gardner, 9 August 1863.	1863	USD 40,000.00 - 60,000.00	USD 51,200.00

Sotheby’s
Book Week
December 9-17, 2025

Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.

Sotheby’s
Book Week
December 9-17, 2025

Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.