Top 10 Items of Abraham Lincoln Memorabilia As the film of his life heads towards Oscar glory, and on the anniversary of his birth in 1809, Wikicollecting takes a look at our favourite items of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia ever sold at auction.
News-Antique.com - Feb 12,2013 - 10) Wedding present - $71,700
Abraham Lincoln bought a wedding gift for his fiancée in 1841, a blue enamel diamond-studded, 18-karat gold timepiece with an inscription. He broke off the engagement and gave the watch to a friend. Despite the fact he did marry Mary Todd later on, she never saw the watch.
Sold for $71,700 at Heritage Auctions in February 2006.
9) Inkstand - $80,662
Abraham Lincoln’s wooden inkstand with two glass inkwells.
Sold for $80,662 at Heritage Auctions in November 2008.
8) Folding brass dividers - $83,650
A pair of brass folding dividers, owned by Lincoln and used by him during the civil war to trace distances on maps.
Sold for $83,650 at Heritage Auctions in November 2008.
7) Spectacles - $179,250
A pair of adjustable spectacles that belonged to Abraham Lincoln.
Sold for $179,250 at Heritage Auctions in November 2008.
6) Signed beardless photograph - $180,000
An early albumen photograph of Lincoln, minus his famous beard and signed by him. Taken at the time of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Sold for $180,000 at Profiles in History in July 2008.
5) Inaugural speech - $1,320,000
Handwritten speech signed by Lincoln, part of his second inaugural address. Delivered a month before his assassination, in March 1865. Includes the famous words: ‘With malice towards none; with charity for all’.
Sold for $1,320,000 at Christie’s in November 1992.
4) Last speech - $3,086,000
Handwritten manuscript of Lincoln’s last address as President, delivered from the Whitehouse on April 11, 1865.
Sold for $3,086,000 at Christie’s in March 2002.
3) Slave children letter - $3,401,000
A handwritten letter from Lincoln to Mrs Horace (Mary Tyler Peabody) Mann, discussing a petition from young people to the President, imploring him to free slave children. Dated 1864.
Sold for $3,401,000 at Sotheby’s in April 2008.
2) Election speech - $3,442,500
A handwritten script of Abraham Lincoln’s election victory speech, delivered in Washington on November 10 1864.
Sold for $3,442,500 at Christie’s in February 2009.
1) Emancipation proclamation - $3,778,500
Copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all American slaves including in the states still rebelling against the Union during the Civil War. Signed by Lincoln.
Sold for $3,778,500 at Sotheby’s in December 2010. Another example sold for $2.1 million at Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries in June 2012.
