Werner, Abraham GottlobBiblio.com
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1849023028The Wernerian Club 1849. Published in three parts with title page printed in red and black and dated 1849-50. Octavo 143 pages slight occasional age-toning on the text pages two small marginal stamps of Worthing Public Librarybut otherwise extrmely clean internally. Recently bound in an attractive dark green loire cloth very slightly marked. RARE. The most complete edition in any language. Originally published in German in 1774 - "Von den äusserlichen Kennzeichen der Fossilien" - it was later translated by Thomas Weaver Dublin 1805 which had the benefit of incorporating manuscript corrections by the author himself additions which he had circulated amongst his pupils notes taken during his lectures in 1791-92 and hints from the mineralogies of his disciples Wiedenmann and Emmerling. This final edition published by the Wernerian Society incorporates these additions into the same text making them as near as might be to the same text. RARE. The Wernerian Natural History Society 1808 - 1858 commonly abbreviated as the Wernerian Society was a learned society interested in the broad field of natural history and saw papers presented on various topics such as mineralogy plants insects and scholarly expeditions. The Society was an offshoot of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and from its beginnings it was a rather elite organization. This publication was probably the last they produced as there were no meetings from 1850-1856 which coincided with the decline of the president Robert Jameson. It was eventually decided to close the Society down and dispose of its assets. Werner 1749 - 1817 was a German geologist who set out an early theory about the stratification of the Earth's crust and propounded a history of the Earth that came to be known as Neptunism. While most tenets of Neptunism were eventually set aside Werner is remembered for his demonstration of chronological succession in rocks; for the zeal with which he infused his pupils; and for the impulse he thereby gave to the study of geology. He has been called the "father of German geology". Cloth. Very Good. The Wernerian Club Hardcover
189215117London: D. Appleton & Co. Very Good. 1892. First Edition. Hardcover. Clean dark green cloth gilt titles on spine & front cover. All edges gilt. 268pp with 34 additional pages of reviews. Signed by his son editor. Medical life in Upstate New York & New Jersey; B/W Photograph Illustrations; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 268 pages . D. Appleton & Co. hardcover
1885282652Berlin : Bilb. Jacobson & Co. 1885. Hardcover. Good. 12mo in cloth. Wear on edges text block is tight. Spine is moderately strong. Text entirey in Hebrew. Geiger was a leading Reform rabbi during the movement's inception. Bilb. Jacobson & Co. hardcover
1874C92582London: Oxford University Press 1874. Hardcover Hardcover. Very Good. Octavo. x 34 24pp. Blank leaf between each printed page. Black cloth with gilt spine titles. Slight fading and rubbing to corners otherwise very good. Owner details to half title. English and Hebrew text. Oxford University Press, hardcover
186332820640<p>Mammoth albumen print 17 ½ x 22 in mounted oval gilt-rule mat. Retouched vignetted enlargement. A few spots some toning. Very good condition.</p><p>This famous "Gettysburg portrait" with Lincoln looking directly into the camera was made just days before he delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19 1863.</p><p>A giant of American photography Alexander Gardner is credited with introducing the large-format Imperial portrait to the United States while working as a staff photographer for Mathew Brady. Gardner left Brady's employ in early 1863 and his studio quickly rivaled Brady's for the quality and extent of its war and portrait photography. Gardner first photographed Lincoln as president-elect while working for Brady and he went on to take Lincoln's portrait more than any other photographer.</p><p>Lincoln sat for Gardner on several occasions usually visiting his studio on Sunday to avoid crowds. Lincoln sat for this splendid portrait on Sunday November 8 1863. His private secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay joined him. Hay noted in his diary that "We had a great many pictures taken … some of the Prest. the best I have seen." This print emphasizes Lincoln's head and shoulders enlarging them to a size rarely seen.</p><p>The gilt-ruled paper mat is characteristic of the 1860s and 1870s with this style of mat being popular during this period. Moses Rice subsequently had access to Gardner's negatives and routinely signed his prints with his name suggesting that Gardner himself made this enlargement. He died in 1882.</p><p>The photography session of November 8 1863 also produced the mammoth portrait we offer for $95000. That photograph and the present are among the only early mammoth Lincoln portraits we have ever encountered.</p><p>This is the only mammoth example of the famous Gettysburg portrait that we have seen.</p><p>Ostendorf O-77</p>
185013208Washington DC: Office of Printers to the House of Reps 1850. First Edition. Hardcover. Good . Octavo 626pp. illustrated plus six plates. A good or better copy in contemporary 3/4 black leather and marbled boards. Contemporary ownership signature to front free endpaper and small private library label to front paste-down else unmarked. Mild foxing to first and last few leaves. Extremities rubbed and scuffed and the joints tender but sound. An important volume in the pantheon of presidential books which chronicles on pp. 57 and 262 the award of a patent to then-Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Having twice been aboard a riverboat which got stuck on shallow shoals he developed a concept for a bellows fixed under the hull of a riverboat which could be inflated to lift the boat over the obstruction and then retract. Lincoln had been a patent lawyer in the mid-1840s and was closely familiar with the laborious patent application process. <br /> <br /> To this day Lincoln is the only president to have been awarded a patent a fact which contributes to his enduring legacy as an uncommon genius and polymath. As such this tract while unrelated to politics is an essential volume in any substantial Lincoln collection. Uncommon in the trade. Not listed in Monaghan. Office of Printers to the House of Reps hardcover
18638667<p>One partially printed vellum leaf dated February 21 1863 of the appointment of James Alden Jr. as a Captain in the Navy. Signed by President Abraham Lincoln and the Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. Orange embossed seal of the Department of the Navy to bottom. Previous owner's repair to upper right corner see image. Loses at folds see image. James Alden Jr. had an impressive career in the United States Navy having been appointed by Lincoln in aiding to split the Confederacy apart along the Mississippi River ultimately helping in the Battle of Vicksburg. Alden whose direct descendant came to America on the Mayflower assisted in the Mexican-American War before joining the Union during the Civil War.</p><p>The paper measures approximately 14.5 x 17.75 in 37 x 45 cm.</p>
18638703<p>One partly-printed military commisssion on vellum signed by Lincoln as president and countersigned by Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War dated May 16th 1863. The document commissions Benjamin H. Geary as Second Lieutenant to the 13th Infantry Regiment on August 13th 1862. Accession note to top left.</p><p>The document measures 14.75 x 19.5 in</p>
1864175101864. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War Figures Album of pasted oval portraits with signatures underneath each image. 1861. Features most notably Abraham Lincoln with a pasted signature below his image. This mid-nineteenth-century photographic album assembles oval portraits of political and military figures during the Civil War era including a pasted signature beneath an engraved portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the 15th page. Dated inscriptions from 1861 situate the compilation at the outset of national conflict. The inclusion of Lincoln Henry Clay and numerous uniformed figures reflects contemporary practices of collecting and memorializing political leadership through photographic reproduction and autograph acquisition.<br /> <br /> Photographic album measuring approximately 4.5 x 7 inches. Dark green morocco boards with gilt "Photographs" title. Contains 93 black-and-white and sepia portraits most approximately 2.5 x 2.25 inches mounted on pages. Lincoln portrait with separate pasted signature "A. Lincoln"; Henry Clay portrait with pasted signature; additional signatures written directly on album leaves. Spine chipped at head with separation; rubbing along margins; binding intact; photographs generally clear with minor age toning. Overall condition very good. he album reflects nineteenth-century commemorative culture preserving images and autographs of national figures during a transformative political moment. unknown
1861126721861. Mills Clark. Abraham Lincoln life mask originally taken in February 1865 two months before the president's death. Mills' was the second and last life mask taken of Lincoln preserving his features directly from life rather than through later artistic interpretation. The cast is often compared to Leonard Volk's cast taken in 1860 shortly after Lincoln secured the Republican nomination and is a remarkable record of the toll the presidency and Civil War took on Lincoln physically. John Hay secretary to the president once noted that Volk cast shows "a man of fifty-one and young for his years. . . . full of life of energy of vivid aspiration. . . . .Mills' cast is so sad and peaceful in its infinite repose . . . . a look as of one on whom sorrow and care had done their worst without victory is on all the features." The Mills cast captured Lincoln's entire skull unlike the Volk which shows only the face.<br /> <br /> After Clark Mills. Abraham Lincoln life mask cast from the original 1865 mold. Plaster mask showing Lincoln's face from the forehead to below the chin with closed eyes lean cheeks pronounced cheekbones deep-set eyes narrow mouth and beard visible along the jawline. The casting emphasizes the elongated structure of Lincoln's face and preserves the asymmetry and modeling that gave later sculptors a direct reference for portrait accuracy. Mills was a New York born sculpter who developed his own method of creating plaster masks for portrait busts in the 1840s. His works include the equestrian statues of Andrew Jackson and George Washington which now reside in Washington D.C.'s Lafayette Square and Washington Circle respectively as well as the Statue of Freedom which sits atop the United States Capitol dome and over 100 portrait busts of Native American prisoners and Black students at the Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School now Hampton University.<br /> <br /> This original 1865 life mask became an essential source for later Lincoln portraits and sculptures especially after 1865 when artists and monument makers sought models for Lincoln memorials. The pieces has a unique documentary value distinct from painted or engraved likenesses often filtered through personal interpretation. Minor surface wear consistent with age; overall very good condition. Life masks are created in negative molds casts therein are created in relief "after" the original. It is unclear at when this particular cast was taken. unknown
186095830c. 1860. Rare original painting of the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln. After a photograph by Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner. Scottish photographer Alexander Gardner immigrated to the United States in 1856 where he became best known for his photographs of the American Civil War President Abraham Lincoln and the execution of the conspirators to Lincoln's assassination. In near fine condition. In a period frame. The entire piece measures 20.75 by 16.75 inches. Rare and desirable. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through its Civil War and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America abolished slavery and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln began constructing his cabinet on election night and sought to create a cabinet that would unite the Republican party. His eventual cabinet would include his primary rivals for the Republican nomination and although his appointees held differing views on economic issues all were opposed to the expansion of slavery into the territories of the United States. The most senior cabinet post of Secretary of State was appointed to William Seward who had recently failed to win the 1860 Republican presidential nomination and Lincoln's choice for Secretary of the Treasury was Ohio Senator Salmon P. Chase Seward's primary political rival and the leader of a radical faction of the Republican party that sought the immediate abolition of slavery. unknown
186595831Davenport Iowa 1865. Original typographic portrait of Abraham Lincoln composed of his Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1 1863. In near fine condition. Double matted and framed the entire piece measures 26.5 inches by 19 inches. An exceptional piece a rare and desirable piece of Americana. Abraham Lincoln issued the The Emancipation Proclamation or Proclamation 95 on January 1st 1865. The executive order changed the federal legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans from slave to free and made the abolition of slavery an explicit goal of the Union war effort. To ensure emancipation Lincoln pushed for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment and insisted that Reconstruction plans for Southern states require abolition in new state constitutions. Congress passed the 13th Amendment by the necessary two-thirds vote on January 31 1865 and it was ratified by the states on December 6 1865 ending legal slavery. unknown
1864109542Cincinnati: E.C. Middleton 1864. Rare oleographic portrait of Abraham Lincoln by E.C. Middleton. With Middleton's Warranted Oil Colors imprint to the verso of the frame dated 1864. Between 1861 and 1873 E.C. Middleton of Cincinnati published a series oval oleographic portraits intended to have the appearance of oil paintings including thirteen “Portraits of American Statesmen and Heroes.†Middleton invented the method of oleography which used the process of chromolithographic printing with oil based inks mounted on canvas. The portraits were exclusively sold in frames directly through agents by subscription. In near fine condition. Matted and framed. The portrait measures 13.25 inches by 16.25 inches. The entire piece measures 20 inches by 23.25 inches. A rare striking portrait of Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through its Civil War and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America abolished slavery and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln began constructing his cabinet on election night and sought to create a cabinet that would unite the Republican party. His eventual cabinet would include his primary rivals for the Republican nomination and although his appointees held differing views on economic issues all were opposed to the expansion of slavery into the territories of the United States. The most senior cabinet post of Secretary of State was appointed to William Seward who had recently failed to win the 1860 Republican presidential nomination and Lincoln's choice for Secretary of the Treasury was Ohio Senator Salmon P. Chase Seward's primary political rival and the leader of a radical faction of the Republican party that sought the immediate abolition of slavery. E.C. Middleton unknown
1890189727New York: The Century Co. 1890. A superb panorama of the age of Lincoln First edition abundantly extra-illustrated with over 650 letters photographs prints and ephemera crowned by an autograph letter signed by Lincoln as President: an extraordinary collection of signatures from the military and political leaders who shaped the nation in its greatest existential struggle. The authors Lincoln's private secretaries "shared a room at the White House and had an exceptionally close relationship with Lincoln though they stood somewhat in awe of the president. Lincoln and his two secretaries had a good deal of mutual affection. They served Lincoln for four years performing a wide variety of political and personal duties and remaining close friends throughout a working friendship that became the foundation for an important literary collaboration in later years" ANB. Their monumental History remains one of the grandest narratives of Lincoln's life presidency and legacy. The original 10 volumes have here been expanded to 20 and luxuriously bound by Whitman Bennett of New York in blue morocco emblazoned with the American eagle Lincoln's signature and patriotic insignia. The first item is an apparently unpublished autograph letter signed by Lincoln as President dated 2 August 1861 and written from the Executive Mansion to his Secretary of War: "My dear Sir Let Charles S. Hamilton of Wisconsin be a Brigadier General of volunteers". Hamilton 1822-1891 a West Point classmate of Ulysses S. Grant served in the Mexican-American War and commanded companies in Texas and Mississippi between 1848 and 1853. He later settled in Wisconsin and at the outbreak of the Civil War was commissioned colonel of the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry on 11 May 1861. The Lincoln letter here concerns his formal commissioning as brigadier general of volunteers that August. He served in Virginia Tennessee and Mississippi resigning in 1863 in protest at being denied higher command; he rebuffed Lincoln's request that he withdraw his resignation. Also included are four signed letters addressed to Lincoln during his presidency: from the acting governor of Utah Territory the Executive Council of New Hampshire the Pennsylvania congressional delegation and the citizens of Pottsville Pennsylvania. Together the signatures span the military and political leadership of the Civil War. They include former presidents Millard Fillmore and John Tyler and the future president Ulysses S. Grant. Also present are Lincoln's adversaries: Confederate president Jefferson Davis Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens his famous debating rival Stephen Douglas and Robert E. Lee. Lincoln's Cabinet is represented by Gideon Welles Edwin Stanton Salmon P. Chase and William H. Seward. Major Union commanders include Ulysses S. Grant George B. McClellan George G. Meade and Philip Sheridan. The ephemera includes currency and memorial ribbons. Several autograph letters signed by Nicolay and Hay are also bound in together with letters from Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln and his son Robert Todd Lincoln. Bound at the front is a notarized affidavit signed by the New York autograph dealer and expert Thomas F. Madigan dated 3 February 1925 certifying all the letters and documents as authentic. 10 vols extended to 20 224 x 152 mm. Extra-illustrated with 44 photographs 150 autograph letters and documents 13 ephemeral items and 450 plates. Circa 1925 blue morocco by Whitman Bennett of New York spines lettered in gilt gilt eagle and wreath devices to compartments gilt Lincoln facsimile signature to front covers red doublures red silk free endpapers top edges gilt. Joints and extremities neatly restored else a fine set. unknown
1864132045Washington D.C.: War Department Adjutant General's Office 1864-1869. Rare autograph Oath of December 8 endorsement signed and entirely in the hand of the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln with an exceedingly rare contemporary printing of Lincoln's Amnesty Proclamation which includes the wording of the oath itself and a rare carte-de-visite of Lincoln Providence RI: Salisbury Bro. & Co. n.d. One page the endorsement is signed and inscribed by Lincoln “Let these men take the oath of Dec. 8 1863 & be discharged – A. Lincoln Dec. 30 1863.†One page disbound the contemporary printing of the Amnesty Proclamation consists of 6 pages printed by order of the Secretary of War: E.D. Townsend Washington D.C.: War Department Adjutant General's Office February 18 1864. Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in his annual message to Congress on December 8 1863. In the message Lincoln declared that he would offer a pardon to any man who would swear without coercion his allegiance to the Union. This provided then a general pardon to soldiers in the Rebellion and to those too who deserted the Union cause. All Southerners except for high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials could be granted a full pardon by taking the oath and Lincoln guaranteed Southerners that he would protect their private property though not their slaves. The oath read in part “I do solemnly swear in presence of Almighty God that I will henceforth faithfully support protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves so long and so far as not repealed modified or held void by Congress or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court. So help me God.†Double matted and framed. The entire piece measures 17 inches by 19 inches. The autograph pardon is in very good condition. The carte-de-visite is in fine condition. The contemporary printing of the Amnesty Pardon is in fine condition and is exceedingly rare with only one other copy appearing at auction over the course of the past century. An exceptional grouping of Lincolnalia. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War the country's greatest moral cultural constitutional and political crisis and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America abolished slavery and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln ran for President in 1860 sweeping the North in victory. The South was outraged by Lincoln's election and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861. War began in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina just over a month after Lincoln's inauguration and after years of deadly military conflict officially ended on April 9 1865 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House. On April 14 1865 just days after the war's end at Appomattox Lincoln was attending a play at Ford's Theatre with his wife Mary when he was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is remembered as the martyr hero of the United States and is consistently ranked as one of the greatest presidents in American history. War Department, Adjutant General's Office unknown
1864132067April 21 1864. American naval commission signed by Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States and Gideon Welles as Secretary of the Navy. Folio partially engraved on vellum the document is dated April 21 1864 and promotes Charles W. Tracy to the rank of Lieutenant. In near fine condition. Matted and framed with a portrait of Lincoln and engraved plate. The Commission measures 19 inches by 16 inches. The entire piece measures 34 inches by 29.5 inches. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War the country's greatest moral cultural constitutional and political crisis and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America abolished slavery and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln ran for President in 1860 sweeping the North in victory. The South was outraged by Lincoln's election and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861. War began in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina just over a month after Lincoln's inauguration and after years of deadly military conflict officially ended on April 9 1865 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House. On April 14 1865 just days after the war's end at Appomattox Lincoln was attending a play at Ford's Theatre with his wife Mary when he was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is remembered as the martyr hero of the United States and is consistently ranked as one of the greatest presidents in American history. hardcover
187212463Springfield IL: Privately Printed 1872. FIRST EDITION. Frontispiece portrait of Lincoln and 11 text illustrations. Complete with the fold-out map. Blue cloth with blind-ruled boards very lightly rubbed. Generally a fresh and bright copy inscribed in the year of publication to Newton Bateman a well known Illinois educator. First edition. This work describes the life and then the public mourning of the assassinated President. The author details the funeral funeral train and the monument built for Lincoln in Springfield. [Privately Printed] unknown
188944796Chicago: H. W. Rokker Publisher 1889. Monumental Edition. Original brick color publisher's cloth with blind embossed covers and gilt lettered spine. Engraved portrait frontispiece of A. Lincoln with tissue-guard. 458 pages with engraved text illustrations and two intact fold-out maps. Contemporay prior owner signature dated 1897. See photos. Hard Cover. Very Good. H. W. Rokker, Publisher Hardcover
182743570Wien 1827. Ein Buch zur Lehre und Warnung zur Erheiterung und Gemüthsergetzung für Jung und Alt. In einem zeitgemässen Auszuge. St.a.Titelbl.Ex Libris. Guter Zustand Carl Armbruster 8°. Hln. Deutsche Literatur unknown
183846465Nyon - Paris - Lausanne : Giral-Prelaz - Risler - Marc Ducloux 1838. 205x130mm. cartonnage. Plats papier marbr auteur et titre dors au dos. Bel exemplaire. 230 Giral-Prelaz - Risler - Marc Ducloux unknown
189912434n.p.: n.p. 1899. FIRST EDITION. Bound in half morocco and marbled boards; light creasing and soiling. Judd Stewart's copy with his bookplate. Very good. First edition of this inspirational address. Monaghan 1254. [n.p.] unknown
186444789Boston: Little Brown and Company 1864. Original full black cloth blind embossed boards spine lettered in gilt. Frontispiece "Map of the Gettysburg Battlefield and Hospitals." Folding plate "Map of the Grounds and Design For the Improvement of the Soldiers' National Cemetery Gettysburg PA. 1863." The scarce Erratum slip is laid in. Wear and chipping to spine and edges old dampstain affecting the bottom portion of the text. Contains the first authorized appearance of Lincoln's Gettysburg address in book form. Scarce. See photos. First Edition. Hard Cover. Little, Brown and Company Hardcover
189244848Concord N.H. October 1892. First edition. contemporary half morocco. Minor rubbing at extremities; a few light spots to cloth; a very nice copy. 8vo. Illustrated from engraved portraits. Inscribed to an old friend "With the compliments of The Author 1893." hardcover
185127561<p>A list of stockholders entirely in Lincoln's hand filed as evidence in his first significant railroad case. Lincoln's own appearance in the shareholder list represents only the second known instance of a stock purchase by the future president. The Illinois Supreme Court's ultimate ruling in favor of Lincoln and the railroad set an important legal precedent upholding the binding nature of a stockholder's contractual and financial obligations. "The decision subsequently cited in twenty-five other cases throughout the United States helped establish the principle that corporation charters could be altered in the public interest and it established Lincoln as one of the most prominent and successful Illinois practitioners of railroad law" Donald p.155.</p><p><strong>ABRAHAM LINCOLN.</strong> Autograph Manuscript Signed by Lincoln in text constituting his official transcript of the "<em>Subscription Book of the Capital Stock of the Alton and Sangamon Rail Road Company</em>" incorporated February 27 1847 transcribed in early 1851. Comprising a cover sheet titled in Lincoln's hand the joint stock subscription statement and list of 91 shareholders with the number of shares subscribed and leaf with Lincoln's legal docket: "<em>Alton and Sangamon Railroad Company vs. James A. Barret. Copy of contents of subscription book</em>." 8 pp. 6 x 8¼ x ¼ in. With Lincoln's original stock certificate for the six shares noted in his manuscript. One of only two instances of his owning a stock and the only certificate of his known to survive.</p><p><strong>Historical Background</strong></p><p>The Alton and Sangamon Rail Road Company was chartered in 1847 to construct a line from Alton via New Berlin to Springfield. In 1850 however the Illinois General Assembly approved a more direct route bypassing the landholdings of some investors. Claiming breach of contract James A. Barret refused to make further installment payments for his 30 shares of stock as did several others who no longer stood to benefit from the new line. In 1851 Lincoln was hired to compel the defaulting shareholders to pay the balance of their promised investment.</p><p>The tactical details are spelled out in a February 19 1851 letter from Lincoln to William Martin a commissioner for the sale of the company's stock. Four suits were to be brought against stockholders who had subscribed to the initial offering but had then failed to make the additional installment payments. In preparation Lincoln listed the essential documents he would need in order to win a judgment. "We must prove" he advised Martin "that the defendant is a Stockholder" "that the calls have been made" and "that due notice of the calls has been given." To show that the defendants were in fact stockholders Lincoln explained he needed to produce "the subscription book with the defendant's name and proof of the genuineness of the signature together with any competent parole or evidence that he made the advance payment" Basler 2:99.</p><p>Lincoln's meticulous transcript of the subscription book was a key piece of the evidence filed in Sangamon Circuit Court on February 22 1851. The book includes Barret's name and the subscription statement transcribed by Lincoln on page two is explicit about the shareholders' obligations.</p><p><em>We the subscribers to the Capital Stock of the Alton and Sangamon Rail Road Company.do hereby agree.to pay the balance of the installments due on said stock by us subscribed when the same may be called for by the board of Directors of said Company when duly organized in conformity with the Charter approved February 27th 1847.</em></p><p>"<em>A. Lincoln</em>" with six shares for $600 is prominent among the 91 subscriber names. The only other known record of a Lincoln stock purchase dates from 1836 when he bought one share in the Beardstown and Sangamon Canal.</p><p>In June of 1847 as head of a committee to promote subscriptions for the projected railroad Lincoln wrote an open letter to the "People of Sangamon County" appealing for their support. Railroad construction was booming and Lincoln anticipated that a line between Springfield and Alton would prove a lucrative investment for himself and his state. "The whole is a matter of pecuniary interest" he argued. "The proper question for us is whether with reference to the present and the future and to direct and indirect results it is our interest to subscribe. If it can be shown that it is we hope few will refuse" Basler 1:396-398.</p><p>The list of subscribers is itself of considerable interest. It includes John Hay 1775-1865 the grandfather of Lincoln's later secretary John Hay 2 shares Ninian W. Edwards 1809-1889 husband of Mary Todd Lincoln's sister 20 shares John T. Stuart 1807-1885 Lincoln's law partner 5 shares Henry Yates 1786-1865 father of Illinois governor Richard Yates 10 shares Noah W. Matheny 1815-1877 clerk of Sangamon County and others. In the subscription book Henry Yates hedging his bets has added a condition beneath his name: "<em>if the Road intersects the M. & S R R at New Berlin.</em>"</p><p>Lincoln was mindful of the critical issues raised by the Alton and Sangamon lawsuits and "took extraordinary pains to construct an airtight case for his client" Donald p.155. To Martin he pointed out the legal issues adding "I have labored hard to find the law" in preparation for the trials. In the end two of the defaulting stockholders paid their delinquent calls. The suits against James A. Barret and Joseph Klein came to trial in the Sangamon Circuit Court in August of 1851 with Lincoln handling both the trials and the appeals for the railroad.</p><p>Lincoln's preparation proved its worth the rulings were in favor of the railroad. "Illinois Supreme Court Justice Samuel H. Treat ruled that public utility superseded private profit. If Barret had won the case other stockholders would balk at fulfilling their obligations. The rule of caveat emptor protected corporate management from stockholder's personal interests and encouraged subsequent investment" <em>Lincoln Legal Briefs</em> Oct-Dec 1990 no. 16 online.</p><p>At the time he transcribed this document Lincoln was an attorney on the 8th Judicial Circuit and also managed a thriving appellate and federal court practice. He handled a number of railroad-related cases representing both private individuals as well as the railroads themselves. He was not as some have argued a hired gun for corporate interests. Rather as his law partner William Herndon described him Lincoln was "purely and entirely a case lawyer."</p><p>The fact that Lincoln despite his commitment to railroading often handled suits against the carriers casts light on his understanding of the lawyer's role in societyHe simply could not afford to take only one side in legal disputes. Nor did Lincoln pursue some political or philosophical agenda through litigation. He was not concerned with developing a consistent legal ideology. His business as Donald reminds us "was law not morality." James W. Ely "Lincoln as Railroad Attorney" Indiana Historical Society Symposium April 15-16 2005</p><p>Though a prominent lawyer Lincoln was still smarting over recent political defeats. Elected to the U.S. Congress in 1846 he had served out his term but his outspoken opposition to the Mexican-American War had cost him any chance at a second term. He subsequently failed in his attempt to become commissioner of the General Land Office. Lincoln declined an appointment as governor of the Oregon Territory instead returning to his law practice with William H. Herndon in Springfield Illinois. He would not attempt a political comeback until 1854.</p><p>The rail line was ultimately highly profitable. Lincoln's overriding belief in the broader benefits of internal improvements is best expressed in a speech he delivered before Congress in 1848.</p><p>Let the nation take hold of the larger works and the states the smaller ones; and thus working in a meeting direction discreetly but steadily and firmly what is made unequal in one place may be equalized in another extravagance avoided and the whole country put on that career of prosperity which shall correspond with it's extent of territory it's natural resources and the intelligence and enterprize of it's people.</p><p><strong>Reference</strong></p><p>"<em>Barret v. Alton & Sangamon Railroad</em>" in Daniel W. Stowell et al. eds. <em>The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases</em> 4 vols. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press 2008 2:172-210.</p>
1865102324<p>Newspaper 16" x 22" six columns of text small Lincoln engraving 4 pp. Folded at center a few tears and chips at folds and extremities some loss of text at the center fold some aging and browning and a little uneven darkening; despite these faults the paper is in decent condition overall for a newspaper from this period. Dated April 26 1865 this paper provides considerable detail on Lincoln's funeral. The coverage includes an OBIT on Lincoln and a small engraving of the slain president. Most of the coverage is on the second page of the newspaper. The articles include stories on events at the capital to honor Lincoln and the impact of the event on a grieving nation.</p>
