Description:

Lincoln Abraham

Original wooden pen with metal fixtures and point, measuring 7.5” (including 1.5” metal point), with notarized affidavit of Mary Edwards Brown, one page, 8.5” x 11”. Sangamon County, Illinois, October 16, 1957. In full, “This pen was made from a twig from the Elm tree planted by Abraham Lincoln in front of his home on the corner of Eighth and Jackson streets in Springfield, Illinois.” Fine condition.

Provenance: Abraham Lincoln purchased this home in 1844 and lived there until he left for Washington in February 1861. In 1887, Robert Todd Lincoln deeded the only home his father ever owned to the State of Illinois. He asked the Governor to appoint his first cousin Albert S. Edwards, son of Ninian and Elizabeth Todd Edwards, as custodian of the Lincoln home and it was done. Elizabeth was Mary Todd Lincoln’s sister. When Edwards died in 1915, his widow, Josephine, succeeded him. Their daughter, Mrs. Mary Edwards Brown, became custodian when her mother died in 1918; she resigned in 1924. Mrs. Brown, grandniece of Mary Todd Lincoln, sold this pen to Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt (1901-1979), daughter of Frederick Hill Meserve (1865-1962), both great collectors of Lincolniana. In 1957, the Illinois State Historical Society Library acquired a collection of Lincoln-related items from Mrs. Brown. On May 28, 1981, Charles Hamilton sold “The Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt Collection of Lincolniana.” This wooden pen was part of lot 7 of this sale.

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