Description:

Lincoln Abraham

Quill pen, 5.5”. Tied with green ribbon to a 4.5” x 2” card bearing an Autograph Statement. In full, “Aug. 1884. This pen was made by Denni [sic, Dennis] F. Hanks, the man who taught Abraham Lincoln to write. It is like the one he made for Abe when he gave him his ‘First Lesson.’ Mr. Hanks lives in Charleston, Coles Co. [Illinois] and is 86 years of Age. Presented by S.H. Davis.” The card and pen have been affixed to a 7” x 6” card. Fine condition.

Dennis F. Hanks (1799-1892) was the first cousin of Nancy Hanks Lincoln (1783-1818), Abraham Lincoln’s mother. In 1817, Nancy’s uncle and aunt, Thomas and Elizabeth Sparrow, and their nephew Dennis Hanks emigrated from Kentucky and settled on Thomas Lincoln’s land. Less than a year later, the Sparrows and Nancy Hanks Lincoln died during a milk sickness epidemic. The grief-stricken Thomas took Dennis Hanks into his household. Abraham was nine when his mother died. Later in 1818, Thomas married widow Sarah Bush Johnston. In 1821, Hanks married Sarah Bush Lincoln’s daughter Sarah Elizabeth Johnston (1807-1864), the eldest of Abraham Lincoln’s two stepsisters. While living with the Lincolns, Dennis, taught his cousin Abe how to write. “Tutor of / the Martyred President / Abraham Lincoln” is carved on his tombstone. From his obituary in “The New York Times,” October 23, 1892: “Mr. Hanks taught Abraham Lincoln to read and write.”

Accompanied by an Autograph Document signed by six jurors, one page, 6.25” x 5”. No place, no date. In full, “We the Jury agree and find a / Verdict in favour of the Defendant.” The third signature is that of Dennis F. Hanks: “D.F. Hanks.” Folds. Fine condition. A rarely encountered autograph.

Hanks’ pen was part of the H.W. Fay Collection sold at Riba-Mobley Auctions on October 26, 1985. A collector of historical portraits and Lincolniana, Herbert W. Fay (1859-1949) was custodian of the Abraham Lincoln Tomb and Monument in Springfield from 1921 until his death. He is buried just 100 yards from Lincoln’s tomb. The Hanks DS was sold at Sotheby Parke Bernet on November 28, 1979, as part of the Roy P. Crocker Collection of Lincolniana. Lawyer and philanthropist Roy P. Crocker (1893-1977) was President of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association from 1921-1969.

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