On May 21st, Freeman | Hindman’s converted Lincoln aspirations into a memorable auction that will rank among the top ten in the collectible paper category worldwide by dollar value for 2025. The sale was prompted by the need to raise money to pay off acquisition debt. With this success, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation will end up keeping more than 1,400 items relating to America’s 16th president.
The sale was handled by Freeman | Hindman Auctions and earned high marks and close to $8.0 million for its beneficiaries.
It was fun to watch. From the get-go there was a sense that significant players were in the mix.
Autograph document by Lincoln, then Captain in the Illinois State Militia, April, 1832. Estimated $80,000 - $120,000. It went unsold.
Lot 8
Lincoln, Abraham. The Adams Handbill, the only known surviving copy of Lincoln’s First Printed work. It was estimated at $200,000 - $300,000 and brought $178,300.
You could tell the bidders had opinions and they were not going to be to guided by the estimates.
Lot 15
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A Douglas, signed document, 17 August 1839. Estimated $150,000 - $250,000 failed to sell.
Lot 21
The “Bass-Ackwards” manuscript, Lincoln’s frontier ribaldry. Estimated at $200-000 - $300,000, sold for $178,300
At this point their auctioneers had the whip in their hand.
The lot flow slowed down, you could tell they believed they had the bids.
And it turned out they did.
All the way to the last lot, No. 147, when the gavel fell on the final one, raising close to $8.0 million dollars.
Among those many dollars, the honor to be the highest priced lot went to Lincoln’s bloody gloves, removed from the President’s stricken body. The winner paid $1.5 million. For the most valuable piece of paper, the prize went to Lot 122. It was a $100,000 Reward! The murderer of our beloved President, Abraham Lincoln, is still at large. It brought $762,500 and brings a lifetime of invitations to historical events as “the guy or gal that.”
The Museum did very well and Freemans | Hindman did too. Congratulations are in order.
Here is a link to both our version and FH’s. The difference is, ours covers books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera; theirs includes all of that and sundries.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.