Lot 139
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865, 16th President 1861-65). bold "A. Lincoln" Presidential free frank on mourning envelope addressed by Mary Todd Lincoln postmarked "Washington, D.C./Feb. 21, 1863" cds, addressed to "Dr. A.G. Henry, Washington, D.C.", Extremely Fine; with 1953 A.P.S. certificate signed renowned autograph expert Edward Stern.Estimate $10,000 - 15,000.
A Rare Lincoln Free Frank As President on a Black-Bordered Envelope Mourning the Death of His Beloved Son, Willie, and Addressed By the First Lady.
The Lincolns' third son, Willie, died on February 20, 1862, after an illness that has been attributed to typhoid fever. Lincoln is quoted as saying "My poor boy. He was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!". Willie was buried in nearby Georgetown. After the assassination of President Lincoln, the boy's body was exhumed and his remains placed on the Lincoln funeral train which traveled back to Springfield, where he was buried with his father.
Dr. Anson G. Henry was a close political ally of Mr. Lincoln, who relied on him for medical as well as political help. Mr. Lincoln's letters to Dr. Henry often accompanied important political events in his life - and closed with the expression he used when he meant it: "Your friend, as ever."
Dr. Henry's medical rather than political skills were required to help Mrs. Lincoln through her grief after Mr. Lincoln's assassination. A few months later, Henry returned to California via Panama. Henry was killed when his ship sank off the California coast. Prior to his departure, Dr. Henry had ministered to Mrs. Lincoln, who had been bed-ridden after her husband's murder. Mrs. Lincoln greatly lamented his departure, writing that she believed "in my heart, that you are really, the only disinterested, sincere friend, left us. It was very painful to us, I assure you, to find that you had to return home. I had fondly hoped, that you, would have been settled in W[ashington] and we would have received frequent visits from you & Mrs Henry, whom I remember with much affection. Alas, alas, our families, are both situated alike, nothing but disappointments before us…".
Realized: $19,000