Raynor HCA 2013-07
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/18/2013
Legal Document Signed (third person signature) “Moore Weldon & Lincoln, 3pp. October 19, 1855, DeWitt County Illinois, fine. The brief is totally in future President Abraham Lincoln’s hand. Addressed “To the honourable Judge of the DeWitt County Circuit Court.” The legal matter in question, brought before the De Witt County Circuit Court of Illinois, is the contractual dispute of "William Drybread v. Henry Clearwater and David Lowry." Lincoln waxes on at great length regarding the particulars of the dispute, which centers on the unfinished construction of his client's home by building contractors. This legal matter is mentioned explicitly in the famed three-volume anthology, Lincoln Day by Day: A Chronology, 1809-1865 (Earl S. Miers, ed.), as being dismissed by agreement on May 13, 1856, with each party paying half the costs. At the conclusion of the brief, Lincoln supplies a third-person signature of his last name, "Moore, Weldon & Lincoln." For optimal viewing, the document is housed in an elaborate and elegant, double-sided frame measuring 23" x 32-1/2" overall. This beautifully matted display piece also includes a descriptive plaque and a sepia studio image of Lincoln. Impeccable preservation and exemplary handwritten script crown the presented historical gem. One can easily picture Lincoln crafting this lengthy summary late in the evening by candlelight, poring over every carefully chosen word in his limitless pursuit of truth, reason and justice.
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