LS boldly signed “A. Lincoln,” one lightly lined page, 7.25 x 3.5, August 1860. Lincoln writes to a young autograph collector, Master D. W. P. Corle. The letter, most likely penned by either of Lincoln’s two assistants, John Nicolay and John Hay, reads, in full: “As requested by your father, I send you my autograph.” Lincoln sent the letter from Springfield several months after he received the presidential nomination at the Republican Convention in Chicago. On August 7, he was interviewed by a correspondent from the New York Herald. After a pleasant visit, Lincoln mentioned a line from a letter he had written the previous month to a friend in Kentucky, Samuel Haycraft. Haycraft had invited him to Kentucky; Lincoln responded, “Would not the people lynch me?” On August 16, the article and quote—taken out of context, in the time-honored tradition of American journalism—was published in the Herald. Lincoln had an aide pen an anonymous correction, and he personally wrote to Haycraft in an attempt to forestall repercussions. Though Lincoln would write several more letters regarding the misquote, he finally allowed it to run its course. The letter has been professionally inlaid to a 9.5 x 5.5 off-white sheet. Several vertical folds, a small clipped image of Lincoln affixed to top, and a bit of light wrinkling, otherwise fine condition. A terrific and desirable association with the fledgling hobby of autograph collecting! Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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