Highly rare and sought-after ADS, signed "A. Lincoln" at the conclusion and "Abraham Lincoln" within the body, one page, 7.5 x 9.5, February 6, 1846. Legal document relating to the case of Alexander Sergeant vs. Sherman Kellogg, which finds Lincoln admitting that he may have forgotten to attend to a case purportedly given to him by another attorney. In full: "Abraham Lincoln being first duly sworn states an oath that he has a general recollection of B. F. Fridley speaking to affiant at the term of the Supreme Court commencing December 1844, in relation to making an arrangement by which affiant should attend to cases in said court, in which said Fridley, was or might be interested; but affiant does not recollect that the case of Sergeant et al vs. Kellogg, was, by said Fridley, left in charge of affiant. Said Fridley now informs affiant, that he did leave said case in affiant's charge; and affiant would not say that such is not the fact. Affiant further states that at the term of said court, commencing December 1845, he gave no attention whatever to said case; having no impression that he had ever been spoken to concerning it." In fine condition, with archival tape on the backs of the horizontal folds, and light show-through from docketing on the reverse.
A magnificent holograph penned during a most notable period of Lincoln’s career as both attorney and budding politician. In December 1844, Lincoln ended his law partnership with Stephen Logan and established a new firm with his friend William Herndon. The following summer, he embarked on a year-long campaign for Congress, winning a nomination in May 1846, the election in August, and assuming his place as the only Whig in the Illinois delegation. Penned boldly in the hand of the future president, this exemplary early document, which boasts the unique occasion of two Lincoln signatures, presages his forthcoming role as a highly regarded prairie lawyer.
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