(American History / Civil War / Manuscripts) Lincoln, Mary Todd. Unsigned Handwritten Letter by Mary Todd Lincoln Dated October 28, 1869 in Which She References "My Dear Husband" and Her Son "Taddie."
Frankfurt, Germany: 1869. 8vo - 8-1/16" x 5-3/16". [4] pp. penned in ink on two adjoining sheets of black-bordered mourning stationery. Written from exile in Frankfurt to her close confidante Mrs. Sally Orne, this extraordinarily intimate, unsigned manuscript captures the widowed First Lady amidst a "chapter of accidents" (having severely injured both her writing finger and left thumb) as she coordinates political advocacy for her impending congressional pension. Letter is accompanied by a formal Letter of Authenticity issued by PSA/DNA Authentication Services.
The physical condition of the item is graded NEAR FINE (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). The delicate mourning paper remains remarkably bright and crisp with excellent ink contrast, exhibiting minor historic professional repairs to structural splitting along the primary mailing folds and central hinge, not affecting readability.
Exile in Frankfurt and the Political Battle for the Lincoln Pension
Penning this poignant letter during a period of immense psychological and financial distress in Germany, Mary Todd Lincoln writes with raw vulnerability, describing her surroundings as "sear & drooping like my own sad heart & blighted hopes." Despite her physical hand injuries, Mrs. Lincoln updates Sally Orne on her son "Taddie" (Tad Lincoln) and covertly maps out political lobbying strategy for what she terms "the coming struggle"—the contentious, impending pension bill before the United States Congress. Explicitly referencing her late husband, she writes: "I have always liked him [Colonel John Wien Forney] because my dear husband entertained so high an opinion of him," while urging Orne to press influential statesmen like Simon Cameron, General Nathaniel Banks, and Senator Henry Wilson. This magnificent manuscript serves as a vital primary record of Mary Todd Lincoln's active, behind-the-scenes orchestration of her financial survival, culminating in the successful passage of her pension nine months later on July 14, 1870.
Bibliography, Provenance, and Archival Association Scarcity
Manuscript material from Mary Todd Lincoln's European exile remains exceptionally scarce on the open market, particularly correspondence containing explicit retrospective reflections on Abraham Lincoln and direct strategy regarding her historic pension battle. Sally Orne, a prominent anti-slavery activist and wife of a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, served as one of Mary’s few unyielding allies, making this specific epistolary exchange a core association artifact of 19th-century political history. Most corresponding files between Lincoln and Orne reside in permanent institutional archives such as the Library of Congress and the Illinois State Historical Library.
THIS EXTRAORDINARY RECONSTRUCTION ERA MANUSCRIPT LOT, BRIDGING THE PRIVATE TRAGEDY OF THE LINCOLN FAMILY WITH THE PUBLIC POLITICAL STRUGGLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA, REPRESENTS A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND HIS FAMILY, THE POST-CIVIL WAR ERA, OR 19th-CENTURY WOMEN'S HISTORY.
# 000964