Description:

Abraham Lincoln ALS, He Gives Legal Advice to a Friend

Autograph Letter Signed, “A. Lincoln”, 1p, 7.75” x 12.75”, Springfield, Illinois, November 16, 1858. Lincoln pens his reply on the lower half of the third page of a letter to him from Martin L. Bishop. Esq., 2pp, on two sheets conjoined at top of each sheet. Expected creasing and folds with small areas of loss. Slight smudging to Lincoln's signature. Toning, soiling and scattered foxing. In very good condition.

Martin L. Bishop of McLean County, Illinois, forwards an agreement whereby the rights to an invention was sold to him in 1856 by the inventors for $2,400, noted by Bishop to be a “Copy”, Bloomington, Illinois, November 12, 1858. Beneath, Bishop pens a letter to lawyer Abraham Lincoln, signed, "M. L. Bishop". His letter, in part: “Above please find Copy of County right for ditching machine which I purchased from the parties whose names are attached thereto, and on which right I still owe a portion of the purchase money. They on their part have suffered other parties to infringe on their patent, will not the above assignment of the right to this County be a valid rebut to their claim against me? And as the parties above stated have sued me & they having a Suit now pending in the U.S. Court against others for said infringement will not this act be held as a sufficient cause for Continuance, until the decision of said cause by the U.S. Court. And is it necessary on my part to have the above article recorded in Washington Prior to said decision. Please Answer immediately & oblige."

Lincoln handwrites his response beneath Bishop’s letter to him, in full: "I do not think ‘the above assignment of the right of the County will be a valid rebut to their claim against you.’ I do not think the fact that the Patentees have a suit pending in the U.S. Court can avail you in defence, or for a continuance of their suit against you - Before you can sue, your assignment should be recorded; but the recording has nothing to do with the suits already brought."

Martin L. Bishop (1818-1897) moved to McLean County, Illinois, from Ohio in the fall of 1840. A miller, he owned over 1200 acres. His friend, Abraham Lincoln, was also his attorney. Five years earlier, Bishop had retained Lincoln and sued the Illinois Central Railroad for $5,000 in damages to twenty acres of his land. In April 1854, the jury found for Bishop and awarded $583. There was an appeal, and the court granted a new trial. In the second trial, the court ruled for Bishop and awarded $470 in accordance with the arbitrators’ award. In September 1856, Bishop had retained Lincoln and sued the Illinois Central Railroad in an action of assumpsit. The court dismissed the suit with the railroad paying the costs.

Lincoln’s reply is not in Basler. On “The Papers of Abraham Lincoln” website, "The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln” reports that in November 1858, “Lincoln provided legal advice to Bishop”, and summarizes Bishop’s letter: “Bishop purchased the rights to a patent for improvements to a plow from Marquis and others for $2,400. Bishop asked Lincoln for legal advice regarding the validity of his ownership of the patent and his liability for pending law suits involving the invention.” However, Lincoln’s reply (the here offered letter) is not recorded.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

June 28, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000