^Lot 69 Abraham Lincoln

Highly desirable Springfield Marine and Fire Insurance Company check, 7.25 x 2.5, filled out and signed by Lincoln, “A. Lincoln,” payable to Bailhache & Baker for $5.00, April 21, 1860. In very good condition, with usual cancellation cut through signature (professionally reinforced on the reverse), several vertical folds, a few light ink smudges, a couple slightly affecting signature, and light creasing and wrinkling.

Lincoln wrote this check to William H. Bailhache and Edward L. Baker, the editors of the Illinois State Journal. Baker was married to Lincoln’s niece, and the future president was a frequent visitor to his office, where the pair would monitor the political press by pouring over East Coast newspapers. The publication also printed Lincoln’s addresses, including a pamphlet of his February 1860 Cooper Union speech, an address delivered in New York City that outlined his views on slavery and was credited with helping him win the election later that year. Because of Lincoln's silence on political issues prior to his inauguration, observers looked to other sources to learn his views on the nation's growing political crisis, including the editorial pages of the Illinois State Journal. A rare and always-desirable check.