Lincoln items on the auction block

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Lincoln items on the auction block - Rob Wick - 06-02-2023 11:44 AM

In the midst of looking for something else, I stumbled across the Heritage Auctions website and decided to look up items dealing with Lincoln. As you might expect, there are several items out there that people want.

For example, do you need an extra set of keys to lock things up? How about these keys from the Lincoln law office that sold for $27,000?

Need a place to store those multiple tomes you have lying around the house on Lincoln? Try this bookcase from the law office that sold for $30,000.

But if neither of those strikes your fancy, and you have the big bucks that you want to put aside in order to keep your heirs from getting it, how about this bust of Lincoln done by Leonard Volk that was given to Lincoln by the sculptor. It sold for $399,000.

Best
Rob

RE: Lincoln items on the auction block - Steve - 06-03-2023 03:31 AM

I looked at the items at the Heritage Auction website. The bookcase definitely seems to have come from Lincoln's law office, but the provenance (or lack thereof) they give for the set of keys kind of makes me wonder about the authenticity of their link to Lincoln.

https://historical.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/ephemera/-abraham-lincoln-set-of-four-keys-from-lincoln-s-law-office/a/6251-43109.s

I also noticed that the keys came from the estate of Forum member Dr. Blaine Houmes. So here's hoping he wasn't taken in by any fakes.

RE: Lincoln items on the auction block - Rob Wick - 06-03-2023 05:14 AM

Steve,

I didn't go too deep into the description of the items but rather just looked at the prices. I didn't know that the keys had belonged to Blaine. While I knew Blaine from the forum as well as mutual friends, I never knew what collectibles he had. My experience is that he was a very savvy person, which while that wouldn't necessarily keep him from being taken would tend to make me think he did his due diligence before purchasing them.

Thanks for expanding on my post.

Best
Rob

RE: Lincoln items on the auction block - RJNorton - 06-03-2023 07:49 AM

(06-03-2023 05:14 AM)Rob Wick Wrote: My experience is that he was a very savvy person

I agree. If one reads Blaine's post here I think you can see how meticulous and knowledgeable he was when it came to claims of historic authenticity.

RE: Lincoln items on the auction block - J. Beckert - 06-04-2023 12:00 PM

Blaine had a very impressive collection, most of which went under Heritage's hammer sometime last year. I'll never forget when he allowed me to hold the veil Mary wore to Ford's. I was surprised to see it's at the ALPM now.