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Auction archive: Lot number 191

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President . Autograph legal manuscript (unsigned), n.p., [Woodford County, Illinois], n.d. [April 1852]. 1 page, folio, on lined blue paper, irregular at bottom edge, light browning at edges.

Auction 09.12.1993
9 Dec 1993
Estimate
US$7,000 - US$10,000
Price realised:
US$9,200
Auction archive: Lot number 191

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President . Autograph legal manuscript (unsigned), n.p., [Woodford County, Illinois], n.d. [April 1852]. 1 page, folio, on lined blue paper, irregular at bottom edge, light browning at edges.

Auction 09.12.1993
9 Dec 1993
Estimate
US$7,000 - US$10,000
Price realised:
US$9,200
Beschreibung:

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President . Autograph legal manuscript (unsigned), n.p., [Woodford County, Illinois], n.d. [April 1852]. 1 page, folio, on lined blue paper, irregular at bottom edge, light browning at edges. LINCOLN'S JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN A TRIAL FOR PERJURY A good example of the clarity of thought and expression which distinguished Lincoln's legal writing from an early period. The case in question, about which few details are available, was the People vs. Joseph K. Johnson, tried in April 1852, apparently before Judge David Davis The jury, after receiving Lincoln's instructions brought in a verdict of not guilty (according to E.S. Meirs, Lincoln Day by Day , p.72. "The court instruct the jury: That the oath of Johnson that Hammers did commit a trespass on his land, is, in law, a ballance [ sic ] to the oath of Hammers that he did not; and that they each, in no event convict, Johnson, unless there is evidence of his having sworn falsely, in addition , to the testimony of Hammers. That if they believe the affadavit of Johnson, was in fact false, still they can not properly convict him, unless they also believe he made it, knowing or believing it to be false, at the time he made it. "That if they have any reasonable doubt both that the affadavit is false, and that Johnson knew or believed it to be false at the time he made it they are to find him not guilty." Apparently unpublished. An accompanying note, unsigned, but certainly dating from the late 19th century, describes the manuscript as follows: "This charge to a jury was written by Abraham Lincoln in 1852. He was defending a man named Johnson on a charge of perjury...Judge David Davis presided. Johnson was acquitted." A copy of the manuscript has been furnished to the editors of the Lincoln Legal Project in Springfield.

Auction archive: Lot number 191
Auction:
Datum:
9 Dec 1993
Auction house:
Christie's
New York, Park Avenue
Beschreibung:

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President . Autograph legal manuscript (unsigned), n.p., [Woodford County, Illinois], n.d. [April 1852]. 1 page, folio, on lined blue paper, irregular at bottom edge, light browning at edges. LINCOLN'S JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN A TRIAL FOR PERJURY A good example of the clarity of thought and expression which distinguished Lincoln's legal writing from an early period. The case in question, about which few details are available, was the People vs. Joseph K. Johnson, tried in April 1852, apparently before Judge David Davis The jury, after receiving Lincoln's instructions brought in a verdict of not guilty (according to E.S. Meirs, Lincoln Day by Day , p.72. "The court instruct the jury: That the oath of Johnson that Hammers did commit a trespass on his land, is, in law, a ballance [ sic ] to the oath of Hammers that he did not; and that they each, in no event convict, Johnson, unless there is evidence of his having sworn falsely, in addition , to the testimony of Hammers. That if they believe the affadavit of Johnson, was in fact false, still they can not properly convict him, unless they also believe he made it, knowing or believing it to be false, at the time he made it. "That if they have any reasonable doubt both that the affadavit is false, and that Johnson knew or believed it to be false at the time he made it they are to find him not guilty." Apparently unpublished. An accompanying note, unsigned, but certainly dating from the late 19th century, describes the manuscript as follows: "This charge to a jury was written by Abraham Lincoln in 1852. He was defending a man named Johnson on a charge of perjury...Judge David Davis presided. Johnson was acquitted." A copy of the manuscript has been furnished to the editors of the Lincoln Legal Project in Springfield.

Auction archive: Lot number 191
Auction:
Datum:
9 Dec 1993
Auction house:
Christie's
New York, Park Avenue
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