I wonder how that ended up over here.
Regards, Ivan
Posted on 10/03/2006 11:56:13 PM PDT by MadIvan
Wiping away the dust from the frame he bought at a car boot sale for £1, Kenneth Anderson-Jones could hardly believe his eyes.
For there on the scrap of old paper inside was what appeared to be the signature of Abraham Lincoln.
As Mr Anderson-Jones, 75, read the accompanying text, his incredulity grew even more as he realised it seemed to be an order written in ink by the former US President and dated March 10, 1864.
It read: "Under the authority of an act of Congress to revive the grade of lieutenant-general in the United States Army, approved February 29, 1864, Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, United States Army, is assigned to the command of the armies of the United States."
The document appears to be the official order of Grant's appointment as Lincoln's commander in chief during the American Civil War.
It was a pivotal moment as Grant led the Union forces to victory over the Confederate army the following year.
Retired gas engineer Mr Anderson-Jones, of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, began to investigate further and discovered that his £1 purchase from the car boot sale may be a long lost American treasure, which he believes could be worth up to £500,000.
He contacted the American Library of Congress, who told him the genuine order has long been missing and that they would be keen to view his document and try to verify it.
Mr Anderson-Jones has also emailed a photo of the document to auctioneers Sotheby's at their New York office to see if their experts can authenticate it.
Mr Anderson-Jones, a keen collector of Chinese art who appeared on the Antiques Road show in 2000, said: "I went down to the local market a couple of weeks ago as I always do and there was a young man with a stall who seemed pretty desolate as he wasn't shifting anything.
"I saw this piece of correspondence in a dirty frame and without really looking at it I offered him £1.
"When I got home I poured myself cup of coffee and had a closer look and couldn't quite believe it."
He shouted to his wife Nancy, 75, and they stared in amazement at the document.
"I said to my wife 'I wonder how much I would get for an autograph of Abraham Lincoln?,' he said.
"Then I read it and thought, 'This is really interesting. I have bought what could prove to be a hand written declaration in ink, dated and signed by none other than Abraham Lincoln.'"
A spokesman for the US Library of Congress, where manuscripts are held, said: "We would like to have a look at Mr Anderson-Jones' document."
Until the early 1900s, executive orders such as the one Mr Anderson-Jones claims to have found went mostly unannounced and undocumented, seen only by the agencies to which they were directed.
The Manuscripts Division of the Library have said many documents were lost due to natural decay and poor record keeping.
"According to our official collected records of Abraham Lincoln the original of this letter has never been found," added the spokesman.
"Lincoln did write copies of his important letters and speeches but it would be unlikely he would do this with a military document."
When once accused of heavy drinking by colleagues, Grant was famously defended by Lincoln with the words: "Find out what the brand is and make sure they all drink it."
After the civil war ended, Grant later ascended to the US presidency in 1869.
Experts estimate that an autographed note by Abraham Lincoln is worth at least £5,000.
The value of the original, authenticated order giving command of the army to Grant would be worth much more because of its historical significance.
I wonder how that ended up over here.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Cue the Car Boot Sale song...
ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BODY EXHUMED AND VIEWED IN 1901.
http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton/Lincoln13.html
Amazing story.
Boo.
Good to 'see' you, MadIvan. The seller at the boot sale must be seriously depressed now.
I'd be very careful about showing it to the Library of Congress. They would probably claim it was stolen and confiscate it.
You know how bad moving can be! Some things never get unpacked and are given up as lost forever.
I hope he at least sells it to the Smithsonian or another likely museum and not a private entity.
I've got an autograph of Lincoln on a document on my wall. It has an interesting history, as does the Colt revolver belonging to another signer of the document.
http://windsurfingbible.com/french.htm
Good question. The wording of the order was recorded by the army and the date of the order is known because Stanton telegraphed Grant with the news. But the original has never been found. I hope this turns out to be genuine.
No worries - they'll send Sandy Berger to view the document first.
Sellin' stuff outta yer trunk, I guess.
I have a few engraved portraits of him in my wallet!
Now that, Sir, is a fascinating bit of history!! Thank you for sharing it...
Judah Benjamin probably got a hold of it to remind him of the moment when history inevitably caused him to become a Barrister.
/s
War of 1812?
And why is this document in England?!?! Love to know the provenance on this one!
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