97. Lincoln, Abraham. Printed circular,  By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation. [Washington: Government Printing Office, ca. 5 January 1863] 2 printed pages (8.25 x 13 in.; 209 x 330 mm.) on one folding sheet. First page of sheet bears a printed letter of transmittal dated Washington, 3 January 1863. Small infill at left margin not affecting text, a few insignificant and tiny toned spots. 

One of the first obtainable printed editions of Abraham Lincoln's final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1863, issued by the State Department, together with two additional anti-slavery imprints collected by a prominent abolitionist in the Lincoln Administration. 

The letter of transmittal, composed by Secretary of State William Seward, reads in full: 
You will receive herewith a copy of a proclamation which was issued by the President on the first day of January instant, in which he designates the States and parts of States which yet remain in insurrection against the United States, and gives effect to the proclamation which he issued on the 22d day of September last, and in which it was announced that the slaves within such States and districts would, as a measure of military necessity, on the said first day of January, be declared forever free. Through this great act, slavery will practically be brought to an end in eight of the States of this Union and in the greater portions of two other States. The number of slaves thus restored to freedom is about three and one=half millions. The President entertains no doubt that this transaction will commend itself to the enlightened judgment and moral approbation of not only all Christian States, but of mankind.

The second page features a one-page printing of Lincoln's final Emancipation Proclamation signed in type by Seward and Abraham Lincoln. This is the fourth separately printed edition of the final Emancipation Proclamation, preceded only by a virtually unobtainable preliminary printing, a newspaper broadside, and a nearly identical State Department printing lacking the attached transmittal letter. Eberstadt located 4 copies of this printing, but only one still retained the attached transmittal letter, which is dated 3 January 1863. He describes it as
“a circular printed for dissemination to the foreign service posts of the Department of State,” and hypothesizes that it was printed on or about 5 January 1863, four days after the proclamation was first issued (See Eberstadt, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, No. 11).  Eberstadt located only four examples of this imprint, of which only the copy at the Library of Congress still had the transmittal letter attached. Only one other example has appeared at auction in the past forty years.

Offered together with two additional imprints, including Abraham Lincoln, 
Gradual Abolishment of Slavery. Message from the President of the United States in Relation to Co-operating with any State for the gradual abolishment of slavery.(Washington, 6 March 1862), 2 pages 8vo.  Minor creases and light soiling, else very good; Additionally offered together with, Liberty or Slavery? Daniel O'Connell on American Slavery. Reply to O'Connell by Hon. S.P. Chase ([Cincinnati]: Chronicle Print, 1863) 15 pages 8vo. bound in pink titled paper wraps. Marginal tears and soiling, covers partly detached, some dampstains, else good condition overall.

Originally the property of abolitionist Delano T. Smith (1830-1905). Born in Litchfield, NY, and educated at the Clinton Liberal Institute, Smith studied law and was admitted to the bar in Albany in 1852. He then traveled west to Dixon, IL, where he briefly practiced law. Within three years, Smith moved to Minnesota and became a prominent political figure in the Republican party, representing the state in both the House and Senate. He specialized in financial matters, and as a result was highly recommended to serve as auditor for the US Treasury Department under Salmon Chase during Lincoln's first administration. Although he lost out on this position, Smith was later appointed to the office of US Direct Tax Commissioner of the state of Tennessee, which involved collecting taxes from the rebel states. Smith held this position from 1863-1865, when he resigned and moved to New York to work in real estate. Smith also worked with his brother to promote the first subway in New York City, known as the Arcade Railway. However, in 1869, he decided to move west to Marshalltown, IA, where he again worked in real estate and engaged in farming and stock raising at his farm known as Highland Home. Smith remained in Marshalltown until his death on 10 May 1905. 
$40,000 - $60,000

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June 11, 2015 11:00 AM PDT
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