BEARDLESS LINCOLN CAMPAIGN COVER, POSTMARKED MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, DEC. 5, 186[1?], ADDRESSED TO MR. A.W. CUNNINGHAM IN VIRGINIA, ILLINOIS [CASS COUNTY]. by Lincoln, Abraham: : David M. Lesser, Fine Antiquarian Books LLC : Specializing in the social, political, and cultural history of the Americas.

Lincoln, Abraham:

BEARDLESS LINCOLN CAMPAIGN COVER, POSTMARKED MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, DEC. 5, 186[1?], ADDRESSED TO MR. A.W. CUNNINGHAM IN VIRGINIA, ILLINOIS [CASS COUNTY].

Engraved & Published by Ed. Mendel, 162 Lake St., Chicago: [1861?] Orange cover, 3" x 5.5". Beardless portrait of Lincoln at upper left corner. Three cent rose postal stamp of George Washington at upper right corner, canceled with black target rubberstamp. Postmarked at Memphis, Ten., Dec. 5, 1861[?] [numbers partly obscured]. Light dust, Very Good. Lincoln did not grow a beard until he was elected President in November 1860. The postal stamp was first issued in August 1861, as one of the new series of stamps issued after commencement of hostilities in order to "prevent the fraudulent use of the large quantity of stamps remaining unaccounted for, in the hands of the postmasters in the disloyal states." II Brookman, The United States Postage Stamps of the 19th Century. It is especially interesting that this envelope was posted in Memphis, with delivery addressed to Virginia, Illinois. Memphis was a major slave-trading center on the Mississippi River in the heart of Tennessee's Confederacy. Cass County, Illinois, is about 35 miles west of Springfield, the focus of Lincoln's political and legal career. Andrew Cunningham [1806-1895] was born in Scotland to a well-to-do landowner. A tanner who settled in Cass County in 1835, he constructed and operated the first tannery in Cass County, one of the County's earliest and most important industries. His house, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, stands today. [Newton: 2 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, pages 675-678; and Wikipedia].Milgram, Abraham Lincoln Illustrated Envelopes and Letter Paper 1860-1865, No. 55.

Book Id: 27890

Price: $1,250.00

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