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Sale 43
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Lot 265
(Lincoln, Abraham) Gold-headed Presentation Cane. A 36" walking stick with a 2½" gold head and a wooden, black-lacquered body with a brass tip. The cane bears three separate engravings. The original one, one on the head, says: "J.A. McClernand To Hon. A. Lincoln June 1857". A 3/4"gold band just below the original 2½"gold head is engraved "Presented to the Revd. Jas. Smith, D.D.BY THE FAMILY OF THE LATE PRESIDENT LINCOLN in memoriam of the high esteem in which he was held by him and them as their pastor and dear friend. 27th April 1868"; and a 1" gold band, 5" below the first one, is engraved: "Bequeathed by the Rev. Dr. Smith, U.S. Counsul, Dundee, to the Right Hon. John Bright Hill, in recognition of his tried friendship to the United States." Housed in a custom-made wooden box, 41" x 4¼" x 4¼".
John A. McClernand (1812-1900), the future Union general, was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1832 and worked on many of the same cases that Lincoln did, sometimes on the same side and sometimes on opposing sides. In Lincoln Day By Day (Vol. II: 1849-1860), McClernand's name appears twice during the chronology for June, once on June 8th, as lawyer for the defendant in Tallman v. Harvey, while Lincoln represented the plaintiff; and on June 11, Lincoln and McClernand were appointed by the court as defense attorneys in U.S. v. Andrew J. Sloan. The outstanding event of June for Lincoln was his speech in the House of Representatives against the Dred Scott decision. We don't know the motivation for this gift, whether for a particular reason, or just out of respect for a colleague.
The Reverend Dr. James A. Smith (1801-1871), a native of Glasgow, Scotland, was pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Illinois, beginning in 1849. At the time of the death of Lincoln's second son, Edward Baker Lincoln (February 1, 1850), Mary Todd Lincoln attended the Protestant Episcopal Church, where the Reverend Charles Dresser, who had married the Lincolns, was minister. Since Dresser was out of town at the time, Smith was asked to officiate at the services, which were held at the Lincoln's home. Mrs. Lincoln began attending the Presbyterian Church and became a member on October 13, 1852; Tad Lincoln was baptized there on April 4, 1856. Lincoln sometimes attended services with his family but never formally joined. Lincoln was often away riding circuit, but he paid $50 annually for the rent of Pew No. 20. Lincoln read a book written by Smith called The Christian's Defense I in 1843, and Smith was often a guest in the Lincoln home.
Although Dr. Smith left Springfield in 1856 for employment with the American Sunday School Union, he remained in contact with the Lincoln family and is known to have visited the Lincolns in the Executive Mansion in June 1861. When Smith's son, Hugh, was appointed Consul at Dundee, Scotland, Dr. Smith went with him; when his son resigned shortly thereafter because of ill health, Dr. Smith took over his duties and, after appealing to Mrs. Lincoln, was appointed Consul at Dundee on February 18, 1863. After Lincoln's death, Mrs. Lincoln remained in contact with Smith. During the three years that she and Tad spent in Europe (1868-1870), they visited Smith in Scotland for several weeks during 1869.
John Bright (1811-1889), the third recipient of the cane, was a member of Parliament, a Quaker, and a great orator. He was instrumental in the repeal of the repressive corn laws and in the passage of the 1867 Reform Act, which enfranchised two million additional men. He admired the style of government in the United States, so much so that he was sometimes referred to in the House of Commons as the Honorable Member for the United States. During the American Civil War, he took the side of the North because of the issue of slavery, which was abhorent to him. It was surely Bright's known admiration and friendship for the United States that motivated Dr. Smith to bequeath to Bright his precious relic from the venerated and martyred President Lincoln.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000.
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