LINCOLN, Abraham (1809-1865). 
Autograph legal document in the hand of Lincoln signed by Moses Thorpe and J. Johnson, Clerk. Piatt County, Illinois, 11 October 1852. 

1 p.; 12 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. (324 x 197 mm); docketed on verso by clerk J. Johnson; creasing from old folds, light offsetting to same; verso soiled with scattered stains.

A FINE EXAMPLE OF THE FUTURE PRESIDENT'S FAMOUS DRY SENSE OF HUMOR.

The case regarded a dispute over "the value of a certain bull which it is claimed this affiant castrated... that affiant expects to prove by sworn witness that said bull did not belong to said plaintiff and any time during the life of said bull, or at any time after his change of condition by which he ceased to be a bull..." Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln 3345

Provenance:

Dr. Charles Wesley Olsen; previously sold, his sale, Parke Bernet Galleries, 6 February 1962, lot 115

Previously sold, Sotheby's Parke Bernet, 8 November 1978, lot 470

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California

Property from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation