VARIOUS PROPERTIES
LINCOLN, MARY, First Lady. Autograph letter signed ("Mary Lincoln") to Mrs. Fanny [Frances Elizabeth] Barrow, "Executive Mansion," [Washington, D.C.], 27 May 1864. 3 pages, 8vo, stationery with embossed monogram "ML" at top of first page, page 3 written across, blank p.4 pasted to a sheet of brown (album?) paper [with] Original autograph envelope, also embossed, addressed to "Mrs. Fanny Brown, 173 East 13th Street, New York," circular "Washington D.C." datestamp and smaller circular "Due/6" handstamp, black wax seal with "L" signet. (2)
Details
LINCOLN, MARY, First Lady. Autograph letter signed ("Mary Lincoln") to Mrs. Fanny [Frances Elizabeth] Barrow, "Executive Mansion," [Washington, D.C.], 27 May 1864. 3 pages, 8vo, stationery with embossed monogram "ML" at top of first page, page 3 written across, blank p.4 pasted to a sheet of brown (album?) paper [with] Original autograph envelope, also embossed, addressed to "Mrs. Fanny Brown, 173 East 13th Street, New York," circular "Washington D.C." datestamp and smaller circular "Due/6" handstamp, black wax seal with "L" signet. (2)
"THE PRESIDENT IS...NECESSARILY MUCH OCCUPIED WITH HIS...DUTIES"
A fine, revealing letter, noting the source of the name of one of the Lincoln's sons, responding to a popular author of childrens' books who had apparently proposed to dedicate a new book to the Lincoln children. "Dear Madam, Unavoidable circumstances, have delayed my sending a reply to your kind & complimentary request, regarding the dedication of the new work you are about publishing for children. I remember with much pleasure and gratitude your kindness in sending my darling boys a copy of your "Night Caps["], the reading of which afforded much enjoyment. Since then, sorrow & bereavement have sorely tried us, & me, with the whole land, have been called upon to drink the bitter cup of affliction. My little boy's name is Thomas Lincoln, very plain name, yet being the name of my Husband's Father & he being an only son, it was considered best thus to name him, and if he turns out to be a wise & good man, it is unnecessary to ponder much over a name. I am happy to inform you, that the President is well although, necessarily much occupied, with his high & responsible duties. I remain very Sincerely yours...."
A fascinating letter alluding ("sorrow and bereavement") to the death, in February of 1862, at the age of 11, of William ("Willie") Wallace Lincoln, who was especially close to his father. Mary Lincoln is quick to acknowledge that this "cup of affliction" is one her family has shared with many families ("with the whole land") due to the war. May 1864 had seen the launching of Grant's campaign in the Wilderness, in which Union casualty rates had soared to record levels; she was no doubt mindful of these tragic losses. Mary also explains the source of Thomas ("Tad") Lincoln's name and comments on the press of duties burdening her husband. Her correspondent, Frances Elizabeth Barrow, was a very successful children's author who published under the pseudonym "Aunty Fanny." Barrow wrote many works for children, including The Apple Dumpling and Other Stories (London 1852), Aunt Fanny's Ball (London, 1854), and had apparently sent a copy of her Nightcaps (New York, 1859) to the Lincolns sometime before Willie's death. In 1864, she published How Little Katie Knocked at the Door of Heaven. A True Story. She continued to publish through the 1860s and 1870s.
Apparently unpublished, not in Mary Todd Lincoln. Her Life and Letters, ed. Justin G. Turner and Linda Leavitt Turner, 1987.
"THE PRESIDENT IS...NECESSARILY MUCH OCCUPIED WITH HIS...DUTIES"
A fine, revealing letter, noting the source of the name of one of the Lincoln's sons, responding to a popular author of childrens' books who had apparently proposed to dedicate a new book to the Lincoln children. "Dear Madam, Unavoidable circumstances, have delayed my sending a reply to your kind & complimentary request, regarding the dedication of the new work you are about publishing for children. I remember with much pleasure and gratitude your kindness in sending my darling boys a copy of your "Night Caps["], the reading of which afforded much enjoyment. Since then, sorrow & bereavement have sorely tried us, & me, with the whole land, have been called upon to drink the bitter cup of affliction. My little boy's name is Thomas Lincoln, very plain name, yet being the name of my Husband's Father & he being an only son, it was considered best thus to name him, and if he turns out to be a wise & good man, it is unnecessary to ponder much over a name. I am happy to inform you, that the President is well although, necessarily much occupied, with his high & responsible duties. I remain very Sincerely yours...."
A fascinating letter alluding ("sorrow and bereavement") to the death, in February of 1862, at the age of 11, of William ("Willie") Wallace Lincoln, who was especially close to his father. Mary Lincoln is quick to acknowledge that this "cup of affliction" is one her family has shared with many families ("with the whole land") due to the war. May 1864 had seen the launching of Grant's campaign in the Wilderness, in which Union casualty rates had soared to record levels; she was no doubt mindful of these tragic losses. Mary also explains the source of Thomas ("Tad") Lincoln's name and comments on the press of duties burdening her husband. Her correspondent, Frances Elizabeth Barrow, was a very successful children's author who published under the pseudonym "Aunty Fanny." Barrow wrote many works for children, including The Apple Dumpling and Other Stories (London 1852), Aunt Fanny's Ball (London, 1854), and had apparently sent a copy of her Nightcaps (New York, 1859) to the Lincolns sometime before Willie's death. In 1864, she published How Little Katie Knocked at the Door of Heaven. A True Story. She continued to publish through the 1860s and 1870s.
Apparently unpublished, not in Mary Todd Lincoln. Her Life and Letters, ed. Justin G. Turner and Linda Leavitt Turner, 1987.