Lincoln, Abraham (1809-65) 16th President of the United States (1861-65). Letter Signed in full as President, one page, 6 x 7¾ inches, Executive Mansion, April 2, 1862. Written in the hand of John Hay to Michael Crock, a kind and considerate man of whom we know nothing else.
On February 20, 1862, President and Mrs. Lincoln lost Willie, their third-born son, to typhoid fever. They had already lost Eddie, their second-born son, in 1850, just ten months before the birth of Willie. The Lincolns were distraught with grief, Mary to the edge of insanity. Lincoln lamented: "My poor boy. He was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!"
Tad, the youngest Lincoln son and the only one left in the White House (Robert, the eldest, was attending Harvard), had also been ill with typhoid fever, but had recovered. Mr. Crock must have realized how devastated the younger boy would be without his brother and playmate and sent two white rabbits to the White House to console him.
President Lincoln took time from his own grief and the concerns of the Civil War to acknowledge Mr. Crock's kindness. He wrote:
"Executive Mansion
April 2, 1862
My Dear Sir
Allow me to thank you in behalf of my little son for your present of White Rabbits. He is very much pleased with them.
Yours truly
Abraham Lincoln
Michael Crock Esq.
860 N. Fourth St. Philada."
President Lincoln rarely signed letters with his full name, reserving it for official documents. The fact that he signed the letter to Mr. Crock in full was most likely his way of truly expressing his appreciation for the gift to his young son.
The letter is toned and shows its age but Lincoln's signature, on this, one of his most famous letters, is an especially bold and beautiful example.
Literature (a few of many sources mentioning this letter):
Carl Sandburg. Lincoln Collector. The Story of the Oliver R. Barrett Lincoln Collection. Pp 169-170. New York, 1949.
The Oliver R.Barrett Lincoln Collection. Public Auction Sale. Lot 368, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc, NY, 1952.
Basler, Roy P., Marion Dolores Pratt, and Lloyd A. Dunlap, eds., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, 9 volumes. Springfield, IL: Abraham Lincoln Association; New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953. CW, 5:177
Harold Holzer. Tokens of Respect, How Abraham Lincoln Coped with Presidential Gifts. Illinois Historical Journal, Vol.77, No.3 (Autumn 1984), pp.177-192.
Estimated Value $50,000 - 75,000,
Oliver R. Barrett, Frederick Hill Meserve (from the sale of above)
George Rinhart, Bruce Gimelson to Private collector,
U.S. Presidents
