CHICAGO (WGN) – A trove of historic artifacts and memorabilia associated with President Abraham Lincoln was auctioned off for nearly $8 million on Wednesday.
The items, which were intended to be part of a permanent collection at the Lincoln Presidential Foundation in Illinois, were sold to help reduce the foundation’s debt. The lot accounted for about 10% of the foundation’s 1,540 items.
A pair of blood-stained gloves that Abraham Lincoln had when he was assassinated at Freeman’s | Hindman in West Loop, Chicago, May 15, 2025. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) A piece of Abraham Lincoln’s coat, which he wore when he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, is framed at Freeman’s | Hindman in West Loop, Chicago, May 15, 2025. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) A page that shows the earliest known example of Abraham Lincoln’s handwriting is on display at Freeman’s | Hindman in West Loop, Chicago, May 15, 2025. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) A portrait of Abraham Lincoln, which was signed by him and taken by Alexander Hesler, is on display at Freeman’s | Hindman in West Loop, Chicago, May 15, 2025. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
“It’s one of the most important presidential sales in the history of live auctions,” said Christopher Brink with Freeman’s/Hindman Auctions in Chicago.
Abraham Lincoln’s bloody gloves sell for $1.52M
One of the more unusual offerings at the auction, which was handled by the Freeman’s/Hindman, were the leather gloves that Lincoln carried in his pocket on the night of his assassination. The blood-stained gloves were the top-selling item, fetching $1.52 million (including the buyer’s premium, which goes to cover the auction house’s expenses).
Other popular items included a handkerchief Lincoln had on the night he was shot, which sold for $826,000, and the earliest known sample of the 16th president’s handwriting, from a notebook in 1824, which fetched $521,200.
A “wanted” poster featuring photos of three suspects in the assassination conspiracy, led by John Wilkes Booth, was also a hot item: It sold for $762,500, despite initial expectations it would sell for a top price of $120,000.
Auction items told story of Abraham Lincoln
All told, the auction presented about 144 historical items telling the story of Abraham Lincoln, of which 136 were sold. The event raised a total of $7.9 million, but that includes buyers’ premiums of roughly 28% tacked onto each sale.
Founded in 2000, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation is a nonprofit organization that aims to lead and support efforts to share the story of Abraham Lincoln’s life, legacy, and leadership with the world.
Wednesday’s auction was organized to pay off the remainder of a two-decade-old loan that the Lincoln Presidential Foundation used to buy a one-of-a-kind cluster of Lincoln artifacts from a California collector.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
