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Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(ABRAHAM LINCOLN.) Long first-hand account of a Lincoln-Douglas debate, written exclusively for an issue of the Essex County Mercury. 4 pages, 26 x 19 inches, on one folding sheet; folds, minor dampstaining, lacking 3 inches from lower left corner not affecting Lincoln article; subscriber's name inked in upper margin. Salem, MA, 8 September 1858
On the front page is an exclusive "Correspondence of the Salem Gazette" sent from Pecatonica, IL by a correspondent named Perley titled "Lincoln and Douglas." He describes taking an excursion train to the second Lincoln-Douglas debate held in Freeport, IL on 27 August 1858. Lincoln is described as having a "cadaverous countenance, and is indebted to a nervous temperament for the quick, catlike motions of his feet, head and arms. His gestures are spasmodic, and sometimes approach the comical." This long and engaging account of both speakers was later republished in a handful of newspapers, but we do not find it in book form, and this was its first appearance.
