Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895) to Mary Todd Lincoln
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02474 Author/Creator: Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895) Place Written: Rochester, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: August 17, 1865 Pagination: 1 p. ; 24.5 x 19.4 cm + 1 engraving ; b&w ; 20 x 12.2 cm Order a Copy PDF Download(s): Download PDF
Douglass thanks Lincoln for former President Abraham Lincoln's walking stick. Notes that the gift is not merely a memento, but is an "inclination of his humane interest" in the "welfare of my whole race." Accompanied by a small newspaper clipping and a black and white bust engraving of Douglass.
Rochester N.Y. August 17, 1865.
Mrs. Abraham Lincoln:
Dear Madam: Allow me to thank you, as I certainly do thank you most sincerely for your thoughtful kindness in making me the owner of a cane which was formerly the property and the favorite walking staff of your late lamented husband the honored and venerated President of the United States.
I assure you, that this inestimable memento of his Excellency will be retained in my possession while I live - an object of sacred interest - a token not merely of the kind consideration in which I have reason to know that [inserted: the] President was pleased to hold me personally, but [struck: of] as an indication of [struck: the] [inserted: his] humane [illegible strikeout] interest [in the] welfare of my whole race.
With every proper sentiment of Respect and Esteem
I am, Dear Madam, your Obed[ien]t Serv[an]t.
Frederick Douglass.
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