Lincoln Autographed Freedom Documents for Sale in Time for Juneteenth

By John A. O'Brien

Denver, Colorado

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

What a happy coincidence that the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment are in the news for Juneteenth, 2025. Sotheby’s New York auction house has announced an offer of copies of both documents signed by Abraham Lincoln.

One hundred and sixty-one years ago this week, President Lincoln made a rare trip out of Washington to attend the Great Central Fair in Philadelphia. He wanted to demonstrate his support for this and similar events that raised money for the U.S. Sanitary Commission that provided medical care and support services for Union troops. He said that he hoped his presence “might aid something in swelling the contributions for the benefit of the soldiers in the field.” And that he did. The Great Central Fair, held from June 7 to 29, 1864, was the largest and most successful Sanitary Commission fair, raising over $1 million. Its name signified the three sponsoring states of the central region: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Lincoln’s support was more than performative. He and Secretary of State William Seward had affixed their signatures to authenticate full printed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation to sell at the fair. Lincoln often donated autographs for these occasions. He even gave his original autograph draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to the Northwestern Fair for the Sanitary Commission that was held in Chicago in 1863. Lincoln made that donation somewhat reluctantly, writing that "he had some desire to retain the paper, but if it shall contribute to the relief or comfort of the soldiers, that will be better." (The document was lost in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.)

Now Sotheby’s is accepting bids for one of the surviving 27 copies of the 48 that were distributed in Philadelphia in June 1864. The seller estimates that more than $3 million may be required to take it home. At the fair, the charge was $10. In addition, there is a congressional copy of the 13th Amendment available. This is one of just nine signed by Lincoln alongside the senators and congressmen who passed it for ratification by the states. Sotheby's describes these as the most valuable copies of each document to ever come to auction.

Newspaper announcement of enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation to the people of Texas

The timing of this sale (June 26) is significant not only for the commemoration of Lincoln’s appearance at the Philadelphia fair but even more importantly for the celebration of Juneteenth. Bringing attention to the copies of the Proclamation and the 13th Amendment coincides nicely with the anniversary of General Gordon Granger's announcing in Galveston the freedom of all enslaved people on June 19th, 1865. Texas was the last state in the Confederacy to have received the enforcement order for the Emancipation Proclamation.  

The Lincoln Group of D.C hopes this remembrance of Lincoln’s great freedom documents will enhance your celebration of Juneteenth, 2025.