The Hall Collection of Confederate States continued...

VERY FINE APPEARANCE. ONLY ELEVEN EXAMPLES OF THE CELEBRATED HANGING LINCOLN ENVELOPE ARE RECORDED. AN OUTSTANDING CONFEDERATE PATRIOTIC.

The Hanging Lincoln design is widely recognized as the most distinctive of all Confederate patriotics. In this extraordinary cartoon, President Lincoln is hanging upside down from a tree limb, with his symbolic axe and fence rail tied around his neck. The caption reads "Abe Lincoln the destroyer. He once split Rails. Now he has split the Union." To the left and right is the caption "The penalty of disregarding the constitution. Impeached, deposed, Tried and convicted" (there is a spelling correction from "diposed" to "deposed"). Standing beside Lincoln is a mustachioed Winfield Scott, labeled "Old Fuss n Feathers", dropping his sword and exclaiming "My glory is gone for ever." On the ground is the Union flag, captioned "The stars and stripes lie in the dust, Never to rise." A star at left has the caption "The southern star is rising" and the Confederate 11-star flag towers above with the caption "The stars and bars shall for ever wave triumphant." Along the bottom is the imprint "Copyright claimed. HM & WC Box 417 Nashville Tenn."

Adding this cover to the census by the late John R. Hill Jr., there are eleven genuine Hanging Lincoln patriotics (listed in date order): 1) Jul. 25, 1861, Marshall Tex. Paid 10, 2) Aug. 21, 1861, Nashville Ten., two 5c provisionals, 3) Aug. 30 (1861), Athens La. "Paid X", the cover offered here, 4) Nov. 2, 1861, Bowling Green Ky., ex Dr. Green, Siegel Sale 822, realized $28,000 hammer, 5) Jan. 4, 1862, Nashville Ten., 5c Olive Green, 6) Feb. 20, 1862, Cumberland Gap Ten., ms. Paid 5, 7) Apr. 15, 1862, Cartersville Miss., ms. Due 5, 8) Apr. 15, 1862, Camden Miss., 10c Rose, 9) Jun. 24, 1862, Camden Miss., 10c Pale Rose, 10) date unknown to JRH, West Union S.C., ms. Due 5, and 11) privately carried and not postally used. In addition, there is a genuine envelope with fake markings and a stamp added.

The last Hanging Lincoln cover sold by our firm (No. 4 above) was a Bowling Green Ky. stampless usage that realized $28,000 hammer (Sale 822, lot 225). (Image)