Profiles in History Announces New Auction, Featuring Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Profiles in History, run by Joe Maddalena, is proud to announce that a very rare Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas debates book, signed by Abraham Lincoln, will be up for auction this Thursday, November 15 at their Historical Documents Auction. The auction will be held at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Westlake Village, CA at 11 AM PST. You can bid in person at the sale of via the internet at www.profilesinhistory.com.

This book is a first edition, first issue, presentation copy, inscribed and signed by Abraham Lincoln from the celebrated Senate campaign of 1858, in Illinois. It includes speeches of each candidate, at Chicago and Springfield, the two great speeches of Mr. Lincoln in Ohio, in 1859, as carefully prepared by the reporters of each party, and published at the times of their delivery. The book is signed to, “To Hon. Jesse K. Dubois / with respects of / A. Lincoln.”

Only a precious few of the recipients of inscribed copies of the Debates were as closely associated with Lincoln amid the presidential campaigns as was Jesse Kilgore Dubois. A close political ally of Lincoln, Dubois served with the future President in the Illinois state legislature. The Lincoln-Douglas confrontations are without question the most famous and important series of debates in American history. They helped to galvanize sectional attitudes about slavery and although he lost the 1858 Illinois Senate campaign of which they were a part, the debates catapulted Lincoln towards the 1860 Republican presidential nomination.

The presale auction estimate is $20,000 to $30,000 but Profiles in History anticipates the book should sell for in excess of $100,000.