Exciting, odd and interesting

[Jogeephus]

A friend of mine was cleaning out his MIL's house and came across an old chest. Inside the chest was her grandmother's things and he was sorting through the contents. In the bottom of the chest he found a small stack of old papers that looked interesting. He began looking at these and he found a paper(s) (wasn't really paper but something else) that had the Gettysburg address on it and at the bottom was Abraham Lincoln's signature. :shock: The paper looked like a draft cause there were words marked out with other words written on top of them but the contents are unmistakenly Lincoln's speech. Being fairly level headed he thinks the odds of this being real is remote to say the least. But what if? Who would you contact to find out if it is real? Could you keep it or would they take it? Who could you trust? I mean you hear of people getting snookered by antique appraisers and such. Or did they make copies of this and sell them? If they did, would they not have used the final draft? I thought this was quite interesting. BTW- if there is a law against possessing such an item I only made this up based on a dream I had and my friends name is Barney Rubble. That will be my story and I'll stick to it.

 

[HerefordSire]

A friend of mine was cleaning out his MIL's house and came across an old chest. Inside the chest was her grandmother's things and he was sorting through the contents. In the bottom of the chest he found a small stack of old papers that looked interesting. He began looking at these and he found a paper(s) (wasn't really paper but something else) that had the Gettysburg address on it and at the bottom was Abraham Lincoln's signature. :shock: The paper looked like a draft cause there were words marked out with other words written on top of them but the contents are unmistakenly Lincoln's speech. Being fairly level headed he thinks the odds of this being real is remote to say the least. But what if? Who would you contact to find out if it is real? Could you keep it or would they take it? Who could you trust? I mean you hear of people getting snookered by antique appraisers and such. Or did they make copies of this and sell them? If they did, would they not have used the final draft? I thought this was quite interesting. BTW- if there is a law against possessing such an item I only made this up based on a dream I had and my friends name is Barney Rubble. That will be my story and I'll stick to it.

Place the orginal in a safety deposit box. Take a copy of it to shop it around to collectors of civil war memorbilia. If it is genuine, could fetch about $1M.

 

[Lammie]

I would take it to a major university and let someone from the history department look at it. Someone who specializes in Civil War stuff.

I thought that Lincoln wrote his own speech on a train on, like the back of an envelope or something. Might be worth researching.

Then there's always Antiques Roadshow...

 

[HerefordSire]

Also, go to Wal-mart an get an sealer to make the document airtight.

 

[backhoeboogie]

BTW- if there is a law against possessing such an item I only made this up based on a dream I had and my friends name is Barney Rubble. That will be my story and I'll stick to it.

That story wouldn't work for me Jogee since everyone knows I don't have any friends.

This is a very interesting dream you had there. If such a thing is authentic, someone would pay a lot of nickels for it I am sure. They could look at the ink under a magnifying glass and analyze the writing as well. Paper of that era is not the same as this era. They can date the paper pretty close depending on the bond.

An engineer I work with "loaned" an unusual arrowhead to a meseum some years ago and cannot get it back. I have some dino tracks on display in a case that I probably will never ask for the return of.

 

[Lammie]

Also, go to Wal-mart an get an sealer to make the document airtight.

I realize you are being sarcastic but don't do anything to it. It should be preserved between two sheets of acid free paper and not exposed to direct sunlight. Even if it is not authentic, if it is period, it still might be worth something to a Civil War or Lincoln scholar. Dont unfold it or look at it a lot and don't handle it with your bare fingers. Oils off the skin can damage old documents.

 

[HerefordSire]

Also, go to Wal-mart an get an sealer to make the document airtight.

I realize you are being sarcastic but don't do anything to it. It should be preserved between two sheets of acid free paper and not exposed to direct sunlight. Even if it is not authentic, if it is period, it still might be worth something to a Civil War or Lincoln scholar. Dont unfold it or look at it a lot and don't handle it with your bare fingers. Oils off the skin can damage old documents.

I wasn't being sarcastic. I would think air would represent the most risk to an old document not sunlight. However, it sounds like you have more experience than I.

 

[grannysoo]

All I know is that if it is real, I'm prepared to call you daddy.

Mama wants the extra child support...

 

[john250]

According to this--no cigar.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/gadrft.html

 

[Lammie]

I realize you are being sarcastic but don't do anything to it. It should be preserved between two sheets of acid free paper and not exposed to direct sunlight. Even if it is not authentic, if it is period, it still might be worth something to a Civil War or Lincoln scholar. Dont unfold it or look at it a lot and don't handle it with your bare fingers. Oils off the skin can damage old documents.[/quote]


I wasn't being sarcastic. I would think air would represent the most risk to an old document not sunlight. However, it sounds like you have more experience than I.[/quote]

My husband is an antique freak. And he loves old stuff too.

You never never alter something like that.

 

[Lammie]

According to this--no cigar.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/gadrft.html

Oh well.

 

[HerefordSire]

I realize you are being sarcastic but don't do anything to it. It should be preserved between two sheets of acid free paper and not exposed to direct sunlight. Even if it is not authentic, if it is period, it still might be worth something to a Civil War or Lincoln scholar. Dont unfold it or look at it a lot and don't handle it with your bare fingers. Oils off the skin can damage old documents.

I wasn't being sarcastic. I would think air would represent the most risk to an old document not sunlight. However, it sounds like you have more experience than I.[/quote]

My husband is an antique freak. And he loves old stuff too.

You never never alter something like that.[/quote]

Not altering it. It is two pieces of plastic that seal around the edges so as not to touch the original document. Kind of like a basebal card sealer but more tight than a photo album.

 

[Lammie]

I realize you are being sarcastic but don't do anything to it. It should be preserved between two sheets of acid free paper and not exposed to direct sunlight. Even if it is not authentic, if it is period, it still might be worth something to a Civil War or Lincoln scholar. Dont unfold it or look at it a lot and don't handle it with your bare fingers. Oils off the skin can damage old documents.

I wasn't being sarcastic. I would think air would represent the most risk to an old document not sunlight. However, it sounds like you have more experience than I.

My husband is an antique freak. And he loves old stuff too.

You never never alter something like that.[/quote]

Not altering it. It is two pieces of plastic that seal around the edges so as not to touch the original document. Kind of like a basebal card sealer but more tight than a photo album.[/quote]

I guess, as long as it didn't stick to it. Maybe with the acid free paper on both sides.

 

[Jogeephus]

According to this--no cigar.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/gadrft.html

I'm almost 100% there is no cigar here and I'm not arguing with you cause I know the probability of this being real is extremely unlikely. But, reread the link.

Of the five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address, the Library of Congress has two.

They do not say that he only wrote 5, they say they only know of five. So, the slight chance this is real still stirs my imagination. My gut feeling is this is a replica that was sold to the public. Afterall, I think South Georgia would be the last place you would expect to find this document. But if this is true, why would they use one with corrections and mistakes on it? Also, if this was sold to public then I assume they would have just ursed regular paper and this is not paper but something else. He said he had never felt anything like it. I know its worth at least $100 cause this is what I offered him for it. ;-) :nod: Sight unseen. (just trying to help him out) He has put it in a safe and I hope to see the papers within the next two weeks. If so, I'll snap a picture of it if he doesn't mind. Who knows, it might be the real deal and you will have heard it first on CT. :banana:

 

[mnmtranching]

Joe, No! South Georgia is not the last place for a document like that. Upnort in Minnesota wasn't settled until about 1910 or so.
And Joe, When I come down to work on the cabin come cold weather upnort, will you send the document back with me to get it authenticated?
Kidding, If I found something like that I would get some trusted citizens for witnesses, put the original in a safety deposit box then go from there.
Oh Yeah, I would only ask for ummmm? up to 50% gross $ for my services. :compute:

 

[peg4x4]

Really odd..I'd sure have it checked out. Reminds me of a story I heard---this lady was cleaning out some relatives house/garage after both died childless-She tryed to move a coffee can on a shelf,but couldn't..Turned out it and the other 3 were full of gold coins!
Seems their broker said to buy gold,but they didn't know what to do with it... She was still working when I met her,so I don't know what happened to it.. :???:

 

[chrisy]

for one thing don't handle it to much and only with cotton gloves on, go to the local historical library they should be able to help you. Don't take a flash photo or a photocopy of the document as the light can fade old writing. DO NOT put it between any kind of laminate paper as it will devalue and ruin the document. Find some acid free paper or cloth to put it in between. Put it in a safe and ask the person who the Historical place suggests to come to you, if they are genuine they usually will. even if it isn't the original and one that was sold to the people it may still be very old and worth something...Good Luck and keep us informed of this very interesting find.
Last year here on the Antiques Road Show someone found an old letter from Lord Nelson detailing naval strategy before the Battle of Trefalgar, it was authenticated to be so and was worth a fortune. The above is what the man on the show told the couple to do with their document.