An auctioneer’s story, by Martin Willis
Back in early 2001, on a bright sunny day I met an auction goer and former consignor at a bank in Durham, New Hampshire. She said she had something important in her safety deposit box that she wanted me to sell at auction. The bank was a beautiful brick Georgian style building perched above the Oyster River. We went into a private room with frosted glass windows, she opened the box, took out a folded document, and handed it to me. I carefully unfolded it saw it was an official New Hampshire 1865 petition and read the following simple phrase on the side of the document: “April 14, 1865, To Edwin M. Stanton, Hon. Secretary of War, please see and hear Hon. Mr. Rollins, & oblige him if you consistently can. A. LINCOLN” Read more