I expect that I will write more on this topic, it's very rich.
This image shows our Lincoln letter in the old format before restoration. This letter belonged to my father-in-law's mother. It's unclear how Eleanor obtained it or how it was put in this frame attached with the print of Abraham Lincoln at a younger age. My father-in-law was very possessive of the Lincoln Letter. He would allow it to go to school with his grandchildren but he usually went with it.
He never doubted that it was authentic but never spent the time to research it. I think he would have really enjoyed the experience as he loved American history.
We recently spent $1400 getting the letter restored by a professional restoration company in Chicago. I will try to get a picture of the finished project. Most of the work involved taking the framed documents apart, it was a very poor framing job using inferior materials. Very low quality backing on the letter which caused some of the dye to leak through and discolor the paper.
The print itself turned out to be signed and numbered. We haven't done anything with it.
The letter is authentic, in fact it fits into a narrow meaningful historical niche. The letter was examined by staff at the Abraham Lincoln Library in Springfield IL and the proprietor of the Abraham Lincoln Book Bookshop in Chicago. The Library people were quite excited because it was a heretofore unknown letter and they were eager to include it in collection of letters written by Abraham Lincoln.
More on the text and the context later. It currently is in it's restored state in the family corner cupboard upstairs.
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