LINCOLN, Abraham (1809 - 1865). His franking signature "A. Lincoln" clipped from the front panel of an envelope, addressed in Lincoln's hand to the "Comr of Pub. Buildings", ca. 1861-1865.

One page, 95 x 60mm. (signature and inscription brushed, mounting remnants on the verso).

Addressed to his Commissioner of Public Buildings Benjamin Brown French (1800-1870), who served as Chief Marshal of Lincoln's first inaugural parade and later oversaw the President's funeral arrangements and those for his son, Willie. In addition to these responsibilities, French was also charged with overseeing the expenses for Mary Lincoln's lofty renovations of the White House -- a role which often left him frustrated and at his wit's end. Shortly into Lincoln's first term, French complains to his brother over the "interviews I have with the ‘Republican Queen’— who plagues me half to death with wants with which it is impossible to comply, for she has an eye to the dollars!" (Benjamin B. French to Henry F. French, Washington, D.C., October 13, 1861, French Family Papers). Mary's extravagant spending during the burgeoning Civil War would lead to her spending $6,858 beyond the $20,000 allowance provided for the renovations - an issue settled only by some budgetary trickery by French and an additional $4,500 by Congress.

A close acquaintance to the President, French was also present at the Gettysburg Address, serving as an aide to the marshal-in-chief. He also would gave the main speech on 14 April 1868 at the dedication of the Lincoln statue at Washington's City Hall. His nephew, Daniel Chester French, would later sculpt the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial.