Lincoln Forgeries, 1852-1858

This collection contains three Lincoln forgeries, including one letter and two legal documents, and the administrative correspondence regarding the forged letter. The letter is dated June 1, 1852; the legal papers are dated from June Term, 1858; and the administrative correspondence is from 1937.

In 1937, Felix Roppert sold a forged Lincoln letter to the University of Illinois Library for ten dollars. Administrative correspondence written between the director of the University of Illinois Library, Phineas L. Windsor, and G.T. Banks, of Goodspeed's Book Shop in Boston, Massachusetts, where Roppert reportedly bought the letter, revealed that the letter was a forgery. In addition to the lack of a trail of ownership, historical inaccuracies are contained in the letter. Administrative research has placed, though has not confirmed, Felix Roppert as an alias of Martin Coneely (1887-1950), whose favorite alias was Joseph Cosey. Cosey infamously forged and sold Lincoln letters and manuscripts during the 1930s and 1940s. G. William Berguist, chief investigator at the New York Public Library and an authority on literary hoaxes, reportedly identified the two forged legal papers, dated June 1, 1858, as Cosey forgeries.

This collection contains one forged Lincoln letter dated June 1, 1852, supposedly sent from Abraham Lincoln to J. T. Edwards. It is confirmed that Lincoln wrote to Edwards on this day; however, he had written to him about a different matter than what is in this forged letter. In addition, the forged letter refers to John A. McClernand as a potential Whig candidate "for a vacancy in Bloomington;" McClernand was actually a Douglas Democrat from Shawneetown, Gallatin County, Illinois. Supplemental material includes the administrative correspondence between Roppert, University Library Administration, and Goodspeed's Book Shop (Boston, Massachusetts) regarding the Library's 1937 purchase of Roppert's letter. The Library wrote to Roppert asking where he had gotten the letter, and he told them he had purchased it from Goodspeed's Book Shop. G.T. Banks, of Goodspeed's, wrote to the Library that it is unlikely that Roppert had gotten the letter from them.

Also included in the collection are two Lincoln legal papers dated June Term, 1858, from a legal case titled "Miller vs. Edwards," which Abraham Lincoln and William Herndon were purported to have worked on. These papers are assumed forgeries, as there is no historical record on this case. Although no administrative correspondence was kept with these legal documents, the collection does include a note that reads, "Two documents identified as Cosey forgeries by G. William Berguist, of the New York Public Library, Oct. 19, 1949."

The Library purchased the letter dated June 1, 1852, in 1937. It is unknown when the library acquired the two legal documents dated 1858, or whether they were a donation or purchase.