{"product_id":"abraham-lincoln-s-law-office-desk","title":"Abraham Lincoln’s Law Office Desk","description":"Abraham Lincoln’s Law Office Desk Circa 1845 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Few Americans have been the subject of such enduring fascination as Abraham Lincoln, yet his famously modest way of life left relatively few personal possessions behind. This extraordinary mahogany secretary desk is among the principal surviving furnishings from the Springfield law office of Lincoln \u0026amp; Herndon, where Lincoln practiced during the pivotal years that carried him from the courtroom to the presidency. The desk is confidently believed to appear in an \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/msrauantiques2022.my.salesforce.com\/sfc\/p\/#8c000000eEg1\/a\/Vb00000JIaA9\/HA0Cfoq6EdcOU7QKbFlGQ4SO529kEkaqxpAO8GPxEvE\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eengraved illustration\u003c\/a\u003e of the office published in the December 1860 issue of \u003cem\u003eFrank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper\u003c\/em\u003e, created as the nation sought to learn more about its newly elected president. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Handsome yet deliberately practical, the desk reflects the character of Lincoln’s Springfield office. Crafted in mahogany in the late Empire style, the towering secretary features a molded cornice above two recessed-panel doors that open to an interior designed for books and ledgers. A fixed slant-front writing surface and long drawer fitted with period etched-glass knobs rest above baluster-form turned legs. Its restrained design and straightforward construction are characteristic of mid-19th-century Midwestern furniture, while the quality of its mahogany distinguished it among the otherwise utilitarian furnishings of the Lincoln \u0026amp; Herndon office. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lincoln formed his partnership with William H. Herndon in 1844, beginning a professional relationship that would endure until Lincoln left Springfield for Washington in 1861. Herndon later became one of the most important early chroniclers of Lincoln’s life, preserving firsthand recollections and interviewing those who had known him. He continued practicing law in Springfield and eventually partnered with Alfred Orendorff, who retained several furnishings and documents when Herndon retired in 1879. This desk subsequently descended through generations of the Orendorff family, remaining largely unknown to Lincoln scholars and rarely exhibited for more than a century. Preserved with this remarkable provenance and documented in Lincoln’s office on the eve of his presidency, it represents an exceptional tangible connection to the legal career that shaped one of America’s most consequential leaders. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 86 3\/4\" high x 41 1\/4\" wide x 31\" deep \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Provenance:\u003cbr\u003e Lincoln \u0026amp; Herndon Law Office, 1844–1861\u003cbr\u003e Herndon \u0026amp; Zane Law Office, 1861–circa 1868\u003cbr\u003e Herndon \u0026amp; Orendorff Law Office, circa 1867–circa 1877\u003cbr\u003e Orendorff \u0026amp; Creighton Law Office, 1879–1885\u003cbr\u003e Orendorff \u0026amp; Patton Law Office, 1885–1909\u003cbr\u003e Alfred Orendorff (1845–1909)\u003cbr\u003e Lydia Edna Orendorff Macpherson (1885–1977)\u003cbr\u003e John F. Macpherson (1916–1999) and Julia Orendorff Macpherson Webster (1913–1995), co-owners after 1977\u003cbr\u003e Thence by descent\u003cbr\u003e M.S. Rau, New Orleans \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Literature:\u003cbr\u003e Christopher A. Schnell, “Stovepipe Hat and Quill Pen: The Artifacts of Abraham Lincoln’s Law Practice,” Springfield, Illinois: The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, circa 2000, pp. 5–13\u003cbr\u003e “The Law Offices of Abraham Lincoln,” \u003cem\u003eAmerican Civil War Chronicles\u003c\/em\u003e, December 22, 2020\u003cbr\u003e Hon. Henry S. Cohn, “Lincoln’s Law Office,” \u003cem\u003eConnecticut Lawyer 35\u003c\/em\u003e, no. 3, January\/February 2024, pp. 24–27, Connecticut Bar Association\u003cbr\u003e Paul M. Angle, “Where Lincoln Practiced Law,” \u003cem\u003eLincoln Centennial Association Papers\u003c\/em\u003e, 1927, pp. 17–43\u003cbr\u003e Henry B. Rankin, ed., \u003cem\u003eLincoln Memorial Collection\u003c\/em\u003e, Springfield, Illinois: Privately published, 1887, pp. 105–110\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eFrank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper\u003c\/em\u003e, December 1860, p. 74 (illustrated) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Exhibited:\u003cbr\u003e R. R. Donnelley Gallery, The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, \u003cem\u003eHonest Abe of the West\u003c\/em\u003e, October 10, 2009–February 15, 2010","brand":"M.S. Rau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45656321392775,"sku":"32-3029","price":335000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0083\/2471\/0466\/files\/32-3029_1.png?v=1787354436","url":"https:\/\/rauantiques.com\/products\/abraham-lincoln-s-law-office-desk","provider":"M.S. Rau","version":"1.0","type":"link"}