NEW YORK – An album containing the autographs of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and other prominent Civil War-era figures is being put up for sale by a New York City auction house.
Swann Auction Galleries in Manhattan says the album was compiled from 1861-1864 by the wife of Egbert L. Viele (VEE'-lee), a Union Army general from upstate New York.
Teresa Viele collected the autographs and handwritten letters from famous political, military and literary figures so it could be sold in 1864 to benefit the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which provided aid to sick and wounded Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners of war.
The album was bought for $20,000 by a bidder who gave it back to Teresa Viele.
The album is being auctioned Thursday. The estimated sale price is $80,000 to $120,000.
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