12 1/2 x 8 in. printed broadside. (Old folds with toning, minor losses to lower margin, dampstaining, emendations in an unknown hand.)

LINCOLN APPEARS BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Oral arguments for the Supreme Court case of Lewis v. Lewis began on 7 March 1849, just four days after Abraham Lincoln's only term as U.S. congressman from Illinois ended. As the Supreme Court was then housed in the U.S. Capitol, Lincoln had to go only to the Court's basement to make his arguments. The case revolved around the statute of limitations as it relates to a land deed.

Although Lincoln lost the case, his legal strategy was praised by later scholars, including Arthur Krock, who wrote in a 1948 article for The New York Times that “the text, according to the few who have inspected it, reveals Lincoln as a lawyer of great skill and competence, which some biographers have slighted and some have denied.” The present text represents the brief filed by the opposing side, who ultimately won the case.

EXCEEDINGLY RARE: According to online records, this is the only copy extant.