Young Student Discovers Rare Pair of Abraham Lincoln's Eyeglasses

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Mar 11, 2026, 08:43 ET

ELKTON, Md., March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 27, 2026 Maryland auctioneers Alexander Historical Auctions, known internationally for their sale of historic letters, documents, and relics will be offering at auction an amazing discovery made by a young Lincoln scholar: a pair of eyeglasses worn by the slain 16^th president, Abraham Lincoln. The glasses were once attributed to Lincoln's son, but the young man's dogged research has proven them to have belonged to Abraham Lincoln himself.

A pair of President Abraham Lincoln's eyeglasses, to be offered at auction in Maryland on Mar. 27, 2026. A young student of Lincoln noticed that the glasses had been misattributed to the late president's son, but their history in the Lincoln family and their manufacture prior to 1880 indicate they once belonged to the 16th president. They have been displayed ay Lincoln museums nationwide. Photo by Alexander Historical Auctions.

The American flag that covered the casket of Union general and president Ulysses S. Grant from the time of his death in 1885 in Saratoga, N.Y. until his arrival in New York for burial. It was given by his undertaker to the family of the generous upstate New York businessman who donated to Grant the cabin in which the president succumbed to cancer on July 23, 1885. To be sold at auction in Maryland on March 27, 2026. Photo by Alexander Historical Auctions.

Two pairs of the president's eyeglasses were first discovered by Mary Harlan Lincoln, wife of Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln, while sorting through items owned by widowed First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Both pairs were inherited by the president's last direct descendant, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, who gifted one pair to his friend James T. Hickey. That pair is now on loan to the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Beckwith gave the second pair to his wife Margaret, who in turn left them to her daughter. In 2010, the daughter offered all the remaining Abraham Lincoln and Robert Todd Lincoln pieces found in the trunks at auction, including two pairs of eyeglasses which the auction attributed to 'The Lincoln Family.' In an error discovered by the 24-year-old student, the auction inadequately researched the older pair of glasses in the lot. Those glasses, according to eyewear historians, were made prior to 1865 and predate Robert Todd Lincoln's use of any eyewear. The auction assumed that Lincoln never wore spectacles of the strength being offered, based on the weaker prescriptions of glasses found in Lincoln's pockets following his shooting on April 14, 1865. After intense research, the young man discovered that in fact two other authenticated pairs of Lincoln's eyeglasses were stronger than those in Lincoln's pockets, and the pair given to Hickey by Beckwith is even stronger than the pair offered at auction.

Following his research, the student purchased the glasses privately and over several years consulted with fellow Lincoln experts, collectors, and eyewear historians to produce a lengthy treatise on the glasses. On the basis of his findings, these glasses have been determined to be authentic and were displayed at the prestigious Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum; Hildene, the home of Robert Todd Lincoln; and the Seminary Ridge Museum in Gettysburg.

They are estimated to fetch $200-300,000 in the live auction on March 27, 2026.

The same auction will feature the historic large flag which covered the body of President Ulysses S. Grant from the time of his death until its arrival for burial in New York. It was given to the family of the man who donated to Grant the cabin in which the president would ultimately pass.

All lots in the sale may be viewed and bid upon at the Alexander Historical Auctions website, or via Invaluable or LiveAuctioneers.

Alexander Historical Auctions may be reached at 203-276-1570, email: [email protected], website: historyauctioneer.com.

SOURCE Alexander Historical Auctions LLC