Sometimes, it pays to aim high. It certainly did in 1864 for Mary L. Westerman, an officer of the local Soldiers Aid Society in Tazewell County, Ill. She wrote a letter to President Abraham Lincoln, urging him to make a donation to support the cause with a donation to a Sanitary Fair that was held Oct. 18 of that year. Her letter, sent a little over two weeks before the event and available for digital viewing through the Library of Congress, paid off. A letter from former Secretary of State John Hay to Westerman confirms that the 16th American president sent six signed cartes de visite, one of which will find a new home when it is sold in Heritage Auctions Americana and Political Signature Auction being held on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 and 26. This is an exceptionally rare item, a must-have for any serious collector of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia or presidential items, stated Curtis Lindner, Americana and Political Director at Heritage Auctions. Lincoln is the most aggressively collected of all U.S. presidents, and to find something like this that he signed represents an exceptionally rare opportunity. This CDV is believed to be one of the six known that he signed for donation to the event, as evidenced not only by the text on its verso, but also by the display held by the Allen County Public Library in the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, framing Hays original letter with two of the six photographs sent; both images match the offered example. A compass believed to have been personally owned by Daniel Boone, with provenance, comes from the pioneer and frontiersman who was one of the legendary figures in American folklore. Included among the provenance that accompanies the compass are two newspaper articles from the 1930s that tell the story of the transfer of the compass from Boone to a young friend named Abraham Miller, who had learned to shoot from Boone. When Miller, at just 12 years old, killed a panther threatening his familys cattle, Boone was so proud that he gave this compass to Miller. The auction includes two lots of silver from the Tumbaga wreck off of Grand Bahama Island in 1528. One of the lots, a shipwreck silver round, is a significant piece of Aztec history with a diameter of 10 inches, is 2 inches thick at the center and weighs 517 ounces (more than 32.3 pounds). The round has Assayer marks, but they are difficult to read due to the casting of the silver. A letter from Capt. Leonard B. Blinn providing eyewitness account of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln includes three pages of text written by Capt. Leonard B. Blinn, of the 100th Ohio Infantry. In this letter, Blinn wrote to his wife, telling her of the murder he witnessed and sharing the sorrowful effect the loss had on the city. The letter reads, in part, Long before this reaches you. You will have heard of the Nations calamity in the assassination of that good man and the father of our country Abraham Lincoln. It has so happened that I was one of the spectators yesterday afternoon I saw the President and his wife enter their private box I heard the report of the pistol, the shrieks of Mrs. Lincoln, and saw the assassin jump on to the stage and disappear through the rear of the theatre Such an excitement followed as I hope I may never witness again. It was found out instantly that the President was assassinated I saw the President after he was shot also the pistol that he was shot with. Kiss little Carrie for me. Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found by visiting www.HA.com/6269.